my 9 yo just got a new pair of Jacksons- they are one up from competitor and stiffer. Something about the notch in the tongue is irritating her ankle and she got a small blister on one side.

She has worn them twice, the second time we put bungas on her, and the blister side hurt a little she said.

Today, I am going to try putting that no-friction stuff on her skin, tape her ankle, and put bungas. UGH.

I also took the skates and just sort of pushed around the leather in that area to try and unstiffen it a tad.

What boots was she in before and what stuff is she doing? Whatever is up froma competitor must be a pretty stiff boot! My (9 yr) daughter currently working on 2sal is in Jackson Classique and doesn't it go classique then freestyle then competitor? Sounds like a pretty stiff boot for a 9 year old.

Have they been heat moulded? Could it be the fit? Possibly even a flaw in the boot?

I would try to build up around the blister rather than putting something directly over it. My suggestion would be to take some of that foam padding that you can get in the medicine aisle and cut a little doughnut to go around the blister. Build it up as much as you need to to take the pressure of the tongue notch off of it. You could try taping over the "doughnut" to keep it in place.

In my experience the more I try to protect the blister by putting something directly over it the worse it gets. I find they only really heal up when all pressure is taken off of the affected area.

Good luck!

It is pretty stiff. Her competitors were really broken down after 9 months (and the didn't fit). She is a large 9 yo - she is almost 5 feet tall and weights 85 lbs. She isn't fat or anything, just very solid.

I do think it is just very stiff leather on the edge of the tongue- other than that, she liked them alot and skated well. She had synchro practice and was doing alot of foot work, stroking, some spins.

That is a bizarre result on the Jacksons. I know the model you're referring to and it is very very very stiff - even the competitors should have been quite a bit stiff. Your kid is not large by any stretch of the imagination! What size of jumps is she landing?

I wonder if it is because they didn't fit properly that the competitors broke down.

Regardless, I would have whoever fitted her recheck the heat moulding done. Jacksons are very easy to heat mould.

Keep the blisters clean and, as noted, keep anything from pressing on them. The doughnut is a great idea. If you put something directly on the blister and continue to have the pressure on it from the boots, it will continue to be abraded, and you are risking infection and scarring; it's open skin, and it's vulnerable to nasty bugs and stuff. Especially from a bunga pad that is reused without being cleaned.

Thanks I'll try that, it is really small now

A blister in new skates isn't unexpected; I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they don't fit properly. Be glad that we're no longer in the good ol' days when you fully expected new skates to make you bleed for awhile while you tried to get them broken in!!

I take any stiff leather edges & bend them back & forth w/ a pliers while I watch tv to soften them up. (put a towel over it so you don't mess up the finish)

I agree the skates seem a bit stiff for her age and weight, but I assume she was fitted by a professional fitter so he/she probably know what their doing.

Is she tying up her skates or are you? My 9 year ties her own skate, but when she gets new ones I always do it for the first little while. It can be really difficult for them to get the foot part (over the arch) tight enough and then the skate is more likely to rub.

Wow! My daughter is in Jackson Freestyles and has only creased them after 8 mos of use! Of coarse, my daughter is just now starting to land axels and your daughter is landing jumps my daughter isn't near landing yet. Plus, my daughter is a smallish 11 y/o who weighs 70 pounds and is 4 feet 9. Skaters are all so different and break in and break down skates in different ways. I've felt Competitors and they are stiff skates! Your daughter must be a large jumper. I will add that my daughter's friend skates in Riedell Bronze Star boots, she landed her axel in them and is working on doubles and has landed a few in them. Her boots are starting to break down. She is about my dd's size and 10. Dd's friend will need stiffer boots the next time her boots need replacing. What we all find interesting, is that there is a 10 y/o intermediate skater who wears Bronze Stars and she has not broken down her boots. Just goes to show how different skaters wear the same boot. What might be too stiff for one skater, may not be stiff enough for another skater. Anyway... good luck breaking her skates in. I am not looking forward to doing that with dd again in a few months. *sigh* We may be able to keep her in Freestyles and if so, I am hoping the break in period will be much easier on her. It took her forever to lace her top hook... lol!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

There is that "thing" about breaking down and breaking in . Nicely broken in boots that allow deep knee bend and clean edges but that are still nicely supporting the skater on jumps and spin are very different from broken-down boots.

I've seen a few parents panicking over their kid's "broken down" skates, only to be told by the coach and the fitter that the boots were just finally properly broken in, and the kid was at last achieving proper flex in the boots!

Check for threads on how to break in boots faster. There is a lot of good stuff, and there are quite a few references to how to utilize heat moulding to speed up the break in period.

I tied them, like you said, she usually does her own, but the new ones were stiff and hard to tie tightly.

She is a pretty big jumper, especially for her age, and yes the fitter recommended these and her coach didn't think anything odd of it either.

Thanks for that! I will look.

Your daughter should be wearing the skates around at home a bit (even before she ever skated in them) to get them to fit her foot - I've always used a blow dryer to warm them up first, then had my daughter lace them up tight and flex her foot while she watched TV. Then I'd check her feet for red spots, check the skate in the corresponding area for the abrasive, do some more heat there to soften it up, etc. We also were encouraged to have her limit her skate time in the new skates at first.

Once she found her perfect brand and style, and her foot stopped growing, it did become a lot easier to get the skates to fit nicely. We knew just where to have it bumped out for her ankle bone on her left skate, and that the right skate needed a bit more padding in the heel to prevent pain.

Now, of course, she's thinking about returning to the ice, to concentrate on ice dance, so she'll most likely need a different boot and blades, sigh!

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blades, gary, Lucy, Emily, take care of Aiden and Sami. Sami is my sweetest heart, and always will be, forever. RIP Cubby Boy, my hero dog.

Can you get specialist blister plasters where you live? I know Scholl is an international brand, and they do them, so I expect you can. They are very magic, much better than ordinary plasters (Band-aids) for blisters.

If it's a rough edge that's caused the problem, you will probably be able to deal with it using a bit of felt or (better) moleskin to stick on the place.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Oh no, this was the fitter that was surprised how broken down they were, not me.

I ended up putting a piece of duct tape (small) over the offending spots of leather edge on the tongue, then I did the doughnut thing and so the small blister healed quick. She has been wearing them a few days now (her coach suggested not lacing the top hooks for a week) and all seems ok now!