Hey gang,

You might have read that I am breaking in new boots (and blades), and they actually feel wonderful. I love them! However, with the usual aches and pains of breaking in new boots comes a few blisters as the leather breaks in. I have one on my right heel, and because I skate so often, there is not really enough time between skates for it to heal.

So my question is......

What do you do to nurse your blisters? I've tried band-aids, but they don't stay put, and don't provide much comfort either. The Bunga Pad won't cover this area of my foot.

Any suggestions? Anything I can buy that works?

Thanks!!

Ice T

Try taking a piece of moleskin and cutting out a hole where your blister is at, so that the moleskin fits around your blister.

I don't know how well it works with skate boots, but it more or less worked with combat boots.

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The trick is to let the blister heal. Note where it is. And apply the band aid to that area of your foot before you put your socks on. So instead of the boot rubbing on your skin, it rubs the outside of the band-aid.....no more blisters.

And if your blister is healed but the band aids don't stick. Then you might have to go for a different kind of adhesive bandage...one that sticks a bit better.

Buy Scholl's (or your pharmacy's generic equivalent) blister dressings. These are colloid gel dressings which you apply to the blister and then leave on until they come off of their own accord, usually between 24 and 72 hours later. You may well not need more than one dressing.

"Enhanced healing" dressings also work as well, but the blister ones are specifically shaped for blisters - they come in two sizes, small for toes and medium for heels. I always carry a stock of them in my bag, just in case.

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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!

When you're able, clean your feet well and let them dry. Try airing out your feet so they heal a bit quicker.

Blister dressings work really well. Before they existed, we would soak our feet in warm water, dry them well and slather on vaseline jelly. Cover with white socks (so your feet don't change colors! ) and wear to bed. The OTC blister pads work much faster and better. (Feel less icky, too!)

Check the spot inside your boot where the rubbing occurs. Make sure there's no glue or other irritants in there. You say it's on your right heel - maybe it's a bit loose and your heel is lifting up? Be sure to set your heel before you tie your skates.

Remember that the pro shop can help resolve some of these problems with heel lifts and punch outs.

Lastly, watch out for infection - redness, puss, etc. DH once wore flip-flops to a water park and ended up with a huge blister that became infected. Took two rounds of antibiotics to beat the infection.

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You could also try wearing two pairs of pantyhose. That worked in my work boots.

I like the blister dressings too, and Band Aid also makes them. Just want to add that the latest medical info is that drying is not good for healing. I know, we were all brought up to think that we should let wounds dry, but now they are saying that wounds should stay moist for faster healing.

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Hey gang!

Thanks for all the great advice! Yes, my right heel moves a little bit in the boot and rubs against that one spot mainly on landing jumps and back spins. Footwork and stroking don't bother it. I think wearing the Bunga pad and having stiff, new boots has prevented me from getting the boots laced as tight as they will eventually be, but I've probably also always been used to a very slight movement in the boots anyways. I have very narrow feet and have to wear a size double A boot to get them to fit properly in the heel. Once I get them broken in, I'm pretty sure that I won't have any more blister problems. My last pair, identical to these, never gave me any problems after the initial break in. Woo hoo! Can't wait for that!!

I took a trip to the pharmacy today and was so surprised to see all the products out there nowadays for blister treatment. Last time I broke in a new pair of boots was 4 years ago, and there were definitely more options on the shelf this time around. I looked for the items you all suggested, bought three different ones, and will try them all out next week to see which works best. Hopefully something will work.

Happy pain-free skating everyone!

I didn't know that! Hopefully, I won't need to deal with anything, but I'll keep it in mind.

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I first heard this on the radio and was quite surprised. I still want to let my superficial injuries dry overnight, but force myself to put on a little neosporin and a band aid instead. It's quite odd to have something so basic that you grew up with be shown to be wrong.

How are your blisters doing, Ice T?

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I know I am late in joining this discussion, but we have had great success with moist burn pads, which you can get at any drug store. This seems consistent with the other post on keeping blisters moist. You place the moist burn pad on the blister, beneath a non-stick dressing, and then tape that to your foot. This allows the blister to heal naturally any prevents further injury.

That is more or less what the current blister dressings are - go with whichever option works out cheaper!

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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!

Yeah, on one of the instructions in the band-aid type blister package it said to keep the blister moist and not let it dry out. That was new for me too!

I'm going to try out the moleskin today and see how that does. It's not really a blister anymore as much as a sore spot now, which I don't want to continue to aggravate. I'll let you know what works!

Moleskin is a great preventive. I carry it in my skate bag and used to keep it at my desk in my office (when I had one).

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Well, I really liked the moleskin. It worked well today, except that it didn't totally stay in place. But I guess it stayed put somewhat enough because that area of my foot didn't bother me at all today, so that was wonderful!

However.......I thought I would let go of the "crutches" and not wear the Bunga pad today. I've just been wearing it on my right foot after the boot started digging into my leg near the top of the boot a couple of weeks ago. But that didn't go well at all! New boots.........UGH!

I've always had a problem with new skates rubbing my heals too. Over the years, I've tried moleskin, band-aids, bungas, etc. The secret is "New-Skin." I found it about 10 years ago in a little pharmacy near my house and it works so well. I thought maybe it would be hard to find info on it, but i just googled it and here's a link.

http://www.newskinproducts.com/liquid-bandage.htm

The liquid kind works best for skating. You just paint it on like nail polish, let it dry for a minute, and you don't even feel the blisters.

Bunga Pads always work for me with that problem.

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"Many people FAIL because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable. If more of us would strike out and attempt the "impossible," we very soon would find the truth of that old saw that nothing is impossible...abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish"
C.E Welsh, Buisiness executive

If you put this stuff on an open wound, it burns like bldy H*LL!

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My colloidal blister pad got a blister.

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Okay, it's kind of late but I wanted to see my progress...

I got two really nasty blisters on both my pinky toes thanks to ill-fitting shoes. (Blah!) They were the biggest blisters I had ever gotten - 1cm in diameter and 2mm in height. Yes, height. They looked ready to pop at any moment.

I don't skate very often anymore so I don't know if it's an option for you, but I left them alone and now, three days later, they're perfectly fine. Deflated, I mean. I went around in flip-flops for the entire period and made sure I didn't sleep on them, but yeah. I was wondering if I had to buy some blister packs or something, but then decided I didn't want to spend the money.

Will think about moleskin the next time I'm breaking in new shoes though!

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Well, gang, I think I have tried almost everything on the market. I say "almost" because last time I was at the store, there were still a couple more options to try. But I've spent so dang much money already!!

Here is what I have found works the best for me: Band-aid brand Tough strips. I use the large bandages. They seem to stay in place the best when your foot starts sweating in the boots.

In addition....I use a small strip of athletic tape to hold them in place, just to guarantee that they won't move. The tape has also helped reduce the chaffing of the boots in other places. But be careful and make sure that your foot can move freely in it, or your skin will spit. I found that out when I wrapped my ankle with it and the front of my foot couldn't move well enough as I bent in the skates. I ended up with a vertical cut in my skin that day.

A fellow skater suggested soaking my feet each night in epsom salt. I tried that frequently, but I never came to a conclusion one way or the other about it if it was really working.

Another fellow skater recommended dancer's guaze tape. Apparently it is very similar to medical or athletic tape, and dancers use it on their toes for blisters.

So that's my reccomendation. Hope this is helpful. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!! Happy skating!!

For those of you on a budget that don't want to spend the extra money on moleskin here's a tip. Just go to the cosmetics isle and buy a pack of those round foam make-up pads... costs about a buck fift for a pack of a dozen or more and they work great!
I bought them because of a funny little bone I have poking out on my ankle that used to cause pain rubbing against my boot. I simply cut a hole in the center of the pad that fits the bone, place the pad over the said spot and wear my sock over top to keep it in place. Works like a charm!!!

Yep.... band-aids are superb in my opinion. I usually go to the supermarket to find the cheapest stuff that are basically the same as band-aids......just a different brand that's all. Sometimes you can find them at very cheap prices. So just buy a whole heap of them and keep them with you in your skate bag.

I just pop the band-aid on the spot where the blister 'would' normally form. But instead of the boot or sock rubbing on that part of the foot. It rubs on the band-aid instead......no more blisters....ever.

I used to use a soft medical cloth sticky tape, called leukosilk. Works excellently. Expensive though....but good.