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Your feet are probably the most critical part of the walkers’ body, and appropriate care of your feet begins with prevention. Although they sound trivial, we think blisters need to be treated as a serious challenge, and we devote time and resources to preventing them. Few other things can wreck your party's mobility like blisters can.
- break in boots by wearing them in the shower, a tub of water, or a river, and then walking until they are mostly dry.
- harden your feet by soaking them in a solution of Condy's crystals. This dries them out but turns them brown; unfortunately, the discoluration of your toemails will persist for about a month.
- wear two pairs of socks, a thin pair under a thick pair
- if possible, place a shock-absorbing insole in the bottom of your boot. Consider buying boots a size too large to accomodate an insole.
- pre-emptively tape your heel and any other rubbing points with elastoplast or similar flexible tape. This prevents the rubbing from occurring on your skin. Ski boots have a metal shank in the sole and are highly likely to give blisters; I always tape my heels when wearing ski boots
- ensure that your first aid kit contains sufficient quantities of the right kind of first aid supplies to treat blisters. In particular, elastoplast tape features in almost all of our solutions to this problem. In this context band-aids are wimpy and not an effective response to a blister. You need stuff that sticks to a large area of your foot, and band-aids (although great for other applications) often rub off in your boots.
If you feel blisters starting to appear, or any areas feel hot from friction, stop immediately. Tape the affected area and keep a close eye on it.
If a blister has already appeared, do not puncture it. Instead place:
(i) a dedicated blister dressing such as Second Skin, or
(ii) a non-stick dressing such as Melolin, or
(iii) some low-density foam, or
(iv) a layer of cotton gauze next to the skin, with cotton wool on top
on the blister and tape down with elastoplast tape.
If it has already burst, do not remove skin unless it is hanging lose. Carefully arrange any remaining attached skin over the wound, and
(i) coat with Friar's Balsam if you have any (this will hurt), then cover with a non-stick dressing such as Melolin, or
(ii) place a dedicated blister dressing such as Second Skin over the wound,
and then tape down with elastoplast.
Monitor the condition of the blister or wound frequently. A party member with a badly blistered foot can affect the mobility of the whole party, so you should let the party leader know at an early stage.
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