How to prevent and treat blisters on feet from walking? Walking regularly has many health benefits, but blisters aren’t one of them.
To pursue regular walking, it is important to know how to prevent and treat blisters. During a long hike, you take thousands of steps. Pressure and friction can cause blisters.
Such blisters can really spoil your hiking fun. What to do when you have a blister? And how can you prevent blisters?
As a general rule, to prevent and treat blisters, all you have to do is find the right walking shoes and pair them with the right socks. If the occasional blister pops up, it’s best to leave it as is, but if it breaks, then cover it with gauze.
Blisters, as much as we detest them, are more common than one thinks, so we’ve also come up with the best way to treat them
Table of Contents
How to prevent and treat blisters on feet from walking? Introduction
Try to leave blisters whole to prevent infections. Place a blister plaster over the blister.
By the way, it is also best to use a blister plaster for beginning blisters (red skin).
Does the blister bother you too much to walk anymore (for example, due it’s size)? Then pierce it. Use a sterile blister pricker for this purpose.
These are available at pharmacies or online. Gently press the fluid out of the blister and tape it with a sterile gauze pad.
If the blister broke while walking, first clean it thoroughly with alcohol or Betadine (note: do not use Betadine if you are allergic to iodine).
Then bandage the blister with a sterile gauze pad.
If blood, pus, or non-clear fluid is coming from a blister, have it looked at by a professional or doctor.
Large organized hikes usually include Red Cross first aid stations. Here you can have blisters (even beginning blisters) expertly treated.
So be sure to do this if possible.
How to prevent and treat blisters
You can take a number of measures to minimize the chance of blisters.
Identify the pressure points on your feet while hiking
Known pressure points are the heel, forefoot and little toes.
Too much pressure on the instep, for example, the hallux valgus (near the big toe), can be reduced by lacing the shoes differently.
Some hikers have had good experiences with preventive taping of pressure points on the foot. You can use special tape for this purpose.
Always try this out in advance during hike training sessions.
Don’t spread petroleum jelly on your feet
By doing this, you are clogging the pores of your skin and therefore the skin cannot breathe properly. This increases the likelihood of blisters.
Wear well-fitting walking shoes
Blisters are caused by pressure or friction. Wear hiking boots that are not too tight but also not too loose.
Always break in new hiking boots properly before taking them on a longer hike.
Bring an extra pair of socks
On long treks, especially if it’s raining, bring an extra pair of socks.
You can then put on dry socks along the way. Wet socks are a major cause of blisters.
Wear special hiking socks
These are made of material that repels moisture and keeps your feet drier.
Hiking socks also have no seams so there are fewer pressure points on your skin.
Foot care for walkers
A health walk requires all sorts of things, but you will get nowhere without healthy feet. With sophisticated foot care, you can prevent many problems.
Below you can read more about foot care in general, daily foot care, and foot care before, during, and after walking.
By taking good care of your feet, you will continue to uninterruptedly reap the benefits of walking as explained in our other post Why is walking so good for your health? Walking benefits
General info for regular walkers
The bad news is that there are numerous problems that can crop up with your feet, but it’s not all doom and gloom.
You can do something about most of the problems yourself such as:
- Wear good walking shoes that are appropriate for the hiking terrain and your weight
- Tip for the ladies: For really practical walking shoe suggestions, read Top-rated walking shoes for heavy women walkers and find the perfect pair to enhance your hiking experience.
- Wear good socks without seams
- Design and respect a balanced workout
- Sometimes try to introduce support or correction
- And in any case, implement proper foot care in your daily life
Foot care is often called the stepchild of body care but it can prevent a lot of misery and nasty injuries to the feet.
Daily foot care
Good foot hygiene doesn’t have to be complicated.
Most importantly, don’t use soap, wash your feet with water every day and dry your feet well with a clean towel after washing, including between the toes.
Soap dries out the skin and affects the natural skin flora and is therefore not recommended.
Use a foot cream daily that is tailored to your foot skin.
Locker rooms and showers are a source of bacteria and mold. Therefore, while showering in swimming pools or changing rooms, always flipflops.
Wearing clean cotton or wool socks every day also helps. In addition, change shoes regularly.
Trim your toenails regularly and cut them straight to prevent ingrown nails.
Nails that are too long bump against the shoe wall especially during downhill, and that causes trouble. Check that the nail is not pressing against the toe next to it.
If your feet expand while walking, it can cause injuries.
After showering or taking a bath, nails are softer and cut more easily.
Foot care before and during a walk
Before you go out, there are a few things you can do.
There are products available in the trade that protect your feet while hiking.
Certain foot creams, for example, protect the feet from heavy strain and friction. You can apply the nutrition cream to the skin of the foot right before walking, let it soak in for a moment, and then put on your socks right away.
Pressure points on the skin can be taped with a stretch product, protected with hiking wool, greasy cotton wool or a silicone product.
Do you often suffer from sweaty feet? Then bring an extra pair of socks and change them for the damp ones halfway through the walk.
Do you feel problems coming up during an organized walk?
Then try to get it examined at the first aid station or take a break and check your feet, socks and walking shoes for unevenness.
In any case, don’t keep walking but try to solve the problem instead of making it worse.
Taking care of feet after a walk: Tips
After a walk, your feet are often warm and perhaps a little swollen. Therefore, try to wash your feet immediately after a walk and remove any applied tape.
Putting your legs up for a moment stimulates drainage.
By rolling the foot over a massage ball, you stimulate blood circulation under the foot and recover faster after strenuous exercise.
Finally, it is nice to pamper your feet after a trip. Consider a lukewarm foot bath with a foot bubble bath, a foot massage, a contrast bath or a cooling menthol foot cream.
How to prevent and treat blisters on feet from walking? Conclusion
Make sure that you wear the right walking shoes, and that you’ve kitted yourself out with hiking socks, that are seamless and thus reduce pressure at certain points.
If you have no clue what a good walking shoe should look like, check our helpful article How to buy the right walking shoes: Pro tips & guidelines.