How You Can Stop A Friction Blister

The injuries that most runners tend to be concerned about include shin splints, tendonitis, ankle sprains, and stress fractures. Friction blisters, not often thought about, are less severe, but they can still be quite debilitating to any runner.

Friction blisters tend to come and go, but they make your run very uncomfortable when present. Plus, if they are not treated properly, they can even cause an infection to take place and increase the recovery time needed to heal. Most often, however, a blister can be taken care of, and you can get back to your usual running routine in about a week.

What Causes a Blister

The main reason a blister occurs is due to a large amount of friction between the skin and another surface, your running shoe in this case. If excess moisture (sweat) is thrown into the picture, the chances are even higher that a problem will occur.

Runners must try to avoid damp socks and running shoes that have not fully dried since their last run. An improperly fitting shoe can also create problems because this will cause additional rubbing.

Blisters do not always happen on the feet in runners either. Another common area for a blister is where the legs rub together on the inside of the thighs. When this is the case, using Bodyglide (or Vaseline) is a good way to reduce the friction and prevent a blister from occurring.

Other tips to help prevent a blister include:

-Ensuring that you break in your shoes first before running long distances in them

-Trying your shoes on with your running socks before purchasing

-Increasing your running distance gradually

-Using socks that are not made out of cotton

-Changing socks midway through a long run if you have to (they become very sweaty and damp)

-Wearing pants made out of nylon or spandex rather than cotton

-Placing a patch of moleskin or other self-adhesive band-aid over where you normally see the blister occurring

Treating a Blister

When treating a blister that has already occurred, make sure you look for signs of infection such as redness or red streaks forming around the edge of the blister. Pus coming from the centre is another strong signal you have an infection, as is a great deal of pain.

Begin by puncturing the skin covering the blister with the head of a pin or needle (heat over a flame first to sterilize it), and allow the blister to drain. Leave the skin on because it will act as a bit of a protective cover and prevent any more bacteria from getting inside.

Next, apply an antibiotic cream or antiseptic to the affected area and cover with sterile gauze. Do note that you should not apply moleskin to a blister that has already formed because this will rip the skin off when you go to remove it. Moleskin should be used more as a preventative method or at the very end of the healing process while running.

Finally, if you are going to try and run while you have a blister, place some padding over top of it (preferably one with a circle cut out where the blister is so pressure is only placed on the pad around the blister).

If the blister is a lot more serious, particularly if it looks very infected, then you should seek medical help first before trying to treat it yourself.

Don't let this injury keep you down too long. As long as you can recognize it in its early stages of development and take good measures to treat it and prevent it from developing further, there is no reason you should have to suffer that long.