Blisters on the Hike

Any hiking trip in the mountains means that your legs will experience significant strain. Blisters on a hike are quite common; they seem to appear suddenly and later cause a lot of discomfort. Sometimes the size of such blisters can be quite impressive, and it's hard to look at them without tears…

To avoid the occurrence of blisters on a hike and general discomfort, it is essential to carefully choose your footwear.

How to prevent blisters on a hike?

To avoid such unpleasantness, please prepare responsibly and in advance for your hike. Consider the temperature conditions during the hike when choosing the right shoes and socks.

First of all, it should be noted that the best remedy is to respond promptly to any discomfort you feel in your shoes, whether it's burning, toes pressing against the walls of the shoe, or friction from the boot shaft – all these moments should be addressed immediately. At the nearest break, without delay, sit down and figure out what is bothering you and what to do about it.

You should never go on a hike in completely new, untested footwear. High-quality and expensive shoes do not guarantee comfortable movement. If they do not fit you, blisters and abrasions will turn the hike into a real torture in 9 out of 10 cases. Moreover, you will slow down the other participants in the hike. Your shoes should fit your feet perfectly; they should not be too big or too small, squeezing your foot or being loose.

In addition to shoes, you need to choose the right socks for them. Always wear boots with thick socks, wool or thermal socks, or a combination of a thin and a thick sock; it's very easy to get a blister with just a thin sock.

Don't forget that when descending a slope, you need to remember the technique of descending and place your foot correctly, slightly turning it inward. This not only reduces pressure on the toes against the shoe wall but also increases the contact area of the sole's edge, thereby preventing foot slips and falls onto your backside.

Throughout the day, check your feet during breaks; don't be lazy. If any redness appears, you should engage in preventive treatment and apply a bandage with a soft part to the rubbed area; there are such bandages available for sale now. If you don't have such a bandage in your first aid kit, you can simply use a regular bandage, placing a piece of gauze or cotton underneath it.

Excessive heat is caused by friction between your feet and the inner surface of the shoes. Increased humidity occurs when your feet are wet or, even worse, soaked from water entering from above the shoe or seeping through the surface; sweaty feet are extremely susceptible to friction.

Often, in the evenings, tourists dry wet shoes by the fire, and while various Gore-Tex materials can somewhat withstand this procedure, leather shoes can become almost wooden, causing unpleasant sensations in the feet during the day’s hike.

How to avoid blisters?

It is essential to give your feet a rest. At breaks, it is better to take off your shoes and dry them. You should also change your socks. In camp, you should wear different (lighter) footwear.

In the summer, you can use hiking sandals, wearing them over your socks. Otherwise, you will inevitably get blisters.

However, despite all these measures, sometimes you may overlook something, or the weather may be such that you can't sit down for a proper break, let alone check your shoes, and suddenly you find you have blisters. What should you do in this case?

How to treat a blister on a hike?
If you feel a blister forming, you should:

Take off your shoes, clean the potentially damaged area of skin from dirt and sand. Let your foot cool down. Wash your feet; the last thing you need is dirt getting into the wounds.

Apply a special bandage or dressing to the sore spot. Cover the sore area with a special bandage or dressing.

If a blister has indeed formed, take a needle, heat it over the fire, or you can dip it in alcohol, thread it with a string (also pre-soaked in alcohol for disinfection, which is one of the most important conditions), and pierce the blister with it. Pull out the needle, leaving the string in place – this will serve as our drainage. Squeeze out all the fluid that has accumulated in the blister. If the string is long, cut it so that small pieces stick out a couple of centimeters on both sides of the blister; they will help drain the fluid.

The blister itself should be treated with iodine. In the morning, you need to remove the string, and before setting out on your journey, you should cover the blisters with a bandage.

Treatment should be done during the evening break; there is unlikely to be any benefit from it during the day.

A couple of additional points:
In the evening, it is good to let your feet rest and walk barefoot; this will positively affect your overall tone and the healing speed of blisters during our mountain hike.

Do not cut the skin off blisters until they are completely healed; otherwise, it will hurt a lot.

If blisters open up while walking, they should be covered with a bandage, pulling the edges of the wound as tightly as possible. Otherwise, it will be very painful to walk.

Air must reach the wound; otherwise, it may become infected.

So, if you follow these simple tips and keep an eye on the condition of your feet, life on the trail will be much more pleasant and interesting, without these unpleasant blisters.

Pack properly for hikes, take care of your health, and your journey will be interesting!

MISCELLANEOUS