blisters

Blisters on the Move

Nicole Lowe McBride3 Comments

pop-blisters

The sun is rising behind the mountains. It’s first rays touching the west side of the valley. Your feet move along the trail, a cool breeze brushes your cheeks. You’ve been training for this race for six months and know this is your day.

And then you feel it. A hot spot begins to develop on your forefoot. Just below your big toe, you know the spot. It’s been an issue in the past, but you haven’t had any problems for months. Since you changed the type of socks you run in. But none of that matters because it’s there now.

What do you do? If you wait you know it will become a blister. Blisters are not good, they can destroy your race, at a minimum you’re going to hurt.

It’s best to deal with blisters as soon as you feel the hot spot or as soon as you know a spot on your foot is going to be problematic. Prevention is the best solution to blisters, but sometimes, regardless of all the blister free socks, shoes, tape, powder, lubrication or whatever, you still get them.

If you’ve done all the prevention you can and know a blister is still a possibility (as it always is); be prepared for them. Take a small blister kit in your hydration pack. They don’t take up much space, well mine don’t.

A mini blister kit should include: a safety pin, alcohol pads, kensiotape and/or hepafix tape and second skin squares. If you get to the offending spot before a blister forms, clean the area with the alcohol pad and tape over it with one of the tapes. If a blister has formed, use the safety pin to drain fluid, after cleaning it and the blister area with the alcohol pads. Make sure the hole you make is in a place where the fluid will continue to be squeezed out as you run to prevent it from refilling. Once this is done, tape over it. If the roof of the blister has ripped off, clean the area with alcohol, put a second skin square down, and tape over it.

If prevention didn’t help and you didn’t come prepared, find something to put between your sock and your shoe to stop the rubbing. A gel wrapper works well or any piece of plastic. You can ask other runners if they have them, if you don’t. No plastic, take your shoe and sock off and see if rearranging things stops the rubbing. Doesn’t help, try running on your foot a little different, just don’t do this for long because it will screw up other things, cause you to fall, or pull some little tendon that will then hurt for the rest of the run.

 

Blister Care

Nicole Lowe McBrideLeave a comment

pop-blisters

You are in the middle of your run, and you have a blister. What do you do? Hopefully you have a mini blister kit in your hydration pack. If you don’t, pray to god you have one with your crew or in your drop bag. None there either? Make some friends at the next aid station and come better prepared next time.

Here is how I treat blisters. Disclaimer: doctors do not recommend popping blisters because you risk infection. If the blister is small and not painful to run on, I don’t pop it. I tape over it with hepafix (bought on Amazon) or kensio tape and keep going.

If the blister is painful to run on, clean the area with alcohol then I pop it with a clean safety pin making a hole big enough that it won’t reseal and fill with more fluid. I make the hole on an edge where it will continue to drain as I run (the hole on the side closest to my heel usually). I try to get as much fluid out of it as possible. If you can get the skin to lay flat, it may reattach itself if you can stop the friction. After I pop it, I put Neosporin on it and then tape over it with kensio or hepafix tape. I treat blood blisters the same way.

If you don’t want to pop the blister you can use mole skin with a hole in the center for the blister, then put tape over it (do you see a theme here?). The mole skin will keep the pressure off of the blister and reduce the pain.

If the roof is torn or off, I clean the area with alcohol. Put Neosporin on it then a piece of Second Skin for burns (bought on Amazon) over the exposed tender skin and then tape over it. Second Skin acts as the roof. It protects the tender skin from being rubbed even more. Once you are done running, you’ll want to expose that skin to the air so it can dry out and harden forming your new top layer of skin.

Blisters can also form under callouses and toenails. Callouses should be kept under control because of this. It’s difficult to treat a blister covered by a thick callous. You have to go through all that skin to drain it, if you can get to it at all. A blister under a toenail, is easier than under a callous. Stick a clean pin in it and tape it with hepafix. Don’t use a tape that is rough on the outside. You’ll likely lose the nail.

The best thing is to try and prevent blisters as much as possible. You can read my prior post by scrolling down to learn how to prevent blisters.

Blister Prevention

Nicole Lowe McBride3 Comments

taping-foot

Many ultrarunners tape their feet before races and even long runs to prevent blisters. There are different techniques for taping your feet and some tricks of the trade, which I’m going to go over, but I want to talk about why we get blisters in the first place.

Let me start with this, some people are just prone to blisters and try as they might to figure out what is causing them, they can’t. Blisters are caused by friction, cold and/or heat. The culprit during running is most frequently friction. When there is something rubbing against your foot over and over again in the same spot, it tears the top layer of your skin away from the layer below it. Fluid then fills the space and ta-da you have a blister, which continues to grow as the rubbing creates a bigger tear.

The way you prevent a blister is to stop the friction as soon as you feel it. This is usually a  hot spot on your foot. When you feel this, immediately stop, and take care of it. It doesn’t get better on its own. It gets worse. You can spend five minutes taking care of a hot spot or ten to fifteen dealing with a full on blister (possibly multiple times during a race). I’m going to cover the care of blisters in my next post (two days from now).

Okay so you know you get blisters, what do you do? First, make sure your shoes fit right and breathe. Second, make sure you have good socks, AKA not cotton. Socks that pull the sweat away from your skin. Try thick, thin and double layer socks. You can also wear two pair of thin socks and see if that helps.

Then comes the experimenting foot powder can keep your feet dry, which reduces friction. Sweaty wet feet hold onto the fabric of your sock. Wet skin is softer and more pliant making it more susceptible to blisters. A lubricant, such as hydropel, can help reduce fiction by allowing your foot to slide and not have the sock or shoe grip your skin. Hydropel, is waterproof. With both powder and lubricants you will have to reapply throughout the race.

Then there is pre-taping. You can tape the entire bottom of your foot or just the section that is prone to blisters. Note: if you only tape a section, you could get blisters at the edge of the tape (more experimenting). You can tape from one side to the other or from toe to heel covering the entire foot. Make sure the tape does not have any folds.

Tape that comes off during a run can cause blisters, surprise, surprise. Use Tincture of Benzoin to secure the tape to the bottom of your foot. I buy it on Amazon. It’s an adhesive. Apply the Benzoin with a cotton ball, let it dry, and then add the tape. Your tape should overlap a little. If you line it right up at the edges, you can get blisters at the seams (aren’t blisters great?).

There are three different types of tape I use when taping feet elastiskin, hepafix, and kensio tape. I buy I buy all my tapes on Amazon. Elastiskin is very durable and sticky. It has some stretch to it allowing your foot to flex and move as you run. It is rough on the outside so don’t use it on toes unless every toe is taped and no skin is touching the outside of the elastiskin. Hepafix is also a little stretchy. It’s a thin tape and fuzzy on the outside. It’s great for taping toes or places that are likely to rub bare skin. Kensio tape (the stuff they use to support injured tendons and muscles) is very stretchy and thin. It works wonders for preventing blisters and fixing hot spots. With the thin tapes, I find I don’t have to tape the entire bottom of the foot, just the hot spot area.

Running Socks

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happyfeetmar500x310Picture from Runner’s World

$14.99 for one pair of socks! Are you shitting me? Why in gods name would I pay $14.99 for a single pair of socks. That’s insane.

Well how much do you like the skin on your feet? Maybe you are one of those lucky people who never get blisters. Perhaps you are someone who likes hot feet.

I know that running socks can be expensive, but if you buy a pair for each day you run and then wash them each week (or not), it’s not so bad. Spread it out over a couple of paychecks.

You don’t need to take out a loan. Unless you love them so much, and you might, that you wear them every single day despite the fact that they are bright green.

Having good socks is important when you are running an excess of 40 miles a week. The higher your miles the more you will appreciate good socks.

There are all types of socks out there and it can be a little expensive to find the right ones for your feet. The only rule when buying running socks? No cotton.

Cotton doesn’t wick away moisture and it doesn’t dry quickly. Moisture equals blisters and blisters equal pain. For many runners, blister pain is enough to stop them from running for days until the blister gets a tougher layer of skin.

The toe socks by Injinji are great for people who get blisters on their toes. The socks are good at stopping the friction between toes. They do take some getting used to. You can buy various thicknesses too.

There are socks, which are thin and keep your feet cool. These socks generally dry quick preventing blisters once you have splashed through a puddle or creek.

Thicker socks help to keep your feet warm during winter months. If they are made with merino wool, they will dry if your feet do get wet.

Some socks have more elasticity around your arch, adding just a little more support and preventing slippage. Socks with a thin ventilating top and a cushioned bottom are the best of both worlds. There are form-fitting socks, which are made and labeled for your right and left foot individually. Socks with double layers are great for people who get blisters along their forefoot and heel.

If you have really smelly feet or feel bad for the other people in your van when you are running a relay, you can purchase odor fighting socks.

You use your feet a lot as a runner so get some damn good socks. Unhappy feet means an unhappy runner.

The Art of Taping Feet

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blister

Blisters, not all runners get them, but those who do know that prevention is key. One of the best ways I’ve found to prevent blisters on my long runs and during ultra events is by taping my feet the night before the race/run.

If you can prevent problems, you should make every effort to do so when running ultras (good advice in general, but especially here). There are many types of tape you can use on feet. I use different tapes on different areas and various circumstances. Before I put any tape on, I use tincture of benzoin. This makes the tape adhere to my skin and not move around even if I cross a river or two.

Hepafix is a thin fuzzy tape without stretch that can be used on toes without the need to tape all other toes to prevent rubbing skin off. I have also used Hepafix to prevent chafing on my back from hydration packs or shorts.

Kensio tape, like Rock Tape or KT tape, is very flexible and stretchy and a little thicker than Hepafix. It is rough on the outside, so if you use it on toes you will need to tape all of them. I use Kensio tape on my forefoot for “shorter” long runs. It easily bends and stretches to the shape of my foot.

Elastiskin is a thick tape. It is not stretchy and restricts foot movement a bit. It is very rough on the outside. Tape all skin touching the outside of the elastiskin. I use elastiskin on longer races.

When taping your feet, you need to make sure that there are no spaces between pieces of tape or you will get blisters between the pieces. You also need to make sure that the tape is smooth on your skin so that you do not get blisters under the tape. Some people tape from toe to heel other’s tape across. Cover any exposed tincture of benzoin with a powder so that your sock doesn’t stick to it and create a blister. Some runners will put a lubricant over the tape and then put their sock.

Since we are talking feet here, I will also mention toenails and callouses. Short toenails cause less problems. I round mine out, so they are less likely to stab into the toe next to them. Other runners, square them off. I’ve never tried toe caps to prevent toes rubbing together, but they are out there as an option. Toe socks can help reduce problems, but keep in mind it makes your toes wider and may cause rubbing issues with your shoes and the outside most toes.

Callouses, some runners love their callouses and claim they prevent blisters. In my experience, the bigger the callous the more likely it is that I will get a blister under the callous. A blister under a callous is a major issue because it is difficult to drain the blister. A large callous makes your shoe fit differently as well, which is why you are more likely to get a blister underneath it. If you cannot bear the thought of parting with your callous, at least keep them to a minimum.