blister annoyance prevention

[nodachi]

So you see, I have this little blister, and usually I am the type of person who can't ignore it, usually picks at it and exposes the sensitive skin underneath, which will annoy me serverely at my next practice.

So, ignoring the obvious of saying leave it alone, which I am sure someone who wants to up their post count will do anyway :) , how do you treat those little blisters? I am thinking that the usual of popping it will make tomorrow's practice annoying with the minor irritation of the open blister, but I am also thinking that if I don't do something about it, then it will pop open during the practice tomorrow anyway, so how do I prevent this small inconvenience?

I may sound dumb asking this, but it is my first blister after 8 or so months of practice. Enlighten me...

[ben]

You can pop it with a sterile sewing needle, then use some Betadine or other disinfectant on the wound and then bandage/tape as normal. This saves it popping during practice and leaving your bodily fluids all over the dojo gfloor which in this day and age constitutues a minute but still very real health risk.

I assume it's on your foot, but even if it's on your hand, popping and cleaning the wound to keep it sterile is still a good policy if use is going to mean it pops eventually anyway.

HTH

b

[JSchmidt]

Hmm, I got the same tendency:D. If it's a small one, I usually ignore it., but will make sure to trim the edges, so I don't tear of more skin during practice.
Bigger ones, I slap on one of those blister-bandaids for a day or 2. (second-skin type thingies). While they normally recommend leaving them on until the fall offf themselves (3-4 days), I find that the skin will become way too soft, so exposing it again after a day or so will harden it sufficiently to survive the next practice.

Jakob

[mingshi]

Here's a temporary solution to blister under the foot if you want to practice straight away. I learnt it from a Japanese girl who trains 5 times a week -- so it's professionally done :D

1. Pull/cut out dead skin and clean up
2. Cut a piece of plaster slightly larger than "the area"
3. Stick it in
4. Use a lighter and slightly burn the plaster so as to melt the sticky bits
5. Spray some water on top and you are ready to go.

Though I am sure there was an article in one of the KW mag you can read about blister treatment.

[nodachi]

Plaster???? Like... wall plaster??? Or are you refering to something different?

[Inouye02]

i think she learned from fred flinstone sensei ...

yabadabadoo

[angryshinai]

I was getting some pritty big ones on the ball of my left foot. When i would first get the blister it would always be better if I poped it and cut away the dead skin. That kinda stops it from tarring the skin off during training. I have however come accros this stuff called hemp cream. I use it in a more preventative manner. I Just put a little bit on each time after ive had a shower.
Havnt had any problems scince... You can get hemp cream from the "body shop" Im not sure about how many stores are around the world, but i saw them in the UK and some European countries...

[kendoka_ca]

For those blister sufferers that haven't discovered Spenco's "2nd Skin", check out this product.

http://www.spenco.com/moistbrn.html

It is a great product when you have one of those horrible blisters form hell where the sub-epidermal layer is raw and exposed. I have found it to be a great product. It is marketed primarily as a "burn pad", but i have used it for years for tough blisters. Hardest part is figuring out how to keep it in place on the ball of your foot for practice.

[mingshi]

Plaster as in Elastoplast (http://www.elastoplast.co.uk/firstaid_bleeding.html) ?

[Karaken]

This is what I used to do..( Got blister every week in the beginning )

The bottom of your feet has usually very thick skin so if you catch your blister early ( not yet popped ), inside skin is too tender to be exposed. So wrap your blister by placing pad over it and tightly wrap with tapes ( pressuring is important ) and not too violent in practicing or take few days off ( I only practiced Sat and Sun so I had 5 days in between ) then the fluid will eventuall disappear. The dead skin appears to become live skin again but that's an illusion. However, what it does is protecting new skin underneath that is being hardened. Eventually dead skin will peel off or rip so you have to cut them off but by then inner skin is strong enough to be exposed. All in 5 days normally for me..

Center and correct step won't give me blisters.

[StylophonePet]

I had a blister on my hand, haven't had one on my feet "yet"....

[Kendoka]

Don't cut off the dead skin !

Leave it to protect the damaged area.

If you want to train before it heals (and don't we all !!??), then bandage the area (see the latest and previous KW) and include a thin layer of padding or similar on the blister, to reduce the likelihood of ripping the skin off with the bandage.

Before and after training, keep the injury clean and disinfected.

To prevent further blisters. analyse your footwork, is it correct?
If not be brutal and fix it.

Keep the skin on your foot moist and supple, remove hard or excessively calloussed skin and maybe apply some moisturiser.


Richard

[Pokie]

I think getting blisters is the way to go in kendo..more callous reflects experience *pokie cracks up laughing*

[nollaig]

Suffer
I pop the blisters and hope I don't bleed too much at the next session
During weekend seminars by Sunday afternoon my feet are generally a disaster area
at one seminar I was leaving a bloody footprint after me at
every step.
The Japanese Sensi were trained me till I nearly fainted
but after all that I haven't really had a problem

Pop the Blisters

Just keep your feet clean and dry for as long as possible

and go bare foot for as long as possible

[Jerry Wellbrock]

There is an excellent article in Kendo World Issue 4 by Dr. Saburo on blisters in the section titled Kendo Clinic. If you don't subscribe to Kendo World then maybe you can borrow a copy and find out what an excellent magazine it is! Who knows you may even want to order Kendo World for more interesting articles and information.:old_man:

[Hai_hai]

I used Dr. Scholl's blister treatment when blisters tore off and sensitive skin below was exposed.

[Phlebas]

I tried Band-Aid brand "Liquid Bandage" on my latest blister and it seems to work pretty well. When I go back to practice next week I will use two coats of the stuff and some sports tape to cover up. If it fails to stand up to practice, I'll post here to let everyone know! : )

[emitbrownne]

Originally posted by Kendoka

To prevent further blisters. analyse your footwork, is it correct?
If not be brutal and fix it.


Excellent point.

Also check the surface on which you train. If its a varnished wooden floor you may get blisters even if your footwork is correct, due to friction between sweaty feet and the floor.

I've been given a great tip of using talc before you train (similar to dusting your feet before training). I tried this last night and it made a lot of difference.

only a small blister on my big toe... but thats due to my dodgy footwork.

Pop em.. keep em clean... dont pick at the skin, just remove what would snag on your next session.

thanks for listening

[kendomushi]

When I started doing kendo I would end up with a 2-3cm thick, 4cm diameter, blood filled blister on my left foot every other week. Time, patience, and attention to footwork as well as wearing a tabi for a few months while I was corrected were what it took to cure the problem.