Dealing with blisters

[Manuka]

The blisters themselves are always annoying, but also remember that prevention is huge. Blisters on your hands shouldn't be so much of a problem long term as you gain callouses, but your feet won't develop blisters if you have proper footwork. It's the twisting while moving forward sort of friction that will blister your feet. Go straight and properly and blisters shouldn't happen most of the time.

Prevention is much better than cure.

But if cure is where you are, then drain and tape.
When the skin over the (drained) blister starts to tear or come loose, clip the dead skin off with small nail scissors and toughen the new skin by dabbing with alcohol.
The alcohol will dry the new (raw) skin and toughen it. Stings a bit so you might want to be sitting down the first time you try.

[UnimportantHero]

So the emergency medicine side of me wants to pop in for a quick moment to recommend that small scissors used to cut away blisters should also be sterilized in some alcohol - at least - just in case. Hydrogen peroxide should not be used repeatedly on one open wound, as it will dry out the wound and make healing more difficult for the body to complete. Alcohol is good. Betadine is best. Unless the blister is huge, and it is on the toes like mine are, adhesive strips (Bandaids, ehherm) should be just fine, and their pads will do a good job at absorbing fluids without drying it out too much. Sterilize sterilize sterilize, and try to flush out any dirt or whatnot that might find its way into the blister wound, rather than abrading with a washcloth or what not. Holding the foot under a running bath tub faucet would probably work well enough.

I am not sure about alcohol toughening up exposed dermis by drying it out. Dermis that has been exposed soon cornifies, and it is not the dryness which makes a callus what it is; it is instead an increased thickness of the stratum corneum. More layers of cornified tissues being added than those which are typical for that area. It is actually continuing friction and pressure which prompts the body to increase the thickness of the stratum corneum - not dryness - and so calluses are formed in much the same way blisters are formed, but to a lesser degree. All the same, the alcohol will keep it from becoming infected so alcohol swab away.

Actually... now that I think about it... drying out the surface tissue with alcohol would increase the amount of friction that it experiences, which could lead to increased callus growth. Had not considered that before.

[CauseImSmaller]

Hmm, almost a month and a bit into Kendo... I don't get blisters anymore, instead my whole callus got ripped off while doing Haya Suburi lol. Time does help with the blister problem :P