Here’s the deal. I’m running a half marathon this weekend. I did my last training “long run” last weekend. Normally, my feet are fine, but I must have had some sand in my sock - and now I’ve got a gigantic blister on my foot. I was trying to leave it alone, but I’m nervous it won’t be gone in time. What do I do?
Also, I wanted to see if I could post a poll and I think it worked. YAY!!
Well I don’t run, but I play tennis. If it were me, I’d pop it.
Pop the blister but don’t rip the excess skin off. Sometimes when it’s a deep one the skin will sort of re-fuse itself together for a week or two until it naturally comes to the surface and the dead skin peels away. Those are the best kind.
I’d put two holes in it to make sure it continues draining as opposed to sealing and refilling.
It’ll hurt to walk on for maybe 15 minutes but usually feels like it’s gone after it dries up some.
Pop it? No. Lance it? Sure. Use a sterile needle on the side if you don’t get a doctor to do it.
Popping it like a zit is worse because it makes a bigger, less predictable tear. It can hurt more and more easily become infected. You don’t want either to be a problem when you are running.
And, yes, definitely don’t rip the skin off. That’s even worse.
Concurrence: drain it with as small a hole as possible, and put a heavily padded bandaid over it afterwards. Leave the skin intact.
Peroxide or bacitracin can’t hurt, either.
Once you drain it, there is a fantastic product that will make it not hurt at all.
Not sure if it would survive a marathon but it helped me through a 20k walk. Didn’t hurt a bit and stayed on.
Yes. And I have used moleskin, too, to cover it, which is wonderfully soft and padded.
Safety pin, a match, tincture of benzoin, and moleskin. If ya wanna be hardcore about it.
As I tell my patients:
Do not pop or poke the blister with a sharp object. Opening the blister makes it more likely to get infected and slows healing.
Put a dressing over it and do what you have to do.
But it hurts far more to walk on it unpopped then it does popped. And I have never gotten one infected. We sterilize whatever we use to pop it, and very gently lance it, usually in two places, then sterilize that part, put antibiotic ointment on it, cover it, and then put moleskin on it to protect/pad it.
I don’t mean to argue with you, you being the doctor and all, but the pain is reduced probably 95%. It is really hard to walk on, and when you still have many miles to go, sometimes you don’t have a choice… 
No disrespect to you or Qadgop intended, but doctors are generally more concerned with preventing repeat visits for complications (no matter how small the chance) than with pain. His advice is by-the-book. That doesn’t mean I would take it.
Yeah, what Anaamika said, including the discomfort of disagreeing with someone who knows 1000 times more about the subject than me and therefore is probably right :).
He asked what he should do. I told him. I understand he’ll do as he pleases. Same as most of my patients. I can live with that.
if you don’t drain it and keep irritating it then it will grow big.
drain it or not make a donut pad for it.
It sounds like draining it will give me a better chance of being able to run on it this weekend, but with a small increase in the risk of infection. I can live with that.
I was always told to leave it alone if it’s in a place where it won’t continue to be irritated and can be left alone. Drain it (sterile needle, etc.) if it would be irritated and pop on it’s own because of where it is. One that pops later from re-irritation will tear the skin and leave it more open to infection.
So basically, blister on the foot–drain. blister anywhere else–leave it alone.
But it looks like, according to the Dr on board, my info is out of date.
I think you’ve already skotched the run this weekend, because it’s unlikely it’ll be healed enough to run on by the weekend.
Leave it alone if you can. If it’s painful, use a sterile needle to drain it.
That said, I remember a doctor saying that the single most common cause for ER visits was “bathroom surgery”. Something to keep in mind, even if not completely accurate.
Those really are great, and there are a few similar products of other brands, with different shapes, and so far, every kind I’ve tried has worked great. Especially for something like a blister or burn where the outer layers of skin are gone. They’re water-tight, too, so good if you’re going to get wet. These basically make an artificial blister, but not a painfully pressurized one.
I can’t remember the details now, but a couple years ago I had some kind of repeated injury that these worked wonders on.
NOOOOOOOOO!!! Say it ain’t so!!!
I agree but for one question. Where is the blister? If it’s on a load-bearing part of the foot, forget the race. Otherwise, you could pop and pad it(sorry, QtM) and grit your teeth.