When I’m treating blisters, it feels like competitors and on-lookers assume I have magic powers. While I’d like to take the credit, there is nothing special about lancing a blister and putting a fancy bandaid on it. Nothing at all. This is school-nurse first-aid stuff. It provides negligible relief and is purely done for infection prevention purposes. The magic comes from implementing the prevention during treatment. This is what provides meaningful pain relief and stops the blister from getting worse. Literally anyone could be a master blister medic. One could argue that, as an ultrarunner and race competitor, it’s your job to become your own master blister medic.
This Is IMPORTANT, For Me And For You!
If I treated your blisters in Adelaide, you will have seen me implement the prevention while I was treating you. This is IMPORTANT to me, and IMPORTANT for you. This is the reason why I attend this event. I want to teach you how to prevent this blister next time. Because blisters are highly predictable. And every blister has an identifiable cause, and a foolproof prevention.
The prevention I implemented for you during treatment is the prevention you should have had in place before you even got to the venue, and what you need to do for your next event, before you get to the start line. If you’d implemented this prevention before you even got to the start line, this blister would never have eventuated. This is why I say competitors suffer with blisters unnecessarily. Every single blister is preventable. But you have to bring your prevention A-game right at the start, not save it til things get bad.
More Than Popping Blisters
The magic is not in popping a blister. The magic is in implementing the thing that stops the blister-causing shear (this is what takes the pain away and stops it from getting worse). THAT IS THE PREVENTION you could/should have had in place to prevent this blister in the first place.
Podiatry Degree Not Needed!
You don’t have to be a podiatrist to be a master at preventing (or treating) blisters. The truth behind my magical blister medic powers is, I have THE BEST prevention gear; and I know exactly WHERE and HOW to implement it, based on the cause of the blister. The 2 most valuable items on the face of the planet in terms of blister prevention, in my humble opinion are, ENGO Blister Patches and Gel Toe Protectors. These products make me look good. But ANYONE can buy them. And ANYONE can use them. So ANYONE can be a magical blister medic, just like me.
Worst Case Scenario
If I cannot use either of these products, I am severely hamstrung in the relief I can give you at a race. That’s why I put the word out a few days before the race when it looked like it was going to be raining on day 1. I was terrified that ENGO Patches were going to be struck from my box of magic tricks.
From my perspective and yours, the worse case scenario is being unable to use ENGO Blister Patches or Gel Toe Protectors. This happens in the following situtions:
- Once you have a blister, especially of it is torn or deroofed, gel toe sleeves are taken out of the equation. Occluding a weepy blister with this material poses too much risk of maceration. We might get away with applying an island dressing first, then the gel toe protector. But knowing the lack of dressing changes performed by competitors at this event, leaving soggy dressings on blisters for hours/days at a time, the risk is significant.
- If it rains, or your shoes are wet for any other reason, ENGO Patches are taken out of the equation. Plus, if you use lubricants or powders in your shoes, ENGO Patches won’t stick, and are out of the equation. They need a completely clean and dry surface to stick to.
So, the moral of the story is, don’t save your best blister efforts until things are dire. Don’t even save them til you have a blister. And don’t save them for a rainy day. Get them in before the start line. Don’t even wait for the hotspot sensation.
Rookie Error - The Danger In Waiting For Hotspots
If you wait until you feel a hotspot, you’ve likely missed a trick. You usually only have a very small window of opportunity to act during the hotspot stage. Even at this event where you pass by the medic tent/your own tent every 1.426km, a hotspot can turn blister-inducing in much less than that distance. Plus, it’s difficult to stop if you’re in the zone and haven’t planned a break at that point. Or, if you’re relying on me for your blister interventions, I might not even be there at that time (I only attend 9am–5pm). So, you need to have all the gear, know where it is and what you’re going to do. In my experience, it’s far too easy to ignore the sensation, or procrastinate while you’re mulling this over in your head, and then it’s too late.
Other reasons relying on the hotspot sensation is a rookie error:
- Not every blister gives you that early warning called the hotspot sensation.
- You might be dealing with other things in your head and not feel the hotspot sensation.
- Don’t mistake a sting or pain as a hotspot. While not every sensation of heat is a hotspot, the sting or pain is more likely the initiation and worsening of the tear under the skin surface. The visible blister is not the initial blister injury - it’s the invisible tear under the skin surface. It can take 2 hours for that torn area to fill with fluid before the actual blister becomes visible. So, you might take your shoe off, not see a blister, and assume you’re taking action at the hotspot stage, only to see a visible blister the next time you look. You’re going to mistakenly assume the prevention you implemented did not work, when in fact, your blister was already on its way.
As Soon As You Have a Blister
As soon as you have a blister, you now have to concern yourself with infection prevention, dressing changes etc. Plus, you have to do the prevention anyway. So, just do the prevention before you start and be done with it. Not just any old prevention – the very best prevention available, that you’ve tested and know works.
Resources to Help You Bring Your Blister Prevention A-Game
If you need a hand in upping your Blister Prevention game, delve into these resources:
- The Blister Prevention website – use the learning hub
- Fix My Foot Blisters Fast course – my BEST resource helping you find the advice relevant to YOUR blisters, fast.
- Telehealth consultation with me – Either get this on its own, or get it free when you enroll in Fix My Foot Blisters Fast (reach out if you haven’t used yours yet)!
Finally, a request. Would you be so kind as to share this with a couple of your ultramarathon friends. That way, the word might catch on a little quicker. And if that happens, it will help me feel like I'm not hitting my head against a brick wall. 🧱🤦🤕
Thank you so much. 🙏 It really is a pleasure to help you guys enjoy your sport more by taking this one injury out of the equation. 🙌 Ultrarunning is tough enough as it is, without having to put up with unecessary s#!% 💩 (a small nod to the gastro sufferers, of which I was one on the way back to Esperance) 😂
