Tuesday, May 5, 2009

My First Real Running Blister


I know runners often get blisters on their feet, but for some lucky reason I have never had that problem ...until now. I got one on the outside of my left big toe on my long run Sunday, and it grew on my short run yesterday. What do you do about them? Pop them? This one appears to have a mix of fluid and blood in it. Cover them with band-aids? Just leave them alone?

I am doing another short, easy 3 miles this afternoon and I don't want to make it worse. Sorry for the toe pic for any of you foot-haters out there!

18 comments:

Mel-2nd Chances said...

ouch! i'm pretty sure you're not supposed to pop blisters because of risk of infection, even though i hear most runners do :) I try to leave mine as long as possible.

Marlene said...

What Mel said. :)

Carolina John said...

band aids, and some bigger shoes. i usually get running shoes 1 and a half sizes bigger than my dress shoes just so my feet can swell up while running without rubbing blisters or losing toenails or anything painful like that.

Kristin @ The Southern Summer said...

Matt always takes care of my blisters, he is a master! If it is really big and ready to pop, he sterlizes a needle (or knife) and pops it, drains it, then puts alcohol in it to dry it out/clean it. It hurts but it works like a charm! I had a really bad double blister from the marathon and he fixed it right up for me, and the next day it didn't hurt at all and now it's pretty much gone.

But, if it has a thick layer of skin over it I would leave it alone until it busts on its own.

This is a pretty disgusting comment, but I hope it helps!

Jess said...

Yeah, don't pop them. It cn get infected. Just let it naturally deflate on its own.

And next time, maybe use some Body Glide on your bare feet before you put on socks and shoes. As the temps rise with summer, your feet (as well as everything else) do more rubbing because they swell more. Which, if you're not already running in a shoe that's a half size to full size larger, you should.

Brian said...

ow ow ow ow ow, bandaid please!! :)

Alisa said...

Yuck! Sorry chica! My new shoes have left me with far fewer blisters.

I usually drain them with a sanitized needle and pour a bunch of bactine on them then cover with bandaid.

Lindsay said...

ok. i just had this situation myself, but on my pinky toe. i let it go for almost 2 weeks because i figured it would go away on it's own. after 2 weeks it wasn't getting any smaller, nor was the fluid going anywhere, so i sterilized a needle and poked it. i covered it with one of the "blister bandaids" which work well (they hold on GREAT and do not fall off) but they will pull the skin off with it (once it's popped) when you remove it the next day. at least that's what it did to me. didn't hurt though, 'cause it was all the dead skin from the blister. anyway i kept it covered until it was pretty normal-looking again/not tender.

so, i'd go with try to let it heal itself, but if it turns out to not go away/get better you may have to resort to surgery! good luck :)

Sarah said...

Toooooe pick!

(hehehe could not resist a Cutting Edge reference!)

Denise said...

Yea for us showing our lovely blood blisters!! I usually let mine go and it dries up in there. Gotta figure something out, though because this hurt SO bad on race day!

MCM Mama said...

I try to leave mine alone. I have really weird toes, so I get blisters frequently. When I have one, I try to make sure I use a ton of Glide on my toes before running and that usually keeps them from getting worse.

joyRuN said...

Knock on wood, I haven't had them, so I really have no idea what to do with them. Good luck & congrats on the milestone?

Anonymous said...

I hate blisters, luckily I don't get them very often. Good luck with it, hope it pops on its own.

Marcy said...

I've only had maybe 2?! With both I've stuck a (sanitized) needle to it, let it drain and cover it (don't take the skin off it though)

Amy said...

Aw yeah, a blood blister! I think you're NOT supposed to pop them, but I totally do (it's kinda fun...is that weird? It's like popping a zit). Just sterilize a needle or safety pin and poke a hole in it to let the blood drain out.

Melanie said...

I ALWAYS pop mine and then clean it and cover it with a bandaid, and then change the bandaid daily. I know people say it's a no no, but I think they heal faster this way. You just have to keep it clean and covered. Also, the special blister band-aids rock!

No Longer Using said...

ewwww! is that a blood blister????? it also kind of looks like a bruise. VASELINE!!! (i put it in blister-likely places before runs).

kilax said...

I always get them on the top of my second toe and I always pop them. ;) But like Melanie said, I don't think you're supposed to!