Blisters, Triathlon and Summer

The triathlete Helena Herrero explains how to prevent and treat blisters in summer.

 

 

We have all suffered the consequences of suffering some blister in the feet produced by the friction with the shoes especially when the heat arrives and the foot goes in direct contact with the shoes or slippers.

In principle it is a minor injury, but it is necessary to treat them correctly since they can be very annoying, and they can even stop us from getting dressed normally and even train.

Common places:

 

• On the sides and under the toes
• On the tips of your fingers
• At the birth of the nail
• Around the heels
• Along the internal longitudinal arch (inner edge)
• Under the base of the metatarsals

As we can see they can appear anywhere on the foot and can be filled with bloody or transparent liquid. This liquid is nothing more than a set of leukocytes and other substances. Normally they are serohematic when they are associated with repetitive traumatisms such as the race or repeated friction with force as the bike's shoe.

 

Prevention: To prevent them there are a series of rules that we can fulfill:

- Use of thin socks; of natural fabrics, that are little washed and placed well stretched, breathable and without seams. The HOKO-SPORT brand has a basic bi-color sock for a price on the 3 e that gives fantastic results for long distances.

- A good foot hydration the previous days. The better the condition of the skin on our feet and the more complete it is, the more difficult it will be to deteriorate.

- Use of talcum powder, petroleum jelly, etc…. In racing I always see athletes using large amounts of talcum powder or Vaseline on the edges or inside the shoes. Neither of the two are options that I would use. The first because with the heat ambienté vaselina sucks the shoe and we only get to dirty this; the second because talc causes the foot to slip increasing friction inside the shoe and also if we throw water over something usually falls inside the shoe that added to the talc forms a smelly looking barrel. 

My option is to use Vaseline or the anti-chafing cream on the feet. before the test in the areas where we prevent the blister can come out, knuckles of the fingers and edges, side of the feet and heels. Spiuk has an anti-chafing cream very pleasant to the touch, nothing fat that forms a waterproof film on the skin.

Transmission: 

The treatment of the blister is more effective the faster it is:

1) First you have to drain the liquid from the blister, without squeezing this. We can puncture it in several places with a sterile needle and let it evacuate by itself or also pass with a disinfected needle a fine thread through the ampoule and leave it there enough that we lose it or the ampoule is practically cured. After this disinfect with an antiseptic.

2) Never cut the skin off the raised vial or pull it. The skin is our first defensive barrier, if we deprive ourselves of this we can complicate the wound a lot and even produce an infection would be and long to heal.

3) If we have followed the steps and we have to keep on walking, how can we keep the blister from rubbing? We all know that in the market there are silicone or breathable plasters; I advise against both. The former have the disadvantage that with the sweat and moisture can move or peel off and also the skin is very wet, slowing down much healing, the second also take off and are usually not enough to avoid friction with the footwear. In addition we can both take the skin to take them off and leave them in the air.

I recommend spot-type broad felt discharges, which leave the wound in the air and avoid direct friction of the wound with the footwear, as indicated by the photos.

Well you see that apparently a blister is a lesion without clinical relevance but that can be very painful and even complicate and become a major wound. The wounds on the feet are dangerous, they can take a long time to heal and become infected and ulcerate quickly, so it is important to prevent and treat them properly, I hope I have helped them!

http://helenaherrero.blogspot.com

http://clinicapodologica.blogspot.com