Blisters on your feet? Here is how to prevent them!
As soon as you use your new safety shoes for eight hours a day and make the same movements several times in a row, blisters are bound to appear on your feet. In particular, activities where you are constantly moving can quickly lead to blisters. When shoes and socks get wet due to rain, snow or frost, blisters on the feet are bound to happen. The same applies if the upper material of the shoes changes due to heat or cold. Blisters are not only painful and annoying, but also a gateway for germs! We have put together six practical tips and tricks for targeted prevention of painful pressure points and foot blisters.
When do blisters form?
Blisters are fluid-filled skin lesions caused by pressure or friction. A blister usually starts as a pressure point and then develops from a fluid to a blood blister. Even though blisters appear to many to be minor “aches and pains”, they are annoying injuries that should be taken seriously and can cause a great deal of pain. Whereas they develop very quickly, they can take several days to heal properly. It takes an average of one week to heal a blister on the foot.
The cycle of a blister
Blisters usually go through five phases:
- Chafing: The skin is reddened and irritated by pressure, heat, moisture and friction.
- Blister formation: a blister forms when the top skin layer is loosened from that beneath it. The cavity in between fills with liquid.
- Open wound: If the blister is chafed, an open wound will form and may become infected.
- Incrustation: When the wound dries out, a crust forms that hinders the formation of new skin cells. The wound therefore heals only slowly.
- Healing: New tissue forms, the wound is completely healed.
How to protect yourself from blisters!
Tip 1: Choose suitable safety footwear
To protect yourself against blisters, choose safety footwear that is comfortable to wear. Make sure they don’t pinch and don’t constrict your toes – especially the big toe and the toe next to it. The toes should also not be squeezed from the sides. Likewise, shoes that are too big can lead to blisters if you keep slipping out of your heels while walking. Break in your safety shoes during everyday use and make sure that they fit well.
Would you like to make your safety shoes more comfortable or fit better, for example with the help of a new inlay sole? Then we have an important tip for you: From a legal point of view, safety shoes may not be modified in their special construction and safety features. Accordingly, the wearer should not use inlay soles of his/her choice because this would technically change the shoe, and it would no longer correspond to the type-tested status.
Only professional orthopaedic inlay soles are permitted as a correct method to make safety shoes more comfortable. For example, take a look at our semi-orthopaedic inlay soles such as SensiCare Medium. Our inlay soles concept provides soothing relief for feet that are constantly stressed at work. The safety shoes may also need to be orthopaedically adjusted individually to your feet, although legal conditions must be observed. Your orthopaedic shoemaker can find more information here.
Tip 2: It’s the sock that counts
In addition to the choice of a suitable safety shoe, the socks worn underneath are also of great importance. Yes, you heard right! The shoes can only be worn comfortably with suitable types of socks. Again, you should choose a size that fits well. Socks should always fit snugly to the feet without constricting them. Socks that are too big also create sore spots and can hinder your work. In addition, a skin-friendly textile material should be used that is breathable.
Our Thermo Socks, for example, are breathable work socks for winter. They ensure warm, dry feet – even on cold days. For activities with recurring stress on certain regions of the foot, we advisse purchasing socks with special reinforcements. These can be used directly on the sensitive areas and thus increase comfort enormously. Our Perfect Fit Socks for example have an anatomically shaped footbed. Matched to the right and left foot, they ensure an optimal fit. The Thermo Socks mentioned earlier have a heel, toe and sole reinforcement.
Tip 3: Keep feet warm and dry
During a long day at work, you should also make sure that your feet do not get wet or damp. Wet or damp skin easily forms pressure points and salty foot sweat makes burst blisters especially unpleasant. Therefore, make sure to use breathable shoes and socks that keep your feet warm and dry.
Tip 4: Take a foot bath and care for your feet
A cold foot bath is a good remedy before heavy use, so that the skin can tighten, and the blood circulation is stimulated. If the heat is well removed by the circulation, the feet sweat less. It’s also important for you to care for your feet after a long day at work, and also to care for your shoes. You should be careful with chemical foot care products such as foot powder. For a long time, foot powder was considered a miracle cure for preventing blisters. However, many people do not tolerate it and the effect is also controversial.
Tip 5: Apply blister plaster or tape to the pressure area
Unfortunately, pressure points can never be completely avoided, especially with new shoes. Until the shoe is worn in and has adapted to the feet, pressure points can quickly occur. Without proper treatment, these quickly become a blister. A pressure point is already painful or irritated, and the skin is often reddish in color. If pressure marks appear, you should therefore cover them immediately with a special blister plaster or a piece of tape. With special blister plasters, the padding is thicker than with a normal plaster. This reduces the pressure from the safety shoes.
A blister plaster also does not stick to the wound if the blister is already open. However, it should be changed more frequently, optimally once or twice daily. Otherwise, a layer of wound secretion and germs will form. Many protective plasters can be precisely cut to size to prevent blisters and are not visible even in open safety sandals such as PURE Easy ESD S1 .
Tip 6: Do not open blisters at work (very important!).
In any case, refrain from deliberately opening a blister at work without medical equipment or medical advice. Blisters collect blister fluid, possibly also blood. If the skin over the blister is intact, germs cannot enter the body. It is true that after opening the wound fluid can escape and the feeling of pressure disappears. On the other hand, the blister becomes an open wound – and thus a gateway for germs. Opening the blister is only advisable if wound care and disinfection are ensured. Whether the injury heals better with or without opening – even doctors and wound experts disagree on this.
