A blister will first appear as a red spot and will be hot to the touch. According to Cody Lundin in, “When All Hell Breaks Loose” this is the best and easiest time to deal with blisters.
Lundin writes,
“Stop, take off your shoes, dry out your socks if possible, and apply a piece of first-aid tape, duct tape, “second skin,” or adhesive felt (moleskin) over the hot spot. Make sure to cover a larger area than necessary so the dressing doesn’t peel off. Don’t use a regular bandage over a hot spot as the non-adherent pad will continue to rub.”
Once the blister is formed create a donut shape with moleskin material to relieve the pressure on the spot of the blister. If you can stay in one place for a few days and stay off your feet barefoot for a few days at home your blister will heal naturally.
If you have to boogie then you’ll want to lance the blister around the edges with a sterilized needle. Sterilize a needle with a flame from a match or a lighter, then push the fluid out of the blister. Wash with antibacterial soap and apply a non-stick bandage.
An open blister wound leaves an entry for all types of nasty bacteria that can be life threatening. Tetanus and Staph are the most commonly contracted bacteria through open wounds including blisters.
The importance of maintaining clean, dry feet
The importance of maintaining clean, dry feet cannot be stressed enough. This will prevent and retard the growth of blisters as well as allow the blister to heal.
General Patton, one of history’s most renown generals, wrote in his book, “Patton’s Principles” that the most important thing a soldier should do was to keep his feet clean and dry. Prolonged exposure to moisture will lead to “trench foot” where the flesh on your feet root and fall away. Although it was known in ancient war campaigns the importance of keeping your feet clean and dry it has not always been easy to keep up hygienic conditions. In World War II there were 11,000 cases of trench foot in 1944 alone in U.S. forces.
Blisters, although a common minor injury, can literally disable a person from continuing on his journey. After a major disaster or in a wilderness survival scenario this could actually be a fatal affliction when a need to get to water or shelter is of tantamount importance. A major disaster situation can very likely occur when you’re at work wearing your “Gators” or your high heels. These shoes make it impossible to walk long distances and create blisters on your feet.
Bacterial Infections Contracted Through Broken Skin
Humans contract tetanus and staph infections from open wounds, like blisters, that come into contact with tetanus or staph spores. Tetanus bacteria take about 10 days to incubate. An example of a situation where this might occur would be the open blister coming into contact with sewage contained in the flooding that hurricanes create.
These spores are commonly found in soil and manure. If you sustain a wound thoroughly clean the area and remove any dead tissue. If it has been 10 years or more since your last shot then you should get a “single booster injection” the day of the injury. In severe cases where a patient has not been previously immunized doctors recommend at least three doses of single booster injections. 58,000 babies die from this disease in developing countries with poor sanitation infrastructures.