wildernessmaster
Lil-Rokslider
In Part 1 I discussed prevention, now we move on to treatment.
Treatment
------------
I know, I know this is what you really hard core Moes (who say "screw prevention") want to know. So here we go.
Consult your physician. I am not a doctor, just stayed at a holiday inn last night. All lawsuits should be filed in my home state of UChoseToDoItIdiot
Seriously do not treat this as medical advice and don't hassle me later about what I am going to share. It works and it has saved a bunch of guys.
Treatment Rule 1 - Don't pop the blisters, unless...
Generally speaking I would opt to not pop the blister, unless the blister was producing secondary problems (so big it was causing other blisters to form due to malformation of my foot in my boot). Remember a blister is actually an appropriate preventive defense the body utilizes - ITS FREAKING PROTECTING ITSELF from more harm.
I have operated for long periods of time with a blister intact and doing its proper job. In fact it was so intact that a secondary blister formed over the primary blister due to the body thinking it was "normal part" of my foot.
If you pop blisters (before you need or have to):
1. You open a wound. Before its popped its a closed wound that is "clean".
2. You expose flesh not ready to be exposed or to take friction. This is a biggie. I have literally seen the "friction wound" result in deeper and deeper tissue damage - to the point of reaching tendons, nerves, etc.
3. You take away the cushion the body is giving you.
Treatment Rule 2 - If it pops itself, or you have to pop it, drain it and remove the outer blister skin.
When you must pop a blister or one pops by itself, make sure you drain it thoroughly and then remove the blister flesh and fully expose the underlying tissue. Some people and medical professionals differ here and say leave the outer covering. I am telling you don't. While it does help protect the raw flesh and can even cushion still - my experience has found the liability of infection that leads to much worse is greater. The friction of movement across the outer layer (left) acts a big pump pulling and pushing microbes into what can become an anaerobic space. On the other hand, while it hurts a bit more, and you need to keep the area clean - the friction on the raw flesh actually performs mechanical cleaning. There is no hidden anaerobic spaces.
Now soldier (sorry, hunter) on right?
Wrong!
Treatment Rule 3 - Put freaking moleskin (or athletic tape) on it either way
That's right all you hardcore buttheads... Regardless of closed or open, put some super science heat shield device (like moleskin) on that blister. If its closed do a donut of moleskin (or build a donut with layers tape). If its open just put slap a layer over the full open wound+. You wanna slow down the friction burn!
Don't get hard headed about this. Almost 100% of the guys I saw end up as blister casualties skipped this step.
Treatment Rule 4 - Keep it clean, when you can let it dry sans covering
Yep, its your responsibility to keep this sucking chest (ummmm foot) wound clean. Otherwise it might get infected. And whenever you can let it dry out so the new skin starts evolving into working skin. Glassing for a few hours, prop the foot up, peel the moleskin/tape off, air.
Ok Ok Ok Ok Ok Ok.... (can you hear the excitement???)
NOW here IS the moment you have been waiting for...
There is a definitive, kill-the-blister treatment (and NO I am not going to be a smarmy bastard and say - "Prevention")... Seriously there is one way to put a blister in trash can and stop it in its tracks.
First a few disclaimers...
I am not a doctor, I only stayed at a holiday inn last nigh.
Forward all lawsuits to: 100 BitEmyArse, YouSuck, NC USA
Oh - and this treatment is not for the faint of heart or for those with a low tolerance for pain. I provide it only for you hardcore Moes who are 9 miles in packing 2 elk out solo and, god help you, you must. I have done it twice and it IS a definitive-no-more-blister-problem-hunt-on treatment. But I also have done it on some hardcore people who nearly beat my arse after I did because...
IT STINGS LIKE ALL HELL.
Super Squirrel Secret Treatment: Inject tincture of benzoin in the blister.
Instant cure.
But oh it feels lovely.
So for those of you who don't know what tincture of benzoin is, its an old school antiseptic adhesive used in bandages. So the substance is bacterial static (stops bacteria from growing) to antiseptic (kills the beasts) and has an adhesive element. Ok a note on that last part (adhesive) - it is freaking concrete for your skin.
Once again for those hard of reading... It hurts - for about 5 min. How much? Well, I was once bitten by a black window spider (highly memorable) and it felt like someone took a red hot poker to my skin. That type of hurt but deeper.
How to do this... If I am going deep, I take a small diabetic needle and some tincture. If it is a solo, lightweight, super fly backpacking hunting, I may draw it up and wrap it up good (for cleanliness). If I do have to take it pre-drawn as you will shortly learn, you will need to take a secondary diabetic needle. Here's what you do:
1. take the undrawn needle and slide it into the blister fluid and remove as much fluid as possible. The best way I have found is close to good flesh and with a slight angle above perpendicular to the skin. With a diabetic needle you may need to suck the fluid out a few times because they don't hold a lot per filling.
2. Do not remove the blister outer cover. Leave fully intact.
3. Once near or fully drained, draw up some tincture of benzoin. Fill the syringe full.
4. Slide the needle into the drained blister area and inject the tincture fully across the exposed flesh service. You want to be under the outer blister bubble part but not into the new flesh. If its a big blister you may have to inject, move to another location, inject... You want the exposed flesh coated in tincture. It both protects it (bacterial wise) and coats it against further friction abuse.
5. Gently push the outer covering down and tack it to the tincturized flesh.
6. Build a donut (tape or moleskin) around it for the first day to allow it to seal fully.
I would not do this "on the run" - in other words when I still have some hiking to do. I would do it in camp so it can soak in and harden over night. You can do it on the run - if you have to - but you will get mixed results. The friction can squish out the tincture before it seals. You end up having to do it again.
And yes you can do it on a popped blister as well. Just try to do everything to keep the outer skin of the blister in tact to form the seal.
What you have essentially done is bio-sealed the outer skin to the newly exposed skin - in other words performed molecular surgery
After it seals and dries fully, the new blister will be slightly raised (not nearly as bad as it was), will look like black (or dark red) skin, and will turn rubber hard. And that spot on your body will stop bullets. Seriously, I learned this technique during the first few weeks of my special forces phase 1 training - I had a massive killer blister. 2 years later I finally had to take a knife and cut the fused layer out. I never had another blister there.
Let me caveat this... There may be some of you who are allergy sensitive to tincture of benzoin. It is not used as commonly, I believe, due this fact. So before you go relying on this, put some on your skin at home and make sure you don't have secondary reactions. That would be some really really bad juju if it happened in the field to you!
For those of you fun or sarcasm impaired, I apologize in advance for the tone of my posting. For those of you who get it, hunt on. Hope this helps you out!
Luke Stephens aka Wilderness Master
Treatment
------------
I know, I know this is what you really hard core Moes (who say "screw prevention") want to know. So here we go.
Consult your physician. I am not a doctor, just stayed at a holiday inn last night. All lawsuits should be filed in my home state of UChoseToDoItIdiot
Seriously do not treat this as medical advice and don't hassle me later about what I am going to share. It works and it has saved a bunch of guys.
Treatment Rule 1 - Don't pop the blisters, unless...
Generally speaking I would opt to not pop the blister, unless the blister was producing secondary problems (so big it was causing other blisters to form due to malformation of my foot in my boot). Remember a blister is actually an appropriate preventive defense the body utilizes - ITS FREAKING PROTECTING ITSELF from more harm.
I have operated for long periods of time with a blister intact and doing its proper job. In fact it was so intact that a secondary blister formed over the primary blister due to the body thinking it was "normal part" of my foot.
If you pop blisters (before you need or have to):
1. You open a wound. Before its popped its a closed wound that is "clean".
2. You expose flesh not ready to be exposed or to take friction. This is a biggie. I have literally seen the "friction wound" result in deeper and deeper tissue damage - to the point of reaching tendons, nerves, etc.
3. You take away the cushion the body is giving you.
Treatment Rule 2 - If it pops itself, or you have to pop it, drain it and remove the outer blister skin.
When you must pop a blister or one pops by itself, make sure you drain it thoroughly and then remove the blister flesh and fully expose the underlying tissue. Some people and medical professionals differ here and say leave the outer covering. I am telling you don't. While it does help protect the raw flesh and can even cushion still - my experience has found the liability of infection that leads to much worse is greater. The friction of movement across the outer layer (left) acts a big pump pulling and pushing microbes into what can become an anaerobic space. On the other hand, while it hurts a bit more, and you need to keep the area clean - the friction on the raw flesh actually performs mechanical cleaning. There is no hidden anaerobic spaces.
Now soldier (sorry, hunter) on right?
Wrong!
Treatment Rule 3 - Put freaking moleskin (or athletic tape) on it either way
That's right all you hardcore buttheads... Regardless of closed or open, put some super science heat shield device (like moleskin) on that blister. If its closed do a donut of moleskin (or build a donut with layers tape). If its open just put slap a layer over the full open wound+. You wanna slow down the friction burn!
Don't get hard headed about this. Almost 100% of the guys I saw end up as blister casualties skipped this step.
Treatment Rule 4 - Keep it clean, when you can let it dry sans covering
Yep, its your responsibility to keep this sucking chest (ummmm foot) wound clean. Otherwise it might get infected. And whenever you can let it dry out so the new skin starts evolving into working skin. Glassing for a few hours, prop the foot up, peel the moleskin/tape off, air.
Ok Ok Ok Ok Ok Ok.... (can you hear the excitement???)
NOW here IS the moment you have been waiting for...
There is a definitive, kill-the-blister treatment (and NO I am not going to be a smarmy bastard and say - "Prevention")... Seriously there is one way to put a blister in trash can and stop it in its tracks.
First a few disclaimers...
I am not a doctor, I only stayed at a holiday inn last nigh.
Forward all lawsuits to: 100 BitEmyArse, YouSuck, NC USA
Oh - and this treatment is not for the faint of heart or for those with a low tolerance for pain. I provide it only for you hardcore Moes who are 9 miles in packing 2 elk out solo and, god help you, you must. I have done it twice and it IS a definitive-no-more-blister-problem-hunt-on treatment. But I also have done it on some hardcore people who nearly beat my arse after I did because...
IT STINGS LIKE ALL HELL.
Super Squirrel Secret Treatment: Inject tincture of benzoin in the blister.
Instant cure.
But oh it feels lovely.
So for those of you who don't know what tincture of benzoin is, its an old school antiseptic adhesive used in bandages. So the substance is bacterial static (stops bacteria from growing) to antiseptic (kills the beasts) and has an adhesive element. Ok a note on that last part (adhesive) - it is freaking concrete for your skin.
Once again for those hard of reading... It hurts - for about 5 min. How much? Well, I was once bitten by a black window spider (highly memorable) and it felt like someone took a red hot poker to my skin. That type of hurt but deeper.
How to do this... If I am going deep, I take a small diabetic needle and some tincture. If it is a solo, lightweight, super fly backpacking hunting, I may draw it up and wrap it up good (for cleanliness). If I do have to take it pre-drawn as you will shortly learn, you will need to take a secondary diabetic needle. Here's what you do:
1. take the undrawn needle and slide it into the blister fluid and remove as much fluid as possible. The best way I have found is close to good flesh and with a slight angle above perpendicular to the skin. With a diabetic needle you may need to suck the fluid out a few times because they don't hold a lot per filling.
2. Do not remove the blister outer cover. Leave fully intact.
3. Once near or fully drained, draw up some tincture of benzoin. Fill the syringe full.
4. Slide the needle into the drained blister area and inject the tincture fully across the exposed flesh service. You want to be under the outer blister bubble part but not into the new flesh. If its a big blister you may have to inject, move to another location, inject... You want the exposed flesh coated in tincture. It both protects it (bacterial wise) and coats it against further friction abuse.
5. Gently push the outer covering down and tack it to the tincturized flesh.
6. Build a donut (tape or moleskin) around it for the first day to allow it to seal fully.
I would not do this "on the run" - in other words when I still have some hiking to do. I would do it in camp so it can soak in and harden over night. You can do it on the run - if you have to - but you will get mixed results. The friction can squish out the tincture before it seals. You end up having to do it again.
And yes you can do it on a popped blister as well. Just try to do everything to keep the outer skin of the blister in tact to form the seal.
What you have essentially done is bio-sealed the outer skin to the newly exposed skin - in other words performed molecular surgery
After it seals and dries fully, the new blister will be slightly raised (not nearly as bad as it was), will look like black (or dark red) skin, and will turn rubber hard. And that spot on your body will stop bullets. Seriously, I learned this technique during the first few weeks of my special forces phase 1 training - I had a massive killer blister. 2 years later I finally had to take a knife and cut the fused layer out. I never had another blister there.
Let me caveat this... There may be some of you who are allergy sensitive to tincture of benzoin. It is not used as commonly, I believe, due this fact. So before you go relying on this, put some on your skin at home and make sure you don't have secondary reactions. That would be some really really bad juju if it happened in the field to you!
For those of you fun or sarcasm impaired, I apologize in advance for the tone of my posting. For those of you who get it, hunt on. Hope this helps you out!
Luke Stephens aka Wilderness Master
