Odyssa -- duct tape on blisters?

[jefals]

( I thought about posting this under the Odyssa thread, but was afraid it would get lost in there)...but, because of that thread, I'm reading that now, and just read the part where she pops a blister and wraps her foot with duct tape. Hopefully, she left out the part where she puts some kind of pad between the soft, tender new skin and the tape... I think I've read this before, tho, and nobody seems to mention a pad between the skin and the tape. You don't really put duct tape directly onto new, fresh, tender sensitive skin ---- do you????

[QHShowoman]

No pad. Just tape. It acts like a protective layer of skin so you can walk on it.

[jefals]

No pad. Just tape. It acts like a protective layer of skin so you can walk on it.

I think the other place I heard of someone doing this was a youtube this fellow did -- you may have seen. The vid is about an hour long, and he had been diagnosed with cancer, so he decided to dedicate time to several of his dreams, one of which was the trail..I thought it was a great video, but, anyway, I believe he also mentioned doing this with the duct tape...
But I'd be afraid that you're going to tear that fresh skin when you take the tape off.

[Engine]

Don't even carry moleskin or anything else anymore, Duct tape is so much better. :-)

[QHShowoman]

You just wear the tape it practically falls off on its own. No need to tear it off.

[jefals]

You just wear the tape it practically falls off on its own. No need to tear it off.

Ok, it's a good tip if it works, but it still scares me! But I have a little hill I'm gonna try and climb on Tuesday, so I think I'll wrap a strip around my foot and give it a "test drive".

[aficion]

Ok, it's a good tip if it works, but it still scares me! But I have a little hill I'm gonna try and climb on Tuesday, so I think I'll wrap a strip around my foot and give it a "test drive".

Don't wrap it around your foot like a tourniquet. Your feet swell when you walk. Just put on a piece over the hotspot like a bandaid.

[kayak karl]

Don't wrap it around your foot like a tourniquet. Your feet swell when you walk. Just put on a piece over the hotspot like a bandaid.

yes on this. if you wrap it will pull away from skin very quickly or have a tourniquet affect like aflicion said

[atmilkman]

You don't tear the skin off. What you do is called threading a blister. You take a needle with a small amount of thread on it and run it through the blister leaving the thread sticking out of both ends. This keeps the blister from sealing back up and lets air get to the inside to begin the healing process without exposing the new tender skin. Sometimes just popping a blister it has a tendency to seal back shut. In some cases it may get bigger and in general it just takes longer to heal. Like everyone else has said put duct tape directly over it and if you can wipe with alcohol as this helps remove the oil from your skin and help it stick better.

[Just Bill]

If all you have is Duck tape (duct tape is actually tin, sorry I'm a tradesman) the way to go is to cut a small square the size of the blister and stick it sticky side to sticky side in the center of your bandage so it looks like a Band-Aid. That prevents sticking directly to the blister and preventing it from peeling off. Depending on the quality of the tape you use, duck tape is a vapor barrier. Sometimes trapping the moisture helps healing, sometimes not. But it does work.

When going with the Milking technique, which is an excellent one, make sure you use cotton thread. Most of us (should) bring 100% polyester thread like Gutterman for gear repairs, so if you are going to use that trick bring a few feet of thicker cotton thread, and run the thread outside the limits of your Band-Aid of choice. As the duck tape is a vapor barrier it will prevent the thread from wicking if trapped.

I prefer Leukotape. It has since replaced duck tape as my repair/first aid tape of choice.

Regardless of your tape, or tapes of choice, wrap them around a drinking straw or mini-bic lighter and store them in your ditty bag. Using your trekking pole or water bottle tends to get your tape gunked up and in the case of luekotape prevents oxidation of the tape. It's not uncommon for a person to find themselves having to toss the first few feet of their wrap after it's spent some time in the rain and weather exposure.

As a general tip on the subject at hand- round the corners of any field made patch or Band-Aid and the peeling will be greatly reduced. It's the reason every Band-Aid you buy is cut that way. Check out Mike Clelland's you tube videos on some good tips for precutting tape- he puts it on used mailing labels and cuts it at home so it's ready to go in the field.

[Astro]

Please note this summer when taking moleskin off, some of my skin accidentally came off too (tore, not just dead skin)!
So I guess that is another reason to go with duct tape next time.

[jefals]

You don't tear the skin off. What you do is called threading a blister. You take a needle with a small amount of thread on it and run it through the blister leaving the thread sticking out of both ends. This keeps the blister from sealing back up and lets air get to the inside to begin the healing process without exposing the new tender skin. Sometimes just popping a blister it has a tendency to seal back shut. In some cases it may get bigger and in general it just takes longer to heal. Like everyone else has said put duct tape directly over it and if you can wipe with alcohol as this helps remove the oil from your skin and help it stick better.

huh? I'm visualizing a blister on the ball of my foot, maybe the size of a dime, where the dead skin is less than 1/8 inch from the new skin -- and -- you can actually thread a needle thru that?

[atmilkman]

huh? I'm visualizing a blister on the ball of my foot, maybe the size of a dime, where the dead skin is less than 1/8 inch from the new skin -- and -- you can actually thread a needle thru that?

Yes, dime size is a perfect example. You thread from one edge of the blister where the skin has raised up sideways through to the edge of the other side.

[atmilkman]

huh? I'm visualizing a blister on the ball of my foot, maybe the size of a dime, where the dead skin is less than 1/8 inch from the new skin -- and -- you can actually thread a needle thru that?

Yes, dime size is a perfect example. You thread from one edge of the blister where the skin has raised up sideways through to the edge of the other side.

You don't have to be very precise such as meeting the dead skin exactly on the edge of old and new you just need to leave a little of the thread out both sides. Here's an example of the technique on a fairly small blister.

[jefals]

you don't have to be very precise such as meeting the dead skin exactly on the edge of old and new you just need to leave a little of the thread out both sides. Here's an example of the technique on a fairly small blister.

omg!!!!! Uh, i'm hoping there's a "plan b"? Cause "plan a" ain't happennin!!!

[jefals]

If all you have is Duck tape (duct tape is actually tin, sorry I'm a tradesman) the way to go is to cut a small square the size of the blister and stick it sticky side to sticky side in the center of your bandage so it looks like a Band-Aid. That prevents sticking directly to the blister and preventing it from peeling off. Depending on the quality of the tape you use, duck tape is a vapor barrier. Sometimes trapping the moisture helps healing, sometimes not. But it does work.

When going with the Milking technique, which is an excellent one, make sure you use cotton thread. Most of us (should) bring 100% polyester thread like Gutterman for gear repairs, so if you are going to use that trick bring a few feet of thicker cotton thread, and run the thread outside the limits of your Band-Aid of choice. As the duck tape is a vapor barrier it will prevent the thread from wicking if trapped.

I prefer Leukotape. It has since replaced duck tape as my repair/first aid tape of choice.

Regardless of your tape, or tapes of choice, wrap them around a drinking straw or mini-bic lighter and store them in your ditty bag. Using your trekking pole or water bottle tends to get your tape gunked up and in the case of luekotape prevents oxidation of the tape. It's not uncommon for a person to find themselves having to toss the first few feet of their wrap after it's spent some time in the rain and weather exposure.

As a general tip on the subject at hand- round the corners of any field made patch or Band-Aid and the peeling will be greatly reduced. It's the reason every Band-Aid you buy is cut that way. Check out Mike Clelland's you tube videos on some good tips for precutting tape- he puts it on used mailing labels and cuts it at home so it's ready to go in the field.

thks Bill. I will check out those youtubes you mentioned.

[slbirdnerd]

omg!!!!! Uh, i'm hoping there's a "plan b"? Cause "plan a" ain't happennin!!!

It doesn't hurt. The top layer of skin is dead. Gotta toughen up if you're planning to hike a lot

[Zipper]

Trauma last year at ALDHA mentioned using the shiny side of the duct tape right on the blister and then a larger piece with sticky side down, so the blistered area would not be "stuck" with the tape and then the sticky part around it would hold the whole thing in place. I haven't done this but thought it might be helpful to mention.

Personally, I subscribe to the school of blister prevention. Stopping to pay attention to hot spots before they become blisters and covering them with bandaids or moleskin or those blister treatment pads has always worked very well for me. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I thru hiked virtually blister-free. I had to watch for little ones on my little toes and they had bandaids on them for a while for extra cushioning, but generally my feet were just fine. But I did pay attention to them a lot, I took breaks, I aired out my feet (when it wasn't pouring and my socks were soaking wet, lol!) and I think all of that helps.

I really think too many people keep hiking through a hot spot instead of stopping, and then they end up with awful blisters. Good luck with blister prevention, everyone!

[jefals]

Trauma last year at ALDHA mentioned using the shiny side of the duct tape right on the blister and then a larger piece with sticky side down, so the blistered area would not be "stuck" with the tape and then the sticky part around it would hold the whole thing in place. I haven't done this but thought it might be helpful to mention.

Personally, I subscribe to the school of blister prevention. Stopping to pay attention to hot spots before they become blisters and covering them with bandaids or moleskin or those blister treatment pads has always worked very well for me. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I thru hiked virtually blister-free. I had to watch for little ones on my little toes and they had bandaids on them for a while for extra cushioning, but generally my feet were just fine. But I did pay attention to them a lot, I took breaks, I aired out my feet (when it wasn't pouring and my socks were soaking wet, lol!) and I think all of that helps.

I really think too many people keep hiking through a hot spot instead of stopping, and then they end up with awful blisters. Good luck with blister prevention, everyone!

Yeah, that first part re. making a bandage using the shiny side against the blister sounds better to me, than putting the adhesive right on the sore spot. But your second paragraph makes the most sense of all. I don't know if it's really "doable" tho, on a long hike to always be able to prevent blisters. Hopefully, you'd like to always be able to stop and take care of them, but there may be other things going on ---(you're cold and wet, your fingers aren't working that great, it's raining, you want to find shelter...).

[jefals]

It doesn't hurt. The top layer of skin is dead. Gotta toughen up if you're planning to hike a lot

Hey, if that needle's my only option, I think I'll just rest up till the foot heals, and come back again next spring!