You need to see the doctor if it's "large or red, or really painful. If you experience severe redness, swelling, soreness, pus, or even pain at the site of your blister, have it checked out by a doctor. It's probably gotten infected, and may need treatment with antibiotics to clear it up. While your blister heals, it's likely to still be sore. You can do things to keep yourself comfortable until the pain subsides, like putting some padding on the spot. To prevent a blister from forming up again, make sure your shoes fit properly and are comfortable.
A thick sock that provides extra padding in areas where blisters are common can also help keep your feet blister-free. Paying your feet the attention they deserve by choosing the right shoes and socks can help keep feet healthy and blister-free.
Blisters either appear immediately or shortly after exposure to the irritant or over time with gradual, low-dose exposure.
Chemical burns can also lead to blister formation. Any condition that weakens the outer layer of the skin can make it more vulnerable to blisters. Blisters can also be a symptom of certain infectious diseases and disorders. Common medical conditions and treatments that may increase the risk of blisters on the feet include:. When very tiny blood vessels in the epidermis of the skin break, they sometimes leak blood into the tissue layers, causing a blood blister.
Blood blisters tend to occur when the skin is crushed or pinched. In most cases, the best way to treat blisters on the feet is to leave them alone. Most blisters heal after a few days with basic care. It is important always to leave both clear and bloody blisters intact. While they can be painful, blisters are a natural defensive mechanism. They help reduce pressure and protect underlying tissues.
Blisters also help seal off damaged tissues and prevent bacteria, viruses, and fungus from entering the wound. Once a blister develops, a person should stop putting pressure on it immediately. Once it has broken and drained, the area around the blister can be very gently washed with soap and water.
People should then cover the area with a sterile, dry, breathable dressing, such as gauze or a loose bandage, available for purchase online. For chemical or allergy blisters, it is vital to immediately stop exposure to the irritant and thoroughly wash the skin. A few days after the blister has opened, a person should use a small pair of sterilized scissors or tweezers to remove the remaining dead skin.
They should be sure not to pull too hard and tear healthy skin. Anytime a blister becomes discolored, extremely inflamed, worsens, or does not heal after a few days, someone should speak to a doctor. Blisters that are yellow, green, or purple have often become infected and require medical attention.
Abnormally colored blisters may also be a symptom of more serious, underlying health conditions, such as herpes. Blisters can appear during a flare-up of symptoms, which stress or a rise in temperature can trigger. These small blisters usually clear up in 2—3 weeks.
They may burst on their own, but people should avoid popping them. Certain viral infections can cause blisters. These include infections with the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles , and the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores or fever blisters. Doctors will typically advise people to avoid scratching or breaking open chickenpox or shingles blisters as doing this can leave a scar. Instead, a person can try applying calamine lotion to the skin or adding baking soda or colloidal oatmeal to a cool bath to help reduce the itching.
Cold sores usually appear close to the mouth, often on or next to the lips. They may be in the form of a single blister or a cluster of blisters. Cold sore blisters will usually go away by themselves in a week or two.
It is important to avoid popping, scratching, or touching these blisters as this can spread the virus to other areas of skin, causing further outbreaks.
According to the AAD , a person can follow these steps to drain a blister properly:. Using rubbing alcohol to sterilize the needle does not always prevent infection. People who are prone to getting infections may wish to ask a doctor to drain the blister for them in a more sterile environment.
If a person suspects that a blister has become infected, they should speak to a doctor. Prescription antibiotic tablets or a topical ointment or cream can help. Learn how to recognize and treat an infected blister here. People can usually treat mild friction or burn blisters at home by covering the blister with a loose bandage and raising the middle of the dressing slightly to allow the blister to move.
If the blister is in an area where things might rub on or break it, it is best to apply padding around the blister. A person can cut the padding into a circular shape with a hole in the middle, place this around the blister, and then cover it with a bandage. If a blister pops, a person can rub petroleum jelly around the area and cover the skin with a bandage until it heals. The most important thing is to keep the area clean and dry. The person should change the dressing on burn or friction blisters frequently.
If they can avoid popping the blister, that will also speed up the healing by helping prevent infection. Blister pads, also called artificial blisters, can speed up healing by providing protective cushioning around the blister.
When to see your GP See your GP if you have blisters that: you think are infected are very painful keep coming back An infected blister will be filled with yellow or green pus and may be painful, red and hot. What causes blisters? Blisters can be caused by: friction to the skin heat — for example, from sunburn or a scald contact with chemicals, such as detergent medical conditions, such as chickenpox and impetigo Read more about what causes blisters.
Preventing blisters There are a number of things you can do to avoid getting blisters caused by friction, sunburn or chemicals. For example, you can: wear comfortable, well-fitting shoes help keep your feet dry with thicker socks or talcum powder wear gloves when handling chemicals use sunscreen Read more about preventing blisters.
Causes of blisters Blisters are most often caused by skin being damaged by friction or heat. Friction Friction blisters are common in people who are very active, such as sports players and those in the military.
Skin reaction Blisters can appear when skin is exposed to excessive heat — for example, when you have sunburn. Medical conditions A number of medical conditions may cause blisters.
The most common are: chickenpox — a childhood illness that causes itchy red spots cold sores — small blisters that develop on the lips or around the mouth, caused by a virus herpes — a sexually transmitted infection STI that most commonly affects the groin impetigo — a contagious bacterial skin infection pompholyx — a type of eczema scabies — a skin condition, caused by tiny mites, which may lead to blisters developing on young children's feet or palms of their hands hand, foot and mouth disease — a viral infection that usually affects young children Several rarer conditions can also cause blisters.
They are: bullous pemphigoid — a skin disease that causes large blisters and usually affects people over 60 years of age pemphigus vulgaris — a serious skin condition where blisters develop if pressure is applied to the skin; the blisters burst easily, leaving raw areas that can become infected dermatitis herpetiformis — a skin condition that causes intensely itchy blisters, usually on the elbows, knees, back and buttocks; blisters usually develop in patches of the same shape and size on both sides of the body epidermolysis bullosa — a group of rare inherited skin disorders that cause the skin to become very fragile; any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood — a condition that causes clusters of blisters to develop on the face, mouth or genitals bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma — a type of icthyosis someone is born with, which causes inflamed, scaly skin with blisters.
Treating blisters Most blisters heal naturally and don't require medical attention. When to seek medical help See your GP if you have blisters that: you think are infected — an infected blister will be filled with yellow or green pus and may be painful, red and hot are very painful keep coming back are in unusual places, such as on your eyelids or inside your mouth are caused by severe sunburn, burns or scalds or an allergic reaction Antibiotics may be prescribed to treat an infected blister.
Friction blisters The unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to infection. Change the dressing daily and wash your hands before touching the blister to avoid infection. Burst blisters If a blister has burst, don't peel off the dead skin on top of the blister. If the blister is on your foot, avoid wearing the shoes that caused it, at least until it heals. Blood blisters Blood blisters should be left to heal naturally. Preventing blisters There are several ways to prevent getting blisters from friction, sunburn or chemicals.
Blisters caused by a medical condition often can't be prevented and need to be treated by a GP. Friction Wearing comfortable, well-fitting shoes and clean socks helps prevent blisters.
Heat and sunburn Be careful when dealing with heat such as steam, flames or boiling water. Moisturiser, aftersun or calamine lotion can help ease discomfort if you do get sunburnt. Chemicals Always wear protective gloves when handling detergents, cleaning products, solvents and other chemicals. Tweet Click here to share this page on Twitter This will open a new window. Print Click here to print this page This will open your print options in a new window.
Source: NHS 24 - Opens in new browser window.
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