Blisters are very common among people who walk or run around a lot. You can also get blisters on your feet if you just take another route to work rather than your regular route or try out a new pair of shoes. Most of the times, nobody really pays much attention to blisters because they aren’t that painful and bothersome. But sometimes a case of bad blisters can make even standing up for a little while a difficult task. Here are a few ways you can save yourself the pain of those awful blisters. 

Tape problematic areas
Once you start noticing that your feet are actually starting to form blisters then your best option to prevent them from growing bigger is to tape those areas. You could use a sports tape or a moleskin bandage to get the area covered, or just apply handyplast to the area carefully. This prevents your feet from rubbing against the shoe directly so the blisters do not get time to develop further. The downside here is that the tapes you apply never stick for long – especially if you have to continue walking or keep doing activities that requires you to move your feet a lot. Alternatively, you could also apply these tapes to the areas that you know are prone to forming blisters before you put on your shoes to prevent blisters altogether.

Wear the right socks
Most people tend to avoid synthetic socks if their foot is susceptible to sweating and instead just stick with ones made from cotton. But cotton socks hold onto your foot sweat, softening your skin so that your feet are more likely to blister and the skin more likely to break. Synthetic socks, on the other hand, draw moisture away from feet keeping them dry. Double layered or padded socks also work very well to prevent blisters. Make sure you change socks regularly. Ideally, you should change them every time they get wet but practically that’s not always possible to do, especially during the monsoon season. Check to see if your socks have a rub before you wear them for a hectic day. If they do, you will almost certainly have blisters by the end of the day. Sports socks are designed to prevent this very problem so you could always stock up on them. Also make sure to avoid tube socks since they don’t fit your feet right.

Keep your feet dry
This step always starts with wearing the right socks - wear synthetic ones that keep sweat off your feet. Some thing else you could do to keep your feet dry is to apply baby powder or talcum powder to your feet before you head out for the day. An added bonus to this is that your feet will smell pretty amazing even if they are trapped within socks and shoes for many hours. Cornstarch will also work well to keep your feet dry. Applying special heavy-duty antiperspirant to your feet also works surprisingly well to prevent blisters. Although regular antiperspirant may not work as well, you could still use them for days were you won’t be on your feet all that much. But don’t forget to hydrate yourself throughout the day. Apparently, dehydration also contributes to the formation of blisters.

Use a lubricant
Although pretty contradictory to the ‘keep your feet dry’ tip, lubricating your feet also prevents the formation of blisters to a certain extent. The friction created between your foot and shoes and socks creates heat and molds your skin into becoming more prone to blisters and breakage. So the trick we are using here is if you lessen the friction, you will have lesser chances of getting blisters. Instead of rubbing harshly against the socks or shoes, if your foot just gently slides or glides against them, then you probably will not get blisters. Petroleum jelly works as the best lubricant for your feet but the one downside to that is that it will not wash out easily. Things like Bodyglide, Sports Slick, AD Ointment, Run Goo, and Sport Shield will also do the trick. Some socks are also infused with teflon for this same purpose.

Toughen your feet
As harsh as it sounds, you do need to toughen up your skin and just bear the first few blisters because you will definitely face a few more blisters in your lifetime. Calluses will be the biggest help to your skin to get over blisters as they will work against friction that causes blisters. Do not get rid of calluses on your feet if you know you have to go on a long walk or be on your feet a lot soon. Moisturizing your feet after every bath and shower will prevent these callouses from getting dry and developing painful cracks. Tannic acid is also used to toughen up feet. Athletes and marathon runners use it a lot. You could apply tannic acid to your feet or soak your feet in tea as tea contains tannins about three times a week for this to work.

 
• fighting
 
• feet
 
• blisters