[pct-l] Blister strategy

[Ken Murray]

As a life-long blister sufferer, I feel your pain.  Also, as a life-long hiker, I find that the body changes as we age, including the feet, and a solution this year may not be a solution next year.

Others have covered well, the issues of sock choices and shoe choices, and they are right.

For the chronic sufferer, knowledge of effective first aid strategies (mole skin, Compound Tinture of Benzoin, duct tape, Nuskin, bodyglide, vaseline) are important to know and understand, and know which works FOR YOU on which foot part.

Blisters are a type of burn, which requires movement with pressure.  If the skin is wet, it becomes slightly swollen and macerated, which means it sticks up, and gets more pressure.  Moisture is a very bad thing!  Another strategy among the afflicted, is to change the socks every few hours during the day, so that the used ones can dry.

As far as I'm concerned, the best book on the subject is "Fixing Your Feet" by John Vonhof.  When I read his book, there were some revelations. One of the big ones, was differential lacing, to increase pressure on some areas, and remove pressure on others, as needed.  When I tried this, it was amazing the difference it made.  You can actually "make up" for minor deficienies in a shoe/boot, in terms of fit.  I noticed this morning that the authors web site has a lot of information:
http://www.fixingyourfeet.com/

Ken