[pct-l] Feet Swelling

[Nathan Miller]

I work 10-hr. days standing and walking around on concrete at a machine shop.  Yet my feet don't swell.
However, when I go backpacking, the same 10-hr. day does, after a couple of days, lead to foot-swelling.  I notice it mainly in my ankles, although it isn't painful, it's just that my feet get noticeably puffy.

While we're on the subject of feet, I've been getting blisters on the balls of my feet, right behind my second toes, which seems to be a strange place to get blisters.  It's also a pretty darned near debilitating place and I was forced off the trail a couple of years ago and had to do some concerted damage control to avoid the same last June.  Is there something different that leads to blisters on that part of the foot vs. on other parts such as the heel or toe edges?

-Nate the Trail Zombie
Newberg, OR