Almost every hiker gets blisters on the Camino de Santiago. These remedies will help prevent blisters. Plus: How to properly treat blisters.
Blisters form when a hard object (e.g. the leather of a shoe) rubs against an area of the skin for a long time. Then the upper layer of skin separates from the one below and the body fills this space with water as protection. This happens especially to feet with delicate skin. If calluses gradually form on a long Camino, you will no longer get blisters. The best prevention would be to go barefoot in everyday life – which of course is not realistic.
Things that help prevent blisters from forming:
Shoes that are big enough. When hiking, you should wear shoes that are one shoe size larger than your everyday shoes. Your feet will swell from the heat and walking all day and will eventually rub on the shoes and cause blisters and pain- so wear shoes one size up!
Keep your feet dry. Moisture in the shoe from sweat or rain makes the skin more susceptible to blisters. Therefore: take your feet out of your shoes during breaks to air out your feet.
Trekking socks. Do NOT wear cotton! Cotton socks trap moisture to your feet. Invest in wool or a mix of wool and synthetic hiking socks that wick away moisture. They’re more expensive but your feet will be much happier.
Deer Tallow. This ointment makes the skin more supple, reduces friction and prevents blistering. Another good alternative is Vaseline.
Masking. Usually before a blister forms you’ll feel an uncomfortable hotspot forming. If you immediately stick a Leukoplast adhesive plaster on the area, it’ll block a blister from forming (like I did in the photo for this article.)
How to treat blisters is a heated topic in hiking communities. Everyone has their die-hard opinions here! But usually there are two sides of the debate: Team Compeed and Team Stitch. I’m on Team Stitch and here’s why: The advantage of piercing and draining the blister is that it takes pressure off a spot in the shoe that is already tight (which is why the blister formed in the first place). This allows the skin to heal quicker.
My Step-by-Step Blister Treating Process:
1. Disinfect skin (such as with an alcohol wipe.)
2. Disinfect the needle (I always have a few safety pins with me, which I also use to hang clothes.)
3. Pierce the blister.
4. Squeeze out the liquid, but be sure to leave the bubble skin!
5. Disinfect site again.
6. Apply wound ointment (such as Neosporin.)
7. Stick on a plaster and reinforce with Leukoplast adhesive tape.
8. If necessary, change plasters several times, disinfect again and apply wound cream.
Once the blister has healed and the blister skin has died, remove it with scissors.
Other pilgrims swear by Compeed blister plasters, which you stick over the blister and which are supposed to help the blister to heal over time. I personally haven’t had any success with that. In addition, a Compeed patch increases the feeling of pressure in the shoe.