Preventing Blisters Tip?

[Lorene3]

Does anyone have tips to prevent blisters on your feet after walking the parks all day?

Thanks!

1 day left and counting!!

[hellokitty]

My step mom always puts the moleskin on the places she knows she will get a blister before it even happens.
She has not gotten one in long time by doing this.

Common places:
Back of heel
little toe
big toe
or tops of toes

good luck and rest often.

[PCgal]

I am trying this moleskin for the first time on my trip, Every post i read about it says that it works.
see ya in the world in a few days.

[grumbada]

I've never heard of moleskin... Does it work?
If I have a feeling that I'll be getting blisters on my feet (especially that backs of my heels), I go ahead and put bandaids on them first. This seems to prevent extra rubbing.

[hercamore]

Run to the store and buy Bandaid Blister block. Best $5 I ever spent for a trip and it works.




Hercamore

[KimR]

Instead of tennis shoes, I always wear thong sandals. I've found a style that is very comfortable and I've never gotten blisters and my feet feel great at the end of the day.

Moleskin also works great. I think someone needs to come up with a shoe made entirely of moleskin, then you wouldn't have worry about where to put it! Wonder if I could get a patent on that?

Kim

[Crow]

Ok, this has been circulating for years, but spray deoderant is supposed to work wonders. I didn't see it until we came back...but I've heard rave reviews about it!

:)

[Mom2Em]

We did the absolute WDW no-no and wore new shoes. We used the deodorant trick and it worked great! I have since used it for other things I knew I would be walking a lot at and no blisters yet!

[Barbruka]

We did the spray deodorant trick on our trip in September, and not one of us four had a blister! It was great. Our feet stayed nice and dry, so no rubbing! Best tip I got from these boards!!!!!!!

[tink2dw]

Teva Cuircut Sandles saved my feet!! They are like walking on clouds!!

[Kermit]

Not wearing the same shoes 2 days in a row also helps. It keeps you from rubbing on the same spot repeatedly, and it lets your shoes dry out. It's even better if you can change them during a mid-day break.

[Barbruka]

I'm telling you, if you use the spray deodorant, you can wear the same shoes every day (unless they get soaked), and not get one blister. Just spray good between the toes and on the heels (all over) and let it dry before putting your socks on. Blisters are caused by a damp (sweaty) spot rubbing on the shoe wrong. If your feet are very dry, chances are no rubbing!!! We took our shoes off every night and they were nice and dry and no smell! Not one hot spot!

[Lorix2]

what about powder??? I can remember my mother putting it in our shoes if we were going out and running around in the summer time......was this to prevent blisters or so we wouldn't smell up the house when we took our sneakers off??? LOL!

[Barbruka]

I think the powder was probably more to keep your shoes smelling half way decent. You know how spray deodorant keeps your under arms nice and dry??? It does the same thing for your feet. No hot spots or any blisters! Best tip I got off these boards, because if you get one blister, you know how miserable the rest of your trip is!

[jmminarik]

Howdy,

Using spray anti-perspirant should work, since the cause of blisters is friction and wetness. I can't think of what it is doing to the feet, since our feet are designed to sweat, but for short term cases its probably ok.

The best advice I've ever gotten is to get properly fitted walking shoes and to wear non-cotton socks.

The first bit of advice is to go to buy walking shoes at the end of the day, wearing the socks you'll be wearing in the shoes. If you've not been measured in a while, get a foot measurement which a braddock device. Its the thing with the slides, then try on a few pairs in the sizes around your foot measurement. Good walking shoes shouldn't be tight or require much of a break-in period. The toes shouldn't be jammed into the front of the shoe, and the widest part of the foot shouldn't be pinched. Don't expect the shoes to stretch much.

Almost any good brand of sneaker should work, though you'll find it tougher to find shoes which come in the wider widths (which is what most americans probably need more than narrower). The only major sneaker maker who I've found makes wide (eee or more) shoes is New Balance.

The second bit is to not buy socks with _any_ cotton in them. All it does is absorb sweat, compact, and stay wet all day. There are many different brands of non-cotton, 'wicking' socks on the market now. Most have acrylic yarns such as the cool-max brand, but they all work to absorbs sweat from the foot and wick it away. Some seems to wind up in the sneaker, but if you have 'crew' socks which come above the shoe, some will wick up and out and will evaporate naturally (which means you'll dissapate heat, unlike using anti-perspirant). Some 'wicking' socks are made with wool, which also wicks moisture to an extent, and if you're in a cold climate (not the case with WDW, but....) will keep you feet warmer since they dry from the inside.

The socks I prefer are made by a company named 'Thorlo', though Wigwam and other make similar quality socks. The thorlos' are more expensive ($8-12 per pair), but include extra cushioning at the pressure points (heels for example), and a nice open weave in the less impacted areas. They're supposedly designed to help with 'shear', which is the friction aspect of getting blisters.

Adding to this advice, some tips:

1) Bring two pairs of comfortable, well fitted walkign shoes. Alternate them daily, esp. if they get wet.
2) Change socks mid-day, giving both your feet and your shoes time to air a little.
3) Keep your shoes clean. Dirt getting into the pores of the leather or man-made upper will actually inhibit the ability of the shoe to dissapate vapor and heat. All you need to do is wipe them off with a damp cloth at then end of the day, or if you're anal like me, wash them with saddle soap. If you have suede, use a suede brush instead.

Finally, if you do manage to get a blister, make sure it gets cleaned properly, put a bandage on it, and use moleskin _around_ the blistered area to provide a buffer to keep the tender area from getting rubbed too much.

Hope this helps,
Joe

[*Robin*]

Wow Joe, now THAT was a lesson in blister avoidance! :D

Thanks!

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by *Robin*
Wow Joe, now THAT was a lesson in blister avoidance! :D

Thanks!

Our first trip together in '98, I was extremely footsore and my wife was almost down and out with footsoreness and blisters. I vowed it would never happen again, so I've done my research. :-)

Now we can happily march all day (with a few breaks thrown in) and make it until we collapse back in our room.

Hope this helps,
Joe

[minniepumpernickel]

The thing that worked best for me last year, was to switch off with different comfortable shoes. I love Teva circuits, and New Balance sneakers. I tried the deodorant, but it didn't seem to help a whole lot! It helps to find a combination that works for you! Good luck!:)

[songbird]

comfortable shoes and socks, and moleskin alwys work for me.

[peek]

Any recommendations on type of deodarant or all work about the same? I've heard deodarant recommended so much and it makes sense!

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by peek
Any recommendations on type of deodarant or all work about the same? I've heard deodarant recommended so much and it makes sense!

Since I've not tried this theory, I can't recommend a brand, but I imagine you need to examine anti-perspirant, and not deodorant. Deodorant just kills the small.... anti-p will block the pores and prevent sweating.

-Joe (who is avoiding work today....)

[minniepumpernickel]

The first time that I heard about the antiperspirant for the feet, was from my boyfriend who said that when he was in the USMC thats what they did , and it worked. I tried it, but prefer "sports" socks that are made to help prevent blisters! Good luck!:)

[Geri]

I got blisters on my feet for the first time on a trip to WDW this past December. I wore the exact same walking sneakers & socks I wore during the summer when I went to DL (no blisters in the summer). I tried to use moleskin on places that felt tender & when I took it off at the end of the day it took park of my skin with it. I had a hole in my foot! I'll never use moleskin again & don't recommend it to anyone. By the way when I took the moleskin off my foot was perfectly dry.

I don't know yet what I'll do with my feet on my trip to WDW in May. Maybe I'll buy a good pair of sandals.

Geri

[CinderellaPrincess]

I don't recommend the anti persperent on the feet. I tried this and my ankles swelled up. Since my feet were inhibited to "sweat", I retained so much water. Plus, they were itchy for days. For some it may work, but it did not for me. I would say try this with caution. I almost would have perferred the blisters to the itchness and swolleness. Just my .02 worth! :)

[Barbruka]

Just came back from another trip yesterday and I used the deodorant again, and had no problems and no blisters. Worked great for me, as it does for many, many people.

[jennymouse]

My DGD and I used Aarid Xtra Dry CREAM antipersperant on our feet last April and we didn't get blisters...........umm, except for the day we forgot to put it on before we'd put our shoes on. We got blisters that day.

[pmurphy713]

When we went to WDW, I just knew that I wouldn't get blisters, HA! However, I had followed the advice on this website and took moleskin with me. It was wonderful. The second day, I had a red spot on the botton of two toes. I put a piece of moleskin on it and never had another problem with it. Another good hint also, take two pair of shoes. I had heard not to walk around with sandles on, but took some anyway. Was I glad I did. I alternated wearing them with my tennis shoes and my feet were positively happy. Just be careful that any pair of shoes you take with you are already broken in well. I buy my kids new tennis shoes about six weeks before we go and let them wear them everywhere. New shoes at WDW is a definite No No!




_______________________
Pam
1976
2000 - Contemporary
2002 - Polynesian

[skeezixspud]

The label on Thorlos tells you to buy your sneakers AFTER you buy your socks, and to wear the socks while getting the sneakers fitted. The reason is that they have very thickly padded soles, and you will need more room in your shoes than normal.

BTW; Marshall's stores often have Thorlos for ~$3/pr. I've never paid full price for them.