Blood blisters

Impossible is Nothing

I have just finished a very long race and took off my runners to see 2 blood filled blisters: one on each big toe at the end of the nail on the side nearest the fore-toe.

They are of a reasonable size and pretty well filled with blood. What should I do?

I am hoping to run on Tuesday morning - do I leave them alone? Do I lance them? (I can't realistically fit a compeed over them given their location).

Any ideas?

Unknown

If they were my blood blisters I certainly wouldn't lance them.

I'd go down to the chemist's shop and find some dressings stuff - cotton wool, gauze strips, adhesive tape etc and I would cobble together some padded home-made dressings to protect the blisters with lots of cushioning. They should dry up and shrink fairly quickly, hopefully, ready for a run on Tuesday.

Lots of sympathy, by the way.

[Deleted User]

Get a sterile needle and pop them.
I do.
They may fill up again overnight, so you may need to do it more than once.
Do not peel off the dead skin, leave it to protect the delicate sub layers.

Dustboy

And buy bigger shoes if you can. Check toenail cutting pattern to stop it happening again. A pod... podi...foot person will know. I use a V pattern on big toe if it is starting to look like blisters.

fetcheveryone

ET - my sympathies - I've just got my first ever blood blister - scary looking red thing, 'bout the size of a 5p, on the outer side of my little toe. I've wrapped it in Compeed, and will let you all know how things progress. You lucky people! :-)

Becks

Get a needle and thread - dip the thread in disinfectant, pierce the blisters and drag the thread through to soak up the gunk and disinfect it. Then cover them up. If you leave them, not only will they stay painful but in my experience you're more likely to lose the entire nail...

ip(FeS2)

You do have to take more care of Blood blisters than normal ones.- I believe the usual advice is to leave Blood blisters unless the pressure from them is bothering you/making it difficult to walk.

If you do decide to lance them, you really do need to make it as sterile as possible.- It's amazing how sick a little blister can make you :-(