Cliff Stamp
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- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
Growing up I learned the way to treat a blister was to lance it, cut off the dead skin, put iodine on it (the fun part), until it settled and then let it sit uncovered until it dried out and healed. I think this was based on the idea that the fluid in a blister is similar to the pus in an infected wound and thus it should be treated the same.
It was a fairly long time before I simply let it sit, usually they break open when you are working so it isn't an option, but when I did I discovered that they heal many times faster if you just leave them alone and the fluid isn't detrimental. The best way usually is to just pad the skin around the area and avoid continued contact.
Several years back I saw something radically different on TV where during an endurance race they would drain the blisters, put an adhesive into the wound and press the skin down, this was usually done on the feet and then the guys would continue as normal with some padding.
I have tried this many times (usually from working with knives with poor grips) and this is what I have learned :
1) it doesn't hurt as much as you think it would, it isn't as bad as putting iodine on it for example, but it gives you a dull pain that last for hours
2) it slows down the healing a lot, as in it takes many times longer, a small blister can be pretty much reabsorbed over night if you leave it alone and is gone in a day, but if you glue it, it takes days before it is completely healed
3) this is the only reason to do it - it becomes fairly functional almost immediately, it still hurts a fair bit, but the skin won't rip off and you are not grating across a bare opened blister and you don't have a open patch of raw skin for infections and such
I have also tried just gluing around the outside, that does little, the glue just won't bond (various products from new skin to actual super glue) under significant work.
The actual way I saw it done on TV by the medics was to use a needle, I didn't have one, just made a cut, drained it and waited for it to stop leeking fluid fast which takes a few minutes, and then dripped in the glue and pressed the skin down.
In general I would not do it, but it is something to consider if you have to keep working and keep stressing the already damaged area. Another reason as well to do work with your off hand on a regular basis so if this happens you have the option of just switching hands.
Does anyone know if they changed the formula of super glue, I seem to recall it being much more adhesive to human skin than it is now.
-Cliff
It was a fairly long time before I simply let it sit, usually they break open when you are working so it isn't an option, but when I did I discovered that they heal many times faster if you just leave them alone and the fluid isn't detrimental. The best way usually is to just pad the skin around the area and avoid continued contact.
Several years back I saw something radically different on TV where during an endurance race they would drain the blisters, put an adhesive into the wound and press the skin down, this was usually done on the feet and then the guys would continue as normal with some padding.
I have tried this many times (usually from working with knives with poor grips) and this is what I have learned :
1) it doesn't hurt as much as you think it would, it isn't as bad as putting iodine on it for example, but it gives you a dull pain that last for hours
2) it slows down the healing a lot, as in it takes many times longer, a small blister can be pretty much reabsorbed over night if you leave it alone and is gone in a day, but if you glue it, it takes days before it is completely healed
3) this is the only reason to do it - it becomes fairly functional almost immediately, it still hurts a fair bit, but the skin won't rip off and you are not grating across a bare opened blister and you don't have a open patch of raw skin for infections and such
I have also tried just gluing around the outside, that does little, the glue just won't bond (various products from new skin to actual super glue) under significant work.
The actual way I saw it done on TV by the medics was to use a needle, I didn't have one, just made a cut, drained it and waited for it to stop leeking fluid fast which takes a few minutes, and then dripped in the glue and pressed the skin down.
In general I would not do it, but it is something to consider if you have to keep working and keep stressing the already damaged area. Another reason as well to do work with your off hand on a regular basis so if this happens you have the option of just switching hands.
Does anyone know if they changed the formula of super glue, I seem to recall it being much more adhesive to human skin than it is now.
-Cliff
