How To Prevent And Treat Blisters While Hiking?

How To Prevent And Treat Blisters While Hiking?

For hikers, nothing can be worse than incurring painful blisters as it may become an obstacle in their hiking experience. And if not properly taken care, it may get worse. 

However, the good news is that it can be treated but as they say prevention is better than cure, so you should strive to prevent the blisters from occurring in the first place. 

So, in this post, we will discuss the ways to prevent blisters. Don’t worry, we will also discuss how you can treat or deal with blisters even if you have them.


What are blisters?

The first step to prevent it from happening is to have knowledge about it. If you don’t know what blisters are then neither you can prevent them nor you can treat them. 

A blister is occurred due to damaged skin which can be caused by burns, allergies, or most commonly friction. Now that you know blisters and how it occurs let’s move further to discuss how you can prevent them.


Wear the right sized socks and shoes

Do you know wrong sized socks or shoes is one of the major reason behind the occurrence of blisters? Wondering how? Well, blisters can take place due to the constant rubbing of your socks or shoes against the skin of your feet for a long period of time. 

When your socks or shoes are ill-fitted, that is, either they are too tight or too loose, the sweaty or wet feet can lead to the blisters that may hurt you badly. So, it is always advised to wear the right sized socks or shoes. Your hiking shoes should fit you perfectly. 

Buy a good pair of socks made of high-quality material that should allow your feet to breathe and keep them dry and warm.


Keep your feet dry

As discussed earlier, the sweaty or wet feet can become a cause of blisters, so always try to keep your feet dry. You may use foot powder that may absorb the moisture. 

Carry extra pairs of socks and keep them changing twice a day. Also, you may take a rest in between your hiking expedition and take off your shoes to allow your feet to breathe.


Use hikers wool

Another effective way to keep your feet dry and avoid the friction between the socks or shoes and your skin is to carry a high-quality hikers wool. 


You can wrap the hikers wool around your toes and pressure points before putting your socks and boots. This will help to reduce the friction which ultimately prevents the formation of blisters. So, it can make your hiking experience comfortable and blister-free.


Always carry a first aid kit for blisters

In case if blisters occur, don’t panic and take off your boots and socks immediately. Carry a first aid kit which should have antibiotic ointment, tweezers, waterproof bandages, alcohol wipes, blister pads or moleskin and adhesive tape. Treat your blister with these aids.