All the braking, stopping, and changing direction that occurs during skate practice or play can shift your foot around inside the skate boot, creating friction, which can develop into a blister, a swelling with fluid formed on the skin.
If you have been wondering and asking, how do you prevent blisters when ice skating? Or desire to know whether there is an ice skating blister treatment, read on to get answers to these questions, and additional facts on blisters.
How Does Blisters Form When Ice Skating?
Blisters form when the skin of the feet rubs against the socks as you move or perform skating sessions, especially if you are wearing a new skating boot that stiff. This stiffness irritates our toes, heels, and the bones on the ankle when the skates do not fit snugly and are not laced up tightly enough, which leads to blisters.
Why Do Ice Skating Blisters Hurt So Much?
For most skaters, the blister forms a pocket with fluid in the upper layer of the skin of the foot, toes, and heels. The eruptions cause intense pain due to the wounding of tissues in deeper layers of the skin near nerve ends.
How Do You Manage Blisters?
When a blister occurs, you must find a quick way to deal with it and get on with your skating. Here are ways of handling a blister when it starts.
Act Promptly, and use a band-aid
Use a band-aid immediately the new ice skate you are yet to break in starts rubbing your socks and skin. There are dermatologists’ findings stating that doing so will stop the friction and stop the area from developing into a full blister or causing a sore. You could also apply hand cream that contains Silicone to the spot to form a barrier to a blister on the skin. Dermatologists insist a cream containing Silicone acts as a shield in the place where a blister would have formed.
Get Epsom Salt Solution
An ice skating blister treatment, you could try is Epsom salt. Most ice skater cannot bear staying off the rink even for one day. If you have been down due to blister, here is a relief. Soaking the spot that has blisters with warm water containing Epsom-salt might do the trick of healing of the troubled area. The warm water will also stop the swelling.
To prepare the solution, get a bucket of warm water, add a cup of Epsom salt into the pail, and melt. Get Tea tree oil and add a few drops into the container. Tea tree oil, by the way, is known to be a natural antiseptic. Next, put your feet inside the pail of water and allow it to soak in the treatment for ten minutes. That could relax the area, stop the swelling, and dry out the blisters.
Get Aloe Vera
Another way to fasten the healing of the blister is to use this anti-inflammatory and antibacterial plant. The plant contains phytochemicals that will accelerate the healing of the blister spot. Get Aloe Vera natural without any Dyes that could cause more irritation to the troubled place.
Pad the Raw Skin
Looking for a way to soothe the pain instantly, you can try a medicated Irritation cooling pad product brought from the local drugstore. Take one of the Irritation cooling pads and put it in the fridge for an additional cooling effect and apply it to the blister spot.
However, depending on how large the blister spot is, you can use Moleskin, which is equally helpful in relieving you of pressure from the stiff skating shoes. To use Moleskin, cut out an outline of the size of the blister from the pad and stick it to the spot.
Apply Anti-Perspirant On the Area
If you sweat a lot, then you can try this method to get more relief. Moisture contributes to the irritation of the foot inside a skating shoe. You could try antiperspirant for a change from the usual wetness wicking body wipes, which also works in keeping the foot dry to prevent friction blisters.
You could apply the antiperspirant to your toes, heels, and the skin to seal sweat glands and keep the skin dry. The antiperspirant contains Aluminum salt that could keep the toes, heels, and skin fresh and dry all day.
How do you prevent blisters when ice skating?
Removing the root cause of a problem naturally removes the blister problem. You can achieve that goal by following these suggestions.
- When skating on ice, wear a specially created sock to reduce sweat on foot. Moreover, shoes with high heels, ill-fitting, and stiff shoes could cause swellings. Clammy skin could cause more eruptions, so wear a stock that absorbs wetness.
- The ankle bears the brunt of the skating shoes due to its height and rubs on the skin often. You might consider using a moisture-wicking sock and try skating shoes with insoles created to avert blistering on the feet. To lower abrasion, wear two wicking socks to cover the areas where the boot touches your skin.
- Don’t wear a boot that is too big to avoid your foot’s movement in the boot because when you are doing those rotations, lifts, and landings, if your ankles are moving around, you could suffer eruptions and other injuries.
- The strategy for preventing blisters is buying a comfortable skate. If you notice that your feet are not firm inside the skates, you need to slowly use the new skating boot for your feet to get used to them without producing swellings or sores.
- Buy skates boots that correctly matches the shape of your foot. Better still, to prevent blisters, heat mold the boots to make the leather soft in the ankle area. You could also raise the number of times you skate to become more familiar with the boot.
- Sticking adhesive tape or moleskin inside your socks with a bit of talcum powder or lining to the spot liable to get eruptions, can stop sores from emerging. Another way is to get friction controlling coverr inside of your skating shoes. That would last longer than socks.
What is the ice-skating blister treatment available?
A blister would certainly heal by itself without any form of medical treatment. If blister causes you more pain, do not break the skin. Just shield the area with moleskin or bandage.
- However, if the swelling bursts, wash the spot with soapy water. Do not cut off the skin shielding the area, apply antibiotic ointment on the place, and use a bandage to seal it until it heals. That will shield the sore area from more damage as it continues to heal.
- Fresh skin will grow in a couple of days, the liquids will dry up gradually, and the skin will shed off. You could also use corn pads that have a hole in the center to pad the skin boil from pressure.
How to Drain Blisters
It is not recommended to draining the liquid. But if you are in pains and must drain the liquid in the eruption, do not cut the skin covering the sore. Follow this method:
- Rinse the surface using soap and lukewarm water
- Mop the blisters with iodine
- Sterilize a fresh sharp needle
- Use the needle to punch a hole in the swelling. Target a place close to the edge of the swelling and let the liquid drain.
- Rub petroleum jelly on the spot and shield it with a gauze compress. If it forms any reaction, discontinue the use of the gel.
- Observe the area daily for any infection. Wait for a few days to heal, then use a disinfected and a pair of scissors to cut away the dead skin covering the eruption spot.
How Long Does The Ice Skating Blister Attack Last?
Most foot blisters would heal on their own within three to seven days. It’s suggested that the swelling can heal faster if the fluid pops. Try to clean the areas with antiseptic, and apply petroleum jelly on the spot and seal it with a bandage to prevent infection. Also, to avoid hurting the foot, keep off from the ice rink within the period you are nursing the injury to give the skin a chance to heal quickly and fully.
When To Call A Doctor
Though blister cause a lot of pain, adhering to a few of those suggestions above could be useful to prevent ice skating eruptions. But when the swelling is significant and filled with blood or causing you so much pain, you may need to get expert help from a doctor immediately.
In Summary
A blister attack on the ice skater’s foot, heel, and toe can be a painful experience, so it is better to prevent it before it happens. We have explained the ice skating blister treatment available and how to avoid skating blisters. We hope the knowledge helps you prevent blisters and get rid of it if it occurs.
