blisters

Moleskin can be purchased at your local chain drugstore. In the section with bandaids or Dr. Scholls. The best prevention is good pair of walking shoes made of leather and stylish as you can find. Not athletic shoes, please. Consider Clarks or similar with some support. Also, as long as you are at the drugstore, buy the woven larger bandaids cuz the small plastic ones are useless.

Dr. Scholls has some thin pads that work well. I usually bring some when I travel. I don't often need one but did once and was so glad to have them. You should look in a drug store or Target for something like that.

Wear your shoes for at least two weeks before your trip to get them broken in. This will help with the blister issue. You can wear trainers if you wish, lots of people do. I have a pair in black and another in brown but white will work just as well. Moleskin is like a thicker band-aid. You find them anywhere band-aides are sold. They come in a roll and you just cut off enough to go around the back of your ankle or toe. I would avoid duct tape. Donna

Cut the moleskin in a few different sizes before you go. It cannot just be torn, and you may not have scissors with you when you need them. For example, a piece on your heel would need to be about 1" x 3". Keep some in your daypack. You put the moleskin directly on your skin BEFORE you get the blister. When you feel something rubbing or getting a hot spot, catch it before it blisters. Don't be shy-sit on a bench and put some on! The moleskin is very sticky and will stay on for several days. You can have shoes that are broken in well, and still develop problems because you are walking further and faster than usual. Take care of your feet!

Another thing to add to your anti-blister list is a product that runners use called Body Glide. You may have to go to an outdoors store that specializes in stuff for runners to find it. It comes in a container that looks like a solid deodorant container. It prevents chafing and I have found that it prevents blisters on my feet when I travel (and when I run).

Charlotte, I used duct tape over bandaids to prevent blistors while I was in Rome & Venice in March this year. I am very prone to blistors, even with broken in shoes so I had read it here somewhere before during the summer and I tried it and it worked great! Moleskin never works for me, it always winds up ripping off and sticking to the shoe. I put two bandaids everyday on the spots I always get blistors and then covered it with duct tape. I did not get one blistor the whole trip. I changed the bandaids & duct tape every single time we went back out. Try moleskin first at home, as it's made for that but if it starts to rip off, try the bandaids and duct tape, it worked wonders for me!!

PediFix has some great products as well. We particularly like the toe gels that are a sleeve around the problem toe.

Moleskin!
But if you get stuck and don't have any try putting on 2 pairs of thin socks, or socks over a pair of nylon socketts. The outer pair of socks will slide over the inner pair instead of your skin. I did this once in an emergency, bought a pair of nylons and cut them down to sock length and wore under my regular socks - ahhh, relief!

Duct tape! Sorry, but as practical a product as duct tape can be, I do not think taping your feet in it is exactly going to be all that comfortable. Sports tape, however, is designed to be used by long distance runners, and it works extremely well for European walking.

I am ready! I went to the Drug Store and bought just about every item offered for sore tired feet. I am sure Dr. Schoil's stock has gone up. lol !I bought shoes that are not very attractive but have great support. I even found the moleskins. Thanks everyone for your help. This website has been priceless in helping me plan for my trip.

John, please believe me, I thought the same thing when I read ppl's posts here in the summer time about duct tape but since Moleskin has never worked for me, I brought it along to try and it worked wonders! It did not irritate my skin or hurt my skin and i literally only remembered I had it on when I took off my cute little flats in our room!! lol!! As I told Charlotte though, she should try moleskin first, it works for alot of ppl, just not me!! lol!! Hope we all were able to help you Charlotte!!!

I first mentioned the use of bandaids along with duct tape on this board a few years ago. It has literally saved my vacation more than once. As Bethanne says, it is comfortable and you don't even know you have it on. Duct tape also saved my trip to Philadelphia / New York / Boston back in 2005 when I suddenly developed plantar fasciitis. I was able to duct tape the bottom of my foot (using three strips in different angles, according to a photo I found on the internet) and was able to keep up with the rest of my family with no problem. Never travel without it! :)

Aha! I knew someone would come to aid on the duct tape!! Linda, I'm sure your the one I read it from!!! Thank you soo much!!!!!

I will be going to Home Depot to buy a roll of Duct Tape to add to my first aid kit. I promise to let you all know how it goes. I am hoping I can buy a smaller size than the one I have in my garage. My flight is on April 14th, departing from Newark returning on the 26th. Our trip starts in Rome ending in Lake Como.

I also suggest using sock liners...be sure there's enough room in your shoes, though. They keep your feet dry, and prevent the 'main' sock from rubbing against your foot and causing the blister in the first place! Try them at home for a few days. Have a great trip!

just returned and used my Clarks UNUM loafers, they held up over 16 days of trekking with no blisters BUT I would suggest bringing a second pair of shoes to relieve the pressure points.

Wait hold on!! Go ahead and laugh at me and call me an idiot but it's NOT really moleskin, is it?? Your messing right?!?! I swear I'll go boycotting right now! I'm one of those little crazy PETA members and have done picketing many times...lol!

Sports tape works the same as duct tape, except it is actually designed for use on feet. My wife had quadruple bunion surgery on her feet years ago and her feet have never been the same. Nothing worked for her for touring around Europe until her doctor (a long distance runner) suggested sports tape. Maybe it just depends on the kind of foot pain you have to begin with.

Duct tape is a last resort. I used it to hike up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon after getting blisters on the way down, and it did the job, but it is better to prevent the blisters in the first place. If you do get a "hot spot" try to cover it with a bandaid or moleskin before it turns into a blister. Once you have a blister, the best thing I have found is a patch called "Compeed" in Europe (buy at the pharmacy); I think Dr. Scholls sells them under a different name in the US. This is a soft, sterile stick-on patch that can go directly on the blister. It should stay on for 2 days, through a shower or two. Some socks will tend to rub them off, and in that case you can cover the Compeed patch with sports tape (or duct tape). Another good product is Second Skin, which is a gel-like patch that goes directly on the open blister; you cover it with a separate patch made of Moleskin or similar. REI sellls "blister kits" that have both these products for around $8. . You'll need folding scissors to cut the two products to size and shape. These fold-up scissors are legal to carry on (I alwasy have a pair with me). You can buy travel-size rolls of duct tape at many travel stores and maybe the hardware store as well. It's always good to have around. (I once saw a pilot on SAS use it to attached a pesky ceiling panel that rattled and threatened to drop open.)

What do the skinless moles do for blisters?

Band Aid brand makes blister band aids. They come in aqua colored box. The band aid is oval and works well to prevent blisters. You can wear them for more than one day, they even stay on through a shower. They are not cheap. There are 6 in a box for $4 or $5. I would take all the other treatments along as well just to be safe

I'm calling PETA...;-) Poor, poor skinless moles (sniffle)... And what about those unfortunate victims of Moleskine (feminine moles)?!?

Charlotte, you 'might' want to carry an extra pair of socks with you for the first few days (or more) or touring - if you notice your socks feeling damp, you can change into dry ones. That can prevent the pesky blister - assuming your socks aren't too thick for your shoes in the first place. And you'll save a mole...;-)

Don't worry. They actually make them out of baby seal skins, but call them moleskins so no one gets upset.

Just to spoil your fur. . . I mean fun. . . Moleskin got its name cuz it's soft like a mole's fur (which feels like velvet.) . The British make an expensive brushed cotton fabric called moleskin. The moleskin you use for blisters has a sticky side that goes on your skin and a soft brushed side that meets your socks and reduces the friction. I like the stuff they put in the Spenco blister kit better; it is slightly stretchy and stays on better. And no moles were harmed in the making.

Here's another vote for the European product "Compeed". Three years ago while in the Cinque Terre I had developed terrible blisters on my heels and found this product in a local pharmacy. They worked great and last several days (even through showers!) Last year I saw them in another pharmacy in Paris and suggested them for my friend who was with me and had been complaining about her feet. She agreed completely, if you aren't able to prevent the blisters in the first place, then this product is a godsend. I haven't seen them in the States yet but will definitely pick up a pack on my upcoming trip to Italy. They come in an aqua colored plastic pack.

Susan, Compeed is marketed as band-aid advanced healing blister cushions in the States. But it is still hard to find; I've only found it online (amazon). I always buy a pack of compeed when I am in Europe. It is great if you happen to get a blister.

Ha ha, John!!! Thank you for the clarification Lola!! :)

Bethanne, you do realize that your beloved duct tape is really made from duck by-products, don't you? Duct is the past tense-as in it used to be a duck. And I'll say it before Eileen does-I really quack myself up.

Oh everyone let's mess with Bethanne since she's for the animals!! LOL!! :) Such a great post! ;)

Moleskin, a sheet of duct tape and a small scizzor saved the day! Thank you Bobbie!

For those interested in the Body Glide, it is available at Amazon. I can't vouch for it as I haven't used it, but I am considering purchasing (although I just got some zebra stripe duct tape samples - made from zebra skin, I believe - wink, wink) that I might use instead.

Suzane we carried the Moleskin, duct tape (Zebra Skin) lol and small folding scizzor with us at all times. When we felt a pinch or sore spot beginning we put the moleskin on immediately. It really worked for us. Shoes that were well broken in began to hurt after being on my feet for over 14 hours a day. Moleskin saved the day with just a little duct tape to be sure to hold it in place.

re: Body glide Body glide is a great product for the PREVENTION of blisters! (I wholeheartedly agree with both the moleskin and duct tape methods, too) They even make it in a travel-sized container (the kind I have looks like a mini deodorant containerfits in the palm of my hand). Blisters form from friction and when areas are moist. I was getting blisters on long runs and simply changed my routine before the next run. I applied body glide to the bottom of my foot, put my socks and shoes on and no more blisters! It helps to lubricate the skin so if your sock is bunching up, it will glide around and have less chance of forming a blister. It doesn't feel gross, either. Most outdoor sports stores (REI, local outdoor store, bike or running shop should carry it).

I saw someone mentioned wearing two pairs of socks. There are thin cool-max double layered running socks available that work quite well at preventing blisters. One company I know of is called Wrightsock. That would work well if you're OK with white or gray socks.