Gone are the days of toe
rings and colored nail polish. One of
the joys of aging is that feet are not only less attractive but are prone to
being sore and more vulnerable to injury.
Be that as it may, we are
grateful that they still carry us from point A to point B, and are willing to
concede that spending a little more money for comfort and safety are well worth
the effort. It is more important than
ever to buy comfortable shoes and soft functional socks to prevent blisters and
other irritations from occurring.
Many seniors enjoy hiking
and will put ordinary folks to shame as they work their way along the trails in
a businesslike fashion. I read the article
by Park Ranger Ralph Radford in the Washington Trails Magazine (July/August
2009) about blister prevention with great interest.
Blister are usually caused
by the friction and heat generated when your skin rubs against your shoe/hiking
boot. The author makes most of his
references to hiking boots, but it is not unusual to get blisters from regular
walking shoes too if you are not careful.
It doesn’t take much of an irritation to cause a blister. It may be something as small as a grain or
sand, a piece of gravel, or just having hot sweaty feet.
Good footwear is of the
utmost importance. Your boot should fit
like a glove, and should be of a breathable material that provides ventilation
and reduces moisture. Your toes should
have room to move but you want to make sure that your foot doesn’t slide inside
of the boot when you are walking.
The next step is finding a
good sock and liner. Your run of the
mill sock can actually trap heat and moisture against your foot. Ideally, you should pick a sock and liner
that will wick the moisture away from your foot and allow your feet to
breath. If you can feel a hot spot
developing you can treat it by apply moleskin or duct tape to the area (remove
when you are through walking so that the skin can recover).
The author goes on to
discuss what to do if you do get a blister.
Do not puncture the blister unless it is painful or you are unable to
walk because if it. If you do find it
necessary to puncture it, use a sterilized needle near the edge of the blister. Apply antibiotic ointment and a dry sterile
dressing and watch for any signs of infections such as pus, redness or
increased pain. It would be a good idea
to add duct tape or moleskin to your first aid kit when you take to the trails.
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