Blisters Can Heal Quickly and Effectively

Any blisters on the inside of your mouth should be brought to the attention of your dentist immediately. A serious condition may be occurring and you need help with it. The flowing information is for external skin blisters.

Many people incur blisters form shoes that do not fit and rub painfully. Others develop blisters on the fingers from using scissors or hand tools. Most of these blisters heal naturally and do not require medical treatment. Just keep the area washed and dry, as with the rest of your body and the blister liquid will be reabsorbed into your body. As the new skin grows quickly underneath the blister, the lymph fluid in it will reabsorb skin on top will dry and peel off on its own. Do not "pop" the blister with a pin, a needle, a pencil point, or a kitchen knife. Leave it alone so that it can heal, because opening it allows bacteria in. Staph infections are deadlier than ever these days, so do not do it. The unbroken skin over the liquid of a blister maintains a buffer against infections. This means that you should try to keep blisters unbroken.

Cover any small blisters with a dry adhesive dressing like a large bandaid strip. Larger blisters should be covered with a gauze pad or dressing that you can then tape in place. If you have a blister in a position that is causing you pain or that makes it likely to burst (on the bottom of your foot or palm of your hand), its important to cover it with a soft dressing to pad and protect it. Then change the dressing daily.

If a blister bursts open, take care to refrain from peeling off the burst skin from top of the blister. This is very important in the case of very large blisters that occur on the legs in cases of diabetes and poor circulation. Peeling off this "dead" skin can allow infections to enter the open wound and can ultimately lead to necrosis (dead tissues) and even amputation of the leg. The most severe cases of cellulitis infections that occur in such blister infections can lead to death if untreated. Go to a doctor if you have a blister larger than a half dollar coin.

In the case of small blisters, simply press the area around the blister that has burst in order to rid the area of the fluid (lymph) inside of it. Next, cover the blister and the area around it with a dry, sterile (germ free) dressing, such as gauze, and protect it from infection until it heals in a few days. You might use peroxide topically before applying the dressing.

Blood blisters should also be left alone to heal. Is a blood blister bursts, keep the area around it clean and dry, and protect it with a sterile dressing to prevent infections. Blood blisters may be very painful and you can use an ice pack or a sack of frozen peas or corn on the area immediately after the injury that pinched a blood blister onto your skin. Use the ice for 10 to 30 minutes at a time and rest the area 5 minutes between applications. The ice should not actually touch the skin, but should be wrapped in a towel. Direct ice can cause a type of burn to the already injured area..

Blisters that have become infected may be treated with by a doctor with antibiotics. Blisters caused by a medical condition, such as leg blisters, are treated by doctors in other ways. If in doubt, call your doctor.