Blisters (HB)

The presence of blisters indicates a partial thickness burn. It doesn’t matter if the source is from fire or friction in your boot. We will treat them the same.

We will generally leave them intact. The intact roof of the blister normally prevents infection. If we have to deal with a blister, we can either unroof the blister or drain it.

We will only unroof a blister if the fluid inside is infected. Once we cut away the roof, we will treat the area like an open wound and will clean, dress, and bandage it like any other wound.

We will drain a blister if it will cause an issue with transport (which includes walking). In this case, we want to leave as much of the skin intact as possible. The easiest way to do this is with a needle and thread that have been sterilized in alcohol. You run the needle through the blister’s base and out the opposite side (parallel to the ground), leaving a few inches of exposed thread on either side. The thread allows the blister to continue draining and minimizes the chance of infection.

In all other cases, you should leave the blister intact.

As with any soft tissue injury, you should anticipate infection. You should clean and inspect the area daily—more often if you are in a dirty or wet environment.