Horrible painful open blister - advice? Pic included

[T1gerEyes]

So sorry for the horrible pic. I'm at my wits end with this blister. It was originally a blood blister which popped during a fast walk hence why there's no skin on it.

I've been using compeed plasters which work in that it stops the pain and means I can do my daily walk/run. BUT these plasters also keep it wet and open and makes it smell .. almost like a rotting smell so it's just not healing due to them.

Any ideas? It's too big for a normal plaster and even a sock on it without a compeed plaster is painful

[T1gerEyes]

And I do apologise for my hideous looking foot. I'm usually pedicured to the max!

Oh and it's very red and sore but it's not blood or anything

[tsmainsqueeze]

I would avoid the exercise for now , keep it uncovered as much as possible , if working from home i would not wear any covering at all .
The friction from socks and shoes is hindering the healing .
I'm a vet nurse not human nurse but we do see similar problems where wounds / lesions heal and dry quicker when left uncovered .

[T1gerEyes]

Thank you. I think you're right. I'll leave it uncovered for now and hope to good it starts to just dry over ASAP

[standingonaseesaw]

Google moist wound healing. These sorts of dressings are designed to keep the wound moist, and should be left in place for several days, if you can tolerate the smell. But it sounds as though the compeed is doing what it was designed to do.

[NotOnMute]

When I had one like that, gentle cleaning with TCP and hot water (half and half) twice daily, and leaving it to air (sock folded down under my heel) was what worked. Took a couple of days to start to form some proper skin.

[T1gerEyes]

@standingonaseesaw do you think? I mean, I can smell it through the plaster sometimes and I'd only had this particular one on for 24 hours or so. And it just keeps it like this - moist.

Compeed would be the preference due to the fact I don't feel pain with one on and if I catch it, it doesn't hurt

[standingonaseesaw]

Yes, I know it seems weird, but as an ex-nurse, we used these types of dressings (hydrocolloid) as the first choice for so many wounds. They were left on for a week, provided they didn’t leak or need changing for another reason, and they heal wounds amazingly, and can reduce scarring. I obviously can’t say whether the smell is bearable for you, but in terms of keeping the wound wet, they are brilliant dressings.

[DogsSausages]

What sort of smell, does it look clean or are there any discoloured areas, It needs a proper pressure ulcer dressing and I would not go out exercising until its healed, maybe the g.p nurse or a pharmacist could recommend the right dressing, maybe something that doesnt get wet or needs changing very often.

[T1gerEyes]

It's clean and no discoloured areas. The smell only comes from the compeed plasters which are specifically for wet healing... it's just like rotting meat I suppose!

Ok I'm going to have to put one back on anyway and this time I'll commit for as many days as possible. Without a dressing, it's painful to walk on and just catches on everything

[StCharlotte]

Manuka honey.

[T1gerEyes]

I'm not sure about Manuka honey. My understanding of honey and wounds was that the honey has to be proper medical grade and not scooped out of a pot you have in the kitchen.

[Awomanwalksintoabar]

The way I understood you use Compeed plasters is that you leave them on until they fall off by themselves. By then, new skin will have formed, fingers crossed!

[DowntonCrabby]

You need to leave the comped on for a few days at least and ideally not wear closed heel shoes.

I’d 100% stop the daily walk/run for the next week.

Looks really painful OP

[T1gerEyes]

@Awomanwalksintoabar I think this could be where I'm going wrong. I'm peeling it off after 24/48 hours myself and horrified to see it's bright red and smells!

[T1gerEyes]

@DowntonCrabby yes I'll do that. And yep it's stupidly painful as these minor things are. I don't walk far - 3 miles - but it's probably enough to irritate it.

[RB68]

I would salt wash and re compeed - but yes its wet healing, I would change every 3 days and maybe leave it open to the air for an our or so to dry off a bit before replastering

[Graffitiqueen]

Yeah you need to leave compeef on until they fall off. Otherwise you tear off the new skin

[T1gerEyes]

Yes I think I've been tearing off the new skin now o think about it!

Ok I'll do it properly! Thanks all

[DancesWithDaffodils]

When my heal did that, I had compeed on it initially, but as soon as it was raw like that I couldn't get compeed to stay. I ended up with a big non adhesive dressing on (Melolin is the branded ones, but boots, superdrug etc have own brand) taped on to prevent movement. It was the only way I could get shoes on.
I'd stop the running - it was 24 hrs traipsing round airports that burst mine.
Hope it heals soon.

[Purplewithred]

Like Standingonaseesawsaid - this from the Compeed website: For de-roofed blisters, specialist blister plasters like COMPEED® only need to be changed when it starts to peel off, or when the white bubble, formed by the blister fluids underneath the dressing, reaches the edge of your plaster. It is perfectly fine to leave a hydrocolloid plaster on for several days.

Alternatively, if the skin underneath is dry and beginning to harden up I'd go the completely clean and dry and uncovered route, only covering it temporarily to protect it if you have to wear shoes etc.

[toffeebutterpopcorn]

I’ve just been clearing up some burns which looked a bit like that - raw holes.

I used those self adhesive pads you get in boots to stop me banging or rubbing the open sore when I couldn’t let it ‘breathe’. It took a few days to stop being so painful and for the scab to cover it.

It’s been two weeks and I have a load of scans that are in incredibly awkward places and keep getting scratched/pulled off.

I think feet take a bit longer to heal because the skin is thick there.

Try to keep it dry - I had to patch up my burns and cover with tape when showering.