For us city folk too (Compeed Blister Plasters)

Member Name: waterlilly

Product:	Compeed Blister Plasters
Date:	14/06/09 (260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relieves the pain of blisters effectively

Disadvantages: Slightly pricey though value for money in my book

My husband is one of those crazy walking types who owns a range of sensible shoes and endless amounts of kit that fill up our spare room. Often I resent the existence of this kit as it regularly overflows to the rest of the house and hints are often made that I too need a rucksack for carrying some of said kit myself. However, I have finally found that walkers do have at least one handy little product that the rest of us need to know about: Compeed Blister Gel Pads.

Yesterday I spent a hot, humid Saturday walking about the lovelier parts of Norwich wearing sandals I'd not had on since our honeymoon 10 months ago. The balls of my feet were burning a bit by the time I came home, so for the evening I switched into my "going out boots". The great thing about these boots is that I can wear socks when we go out and avoid actually walking back across our buildings' courtyard in barefeet when I finally cave andtake the boots off! So by bedtime last night a fairly prominent blister had formed on my left foot. Hubby's compeed to the rescue!

Compeed blister pads come in small, med and large sizes. Dooyoo is also advertising gel pads for blisters on toes, but I've not seen these myself. These oval shaped pads have the appearance of silicone with an incredibly sticky side (this goes next to the skin) and a smooth side that acts as a second skin while the blister is healing. The gel pad should fully cover the blister and a fairly great area of skin around it in order to hold it in place. This has the added benefit this morning of also providing pain relief and protection to most of the rest of my rather sensitive, delicate balls of my feet. It is important to smooth it down well when first applied as bubbling may cause additional irritation to the area. Also this will help the gel pad stay fixed longer, and it's important to get your money worth with these!

The down side of compeed plaster gel pads is that they are not cheap. Do not mistake these for regular plasters! At about £4.40 for a package of 5 medium sized gel pads, my husband may eventually get fed up with me stealing his and I may have to invest in a pack myself. However, the value for money with these lovely little foot-friends makes them a great product in my mind. You leave the gel pad on until it decides to come off. You don't replace it regularly so one gel pad per blister is enough. They come in a handy little plastic case to help keep them dry and safe whether in a handbag or rucksack.

Warning: your foot must be dry when the gel pad is applied. If it is wet or sweaty then the pad will not stay put and it will be money wasted. My husband (who has more experience with these things than I, despite me having stolen a few now) says it's also important to keep them dry for a few hours. For him that means don't decide to ford a stream immediately after application. For me that means, don't jump into a post-night-out shower after having applied.

Whether you're an outdoorsy type whose walking boots have started to run or the owner of impractical shoes that you just keep insisting on wearing, compeed blister plasters can be your new bestfriend.

Summary: Don't let blisters slow you down