Wave bye-bye to blisters! (Compeed Hydro Cure System)

Member Name: LadyAudley

Product:	Compeed Hydro Cure System
Date:	03/11/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The best blister treatment out there

Disadvantages: Expensive

I spend a fair bit of my free time in the countryside, generally running up and down the fells of the north. When I started hiking in the hills, I used to take a huge amount of kit with me, staggering around like a desperate Duke of Edinburgh student under a rucksack the size (and weight) of a small elephant. I spent a huge amount of money on high tech gear, thinking that if I spent cash, I'd get quality.

However, over the years I realized that I didn't need or even use half of it, and that with a little bit of resourcefulness, I could get away with travelling an awful lot lighter, and buying an awful lot less. I'll still invest in quality products where I think an item is absolutely key, but I also know where to cut corners. With outdoor gear, you can sometimes end up paying an awful lot of money for something that is really not much better than a low-end value job.

So why do I regularly shell out for the expensive and high-tech Compeed? Does it not cause me pain to spend three quid on six fancy plasters, when I could get a whole role of fabric strip from Tesco for about 60p? Quite simply, I buy it because nothing else works as well. I've road tested this product on many long runs, including a couple of bruising mountain marathons, and it really does do exactly what it says on the tin.

There's nothing worse, when you're running or hiking than getting bad blisters. If you don't take fairly sharp action, what starts out as a bit of a warm, rubbing sensation quickly becomes an agonizing tender patch of flesh, which hurts with every step you take, drawing your attention away from both the scenery and distracting you when you need to take important route-finding decisions.

Compeed is less a plaster and more a healing system designed specifically for these situations. In the cardboard packaging is an attractive turquoise watertight plastic box (useful for campers). Inside is a pack of small, thin plasters. As I mentioned previously, they cost around three quid each and come in three sizes: small, medium or large.

You apply Compeed just like a regular plaster, but unlike elastoplast, it doesn't simply sit on top of your skin and prevent friction. Instead, it bonds to your skin when you put it on, covering it with a clear, translucent layer, like a small, shiny bubble. This keeps the wound sealed from further abrasion, immediately cutting down on pain and annoyance and preventing dirt and infections from starting. It also means the plaster doesn't fall off every two minutes, even if, like me, you run in wet Walsh trainers.

But it's after this that the magic begins! Compeed draws a small amount of moisture from the wound, forming a cushion around the blistered area. It's like having a pain-free blister on top of the real blister, reducing pain and inflammation. In the longterm, the dressing really does seem to speed up the healing process (by up to 20% according to the product website), by ensuring that nutrients and moisture are evenly distributed at the wound site. I have found that it also reduces scarring, though I can't explain why this is the case. Maybe it's because the locked-in moisture means that you don't get an annoyingly hard scab forming.

But while this is a must for anyone into extreme running or hiking, it isn't just a product for the outdoorsy. It has a multitude of other uses, not least because it's attractively clear instead of being the horrible flesh-colour of other dressings. For instance, I've used it as my secret helper in situations where I've wanted to wear ultra-uncomfortable high heels. I've also used it at a wedding to patch up a bride's scratched arm for photographs - and you couldn't even see the dressing on the photos.

In short - this is a must-have product for anyone doing long walks or runs. Five stars.

Summary: A must for the outdoorsy.