Persistent blisters with 3 pairs of shoes - help please! (Read 1288 times)

I actually ended up getting a callus in that same spot! That was because I insisted on putting an insert into the bottom of the shoe and the shoe and it were slightly different shapes. Do they have Moleskin in France? If not, ducttape might help too. Once you get those blisters healed up, tape-up BEFORE the run and see if that doesn't help. Others have different suggestions...

Amputate the toe. You'll never have blisters there again. Just kidding. Sounds like the shoes don't fit your fore foot well...too much sliding. Either that or your mechanics simply make you prone to blisters. Try the ankle high panty hose. Seriously. It worked for us in the Army on long road marches, in those ridiculously heavy ill fitting boots and carrying all that heavy crap.

I had problems wit hblisters on both arches when I started wearing orthotics - I tried everything and although compede worked for a while in the end the blisters were bigger than the plasters so they no longer worked. I tried the HTFU route with some success - people I ran with now think I am some kind of mental case because i just popped the blisters, squeezed the blood out and carried on running. This is ok for a while but I dont think it is a good solution long term. What has worked for me is to wipe the area with surgical spirit several times per day for a week or so. This hardens the skin up but stops it from cracking - did the trick for me. Hope you can find a solution as it is soooo much easier to run when you dont have blisters. Good luck Nev

The only time I can remeber when I got blister on the front part of inner arch (which I think is where you're explaining...) is when the insole is too thick or too high (arch) like it happens when you slide an extra insole like orthotics; or when I bought shoes that's a half a size bigger than it should per recommendation of the store guy. For the latter, in general, what happens is that the widest part of the shoe no longer fits where the widest part of your foot fits in (because you're getting a shoe that's a half a size too big). Yes, your feet will swell up a bit when you run but not to that extent (of course, it's slightly an individual matter...). The reason why they say that is because way back when they built shoes with toe box collapsing on your toes. Now we have (in general) a "U" shape reinforcement wrapping around the toe box to keep the toe box 3-deminsional. If the toe box still collapses and pushes the big toe down (and causing black toe nail), then there's something wrong with that particular shoe--this should NOT happen. But old wife's tale stays alive and many of the shoe sales people still tell you to get a half a size to sometimes even a full size bigger shoe than necessary (or you SHOULD get). Ceonsequently, your arch will slide backward a bit and get the inner arch rubbed against the narrower part of the shoe. I'm telling ya; I don't work for these guys, I don't represent them; I don't have any connection with them--but if you're getting a blister problem from rubbing, try a blue low-friction patch called Engo (I think their website is www.runengo.com or something like that...google search them). It really does work (though I still think this is just s tampering and you should really find out the real cause of it and eliminat it). I do have a few samples at hand; if you're interested, I can send you a few to try out. Honest to God, I don't get paid by them or anything like that! ;o)

I did a quick Google and found that blisters on the arches generally mean that your shoes don't fit correctly. Either your arch is too low for your shoes or your shoes aren't the right size so your arch is support is in the wrong place. I also read that this can be caused by shoes that don't flex enough in the middle. Teresa

Hi to everyone who has answered. Thanks so much for your advice and encouragement. I was just thinking that the only time I can remember running without blisters recently was inexplicably when I did my first half-marathon in November . The only reason I can come up with is that it was maybe cold enough (2°C) to negate any friction. Nobby415, you may be right about my shoes being half a size too big as I went up half a size for me last two pairs, although I did also have blisters from the first pair, though not so severe until they were approaching the end of the life. Thanks for tip on Engo, I'll see if I can suss them out around here. Marktman, actually I do have the beginnings of a bunion and it's bigger on the foot where I get the worst blisters. I might get on to my GP, who while not a sports specialist is himself a runner and might be able to refer me to a podiatrist. Nev, you mentioned toughening the skin with surgical spirits. I thnk I've seen elsewhere advice to 'tan' skin in blister prone areas using some product or another. Has anyone heard of anything like this? Thanks again to all