Blisters on skin

Skin blisters

One of the most annoying athletic injuries is skinblisters, although many think that athletes more commonly suffer from the problems such as sprained ankle, sore knee or separated shoulder, for example. When a person performs various activities, thesedistressing blisters may appear, because the skin is consisted of several layers thatcan be pulled apart if strong pressure is made on it. The skin layers that arepulled apart begin to fill up with fluid that causes the consequent pain. The blisters can appear everywhere on the skin, whetheron the hands when we are playing tennis, for example, or on the feet if we are,for instance, running.

Prevention of skin blisters

The stronger the force on the skin is, the higher the risk for the appearance of the blisters is. Furthermore, the coefficient of frictionis one of the most important reasons why blisters occur and it depends on the characteristics of the skin, how much the skin ismoisturized and the presence or absence of lubricating agents. Although it may seem slightly surprising, the moremoisturized the skin that is exposed to a strong force is, the more susceptible to the appearanceof blisters it is. When the dry skin is exposed to a strongforce, the outer skin layer tends to tear off and produce certain lubricant thatprotects the remaining skin. Therefore, if we are exposed to some strong forces, our hands should be kept dry.

It is well known that many athletes use certainlubricants that they apply on the skin that is susceptible to the emerging ofthe blisters. However, this was tested in one research. Several lubricants,such as mineral oil, propylene glycol, silicone fluids, liquid paraffin, and talcas well as sebum, peanut oil, petroleum jelly and glycerin, were tested in order to determine whetherthey prevent or reduce the outbreak of the blisters. It is normal to concludethat these lubricants can only help because they form a kind of barrier betweenthe skin and the fractional forces. However, it has been proven in thisresearch that these lubricants may help but just for a very brief time. Furthermore,the experts reached the conclusion that they may even increase the possibility ofrecurring blisters, which happens because these lubricants keep the water in theskin and this water flows into the open spaces that form in the skin because ofthe strong pressure. It has also been proven that antidepressants anddrying powder do not help in preventing the occurrence of the skin blisters.