Help, I think my foot might fall off.

I've entered in to week 4 of my marathon/half outlaw training and have encountered a problem in the form of a giant blister on my foot arch. I'm usually not so fussed about such things but this one is just nasty, painful and I can't seem to make it go away. 

Should I be treating this as an injury and not running on it or should I just suck it up and get on with it? I've tried the fancy blister patches but - look away now if queeze-prone - the blister within the patch tends to fill up and create an even more painful mound. Help? 

burst trim and compeed

Hot, salty water baths.

Pics please.

Do not do this:-

Take needle and thread. Put needle through blister from one to the other and then cut needle off thread. Leave thread in blister to act as a wick. It stops the hole sealing. Blister and skin dry out. Remove thread about day 4 and sometimes the skin reattaches to the foot. Sometimes it continues to dry and falls off leaving new skin underneath. You can wash needle in tcp but as I told you not to do this it won't matter.

The above is what I do and it works for me on multi-day walks but most chiropodists would prefer I didn't do this. It is not the modern way.

During ultra events they sometimes cut the whole blister off with a scalpal and then use iodine to make it hurt a lot, bandage, pull you to your feet and push you out the door and back on the route.

Next - how do you stop it happening again. It caused by one thing - rubbing. It is sometimes assisted by hot sweaty feet as this can soften the skin and make you more prone to rubbing. To avoid constantly taping try using different types of socks, adjusting your laces to pull tighter across the arch. You could try different insoles if you have some. After that tape it with micropore tape or simialr to both protect the foot and it helps pad out the foot which might be enough.

M..eface

for races - burst the blister and fill with superglue = job done
next time if you know your going to get a hot spot, tape the area with zinc oxide tape, i use micropore tape because i use it at work, if i wasnt a tight arse i would use zinc ox, and wear wicking socks - my preference is drymax.
re the arches = sounds like you have a shoe for high arches when in fact you may have shallow arches,that may be why they are rubbing, do a wet test on the floor to see what arch type you have. i believe mizuno have somethiing similar on their site 

I got blisters on the arch of my foot, bought proper running socks and never had another one, not even after a 6 hour rain soaked, flood wading "run". Good luck.

M..eface, I utterly refuse to give you a picture of my blisted foot and I think you should seek professional help re your blistered foot fetish.

Otherwise, all good suggestions! I might stay away from the superglue though, that can only end one way and I don't fancy being stuck to my floor.

I don't usually suffer from bad blisters - I think the culprit was a week of hotel treadmills while on a work trip. Far too hot and sweaty. Will be looking in to posh running socks too, I have only bought them by accident in the past (forgot the socks, needed to run, running shop only shop in Westminster that sells ankle socks).  

Thanks!!

Note: Superglue not as silly as it sounds. Sticking skin to skin was its intended purpose, which is why it is so good at it.

Had my lower lip glued after tooth forced through lip leaving a hole!

I used to trim off excess skin from burst blisters with large toeclippers, then rub surgical spirit onto the skin, it burns like hell on fresh skin but eventually the skin will harden. I was shown that years ago by someone who said guitar players use it to toughen up the skin on their fingers!

+1 for bursting it, trimming the skin off, letting it dry off a bit and slapping on a big Compeed patch.

Found an amazing new product in Boots yesterday. Compeed 'Extreme' patches. They're like a padded blanket for your blister, I think I'm in love. 

An update on the heinous blister: I took onboard the 'trim, dry, (extreme) Compeed' method and ran a 10k race PB today with no trouble whatsoever.

Thank you!  

I am a fellow blister sufferer, or was. I've managed to tame the blister monster by changing my running technique. The big thing is to try and eliminate foot torque during the stance phase, meaning - stop twisting your foot when your weight is on it. It can be quite subtle and difficult to spot at first, but just pay carefuly attention to your feet and what they are doing. Another way of helping is to focus on landing near the 2nd toe (either midfoot or fore foot) and then springing off the big toe. Not only will this eliminate the torsion that rips layers of skin to shreds, but it also improves your gait mechanics allowing a much more efficient stride. I am a walking (and running testimony) of the success of this method, as previously I only needed to think of running and a few blisters would pop out, yet now I am running completely blister free (31 Miles yesterday).

I still wear Hillys twin skin socks and apply a bit of vaseline more for preventative reasons, as well as that being very comfortable.