getting blisters........need advice

[donnad]

ok, here's the deal.......whenever i dive, after a few dives i always end up with blisters......on my second toe, on the inside. i think that when i'm finning that i must be moving my toes in such a manner as to cause my big toe to rub repeatedly over the top inside edge of my second toe. i'm wondering about a possible cause......i have narrow feet......and when i bought my booties from the dive shop when i got certified in 2004, i tried on several different pair.....knowing that my foot would be "swimming" around in most of them if not all because my foot is pretty narrow and it's also narrow or thin from top to bottom. i selected the ones that fit the best, but my toes have plenty of room to wiggle and the ones that stayed on my feet the best happened to be kind of cheap ones........the top is all neoprene.........no hard part comes up over the toes. don't know if this matters.......or if i just need to learn how to keep my toes still in there.......anyone else have this problem? do they make booties in half sizes and in narrow or slim? would love to stop getting blisters.

 

[Shasta_man]

First thing I'd mention is tightness of your fin straps. I noticed a similar problem though not exactly.

I found that I was putting my fins on nice and tight and that was caused rubbing. By putting on my fins and just making them snug, rather than cinching them down, it made a big difference.

If boot fit is the problem, you might look for a custom bootie maker as, as you can tell, fit is important for such a repetitive moving part. I'm not familiar with any but my feet are in the 1/2 size and wide so I feel your pain. Always either too narrow makes them too long, or wide enough but no half size.

 

[Desert_Diver]

I have a blistering problem with my fins. I use Force fins and the foot enclosure ends about the middle of my toes. Particularly on live aboards where I am doing five dives per day, my toes blister along the line where the fins end. The engine room guy on the Nekton Pilot gave me a roll of duct tape. I put one turn around my feet covering the tops of my toes and I've had no problems since. In your case, you may want to put a separate piece of tape around each toe that is blistering.

Someone else suggested "liquid skin". It is sold in drug stores as a liquid band aid. It hardens over the open wound to stop bleeding. I have never tried it so I can't offer any testimonials.

By the way, I also wear the soft top booties. When they wear out, I think I will give the hard top booties a try. I don't know if that will do any good or not.

Art

 

[LOOPS]

I agree with Art, as a former dancer (ballet and point that is) I would constantly have problems with forming blisters on my feet. To help prevent this I would use tape... not necessarily duct tape but like some form of a sports tape that one would use for taping up a bandage. From what I know booties only come in whole sizes but I know how hard it is to find dive boots... I wear a size 9.5 narrow (AAA). The boots that work best for me are the tusa dive boots. Just a thought...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

First try to (1) lossen the fin straps and (2) wear a pair of thin socks under the boots.

 

[skynscuba]

I'll second the thin of socks. I use some synthetic wicking, very thin socks that I originally bought from REI as hiking/skiing undersocks.

 

[Sharky1948]

I'll third the socks. I tried everything, including the athletic tape. It worked OK, but was a PIA to keep putting on. I use lycra socks, which you can get at Leisurepro. (http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/FNSS.html?Search=op%3ddtSearch%26Term%3dsock%26SearchFlag%3dall%26AdvSrchSortField%3dRelevance%26SortDesc%3d0%26Hit%3d1) Since using them, I have not had a blister.

 

[BLD_THRST]

neoprene socks works me..... when i switched to a new pair of full foots, i got blisters on my toes and heel..... made kicking hell.... a pair of thin 2-3mm neoprene socks solved it..... not as good as booties for shore dives but better than walking bare feet.... the socks are a lot cheaper than a proper booty.....

 

[donnad]

thanks for the help everyone! LOOPS, i'm a 9.5 narrow as well! my shoes are all AA,AAA and AAAA depending on the shoe. i'm gonna take a look at tusa booties. and am gonna try the sock thing. LOOPS, so you haven't found 9.5 narrow booties?

 

[FredT]

Put a band-aid or tape on the spot that blisters BEFORE you get your feet wet!

Then check fit on the boots and fins paying particular attention to location and conditon of seams.

I never blister in my full foot fins, but I've had a few boots that would cause them in Jets.

FT