Long-term skin friction will increase the permeability of capillaries and increase tissue fluid, thus forming local fluid-raised vesicles. Typically, most doctors advise patients not to prick the blisters to avoid scarring and infection. But if you really want to puncture it, here’s a safe way to do it.

Deciding Whether to Prick the Blister

Get your doctor’s opinion. Doctors generally don’t recommend pricking blisters because they cover the injured skin and provide a sterile environment. Puncturing the blister means exposing the skin to the bacterial environment outside the body, which may lead to infection.

Assess your current situation. Use the following questions to evaluate your current situation and see if you should prick the blister.

• Where do your blisters appear? It’s often much safer to prick a blister on your feet than it is to prick one on your lip or inside your mouth. If you have blisters or herpes in your mouth, see your doctor for evaluation and treatment.
• Does it look infected? If there is yellow pus oozing around the blister, it is likely infected and you should see a doctor immediately.
• Have the blisters seriously affected your daily life, such as preventing you from walking normally? If a foot blister is too painful or prevents you from walking, there are safe ways to pop it.

Do not prick blisters caused by sunburn or burns. If you get sunburn and develop blisters, it’s probably a second-degree sunburn. This condition is serious enough that you should see your doctor for professional treatment rather than trying to prick the blister. Because blisters can cover injured skin, provide a sterile environment, and protect the skin from slowly regenerating after sunburn. See a doctor for professional treatment and protect your skin from re-injury once it heals.

• Blisters caused by second-degree sunburn should be treated carefully with burn ointment. Go to the hospital and see a doctor. The doctor will prescribe sunburn ointment for you, and you will also need to learn how to treat these sunburn blisters.

Blood blisters, sometimes called heel petechiae or black heels, are small hemorrhagic black or black-purple spots under the dermis that occur on the heel. This disease is often caused by strenuous exercise and constant friction of protruding bones (such as heels), which causes blood vessels to rupture, allowing red blood cells to enter the subdermis, and forming black and purple spots.

• Blood blisters represent deeper damage to the body. People usually resolve and treat blood blisters on their own, but some people mistake heel petechiae for melanoma. If you’re not sure, it’s best to talk to your doctor.

Preparations

Apply soap or hand sanitizer on the palms of your hands, apply it evenly, and rub it into a lather, scrub your hands and wrists repeatedly for 20 seconds, and then rinse your hands with warm water.

• Wash your hands with unscented soap. This will prevent the chemicals in the soap from irritating the blister when it pops and make it worse, and prevent bacteria from your hands from spreading to your delicate skin.

Clean the blister area with soap and water, medical alcohol, or an antibacterial agent.

• You can buy antibacterial agents such as povidone-iodine at many pharmacies. However, please be careful when using it as it will temporarily color your skin and stain your clothes.
• Gently pour antiseptic or medical alcohol over the blister and the area around it. If you want to wash with soap and water, use unscented soap. Use your hands to create a lather, gently apply to the blistered area, and then rinse with water. During this process, be careful not to press the blisters too hard, otherwise they may burst.

Have your needle or blade ready. It is best to use disposable, prepackaged sterile needles or scalpel blades. Needles and blades are usually available from pharmacies or medical supply stores.

• If you plan to use a sewing needle at home, soak it in medical alcohol to disinfect it first.
• Do not sterilize needles or blades by holding them over a fire; flames can produce carbon particles that can irritate the skin and even worsen the infection.

Puncture Blisters

Prick the blister from its sides. Use a knife to pop the blisters, make two or three openings, and let the liquid inside drain out on its own with the help of gravity. Poke the blister from the sides, near the bottom edge.

• Don’t try the threading method. As the name suggests, a threaded sewing needle is inserted through the blister, which greatly increases the risk of infection.

Drain the fluid from the blisters. Let the liquid in the blister drain naturally under the action of gravity, or gently press down from the top of the blister to let the liquid flow out of the punctured hole.

• Do not squeeze or tear the blister to drain the fluid, as this may cause damage to the skin under the blister.

Do not tear the skin. Tearing off dead skin from the blistered part can irritate the surrounding healthy skin and expose the skin to infection-prone environments. Wash the blisters with soap, water, antibacterial, and a bandage.

Apply a little antibacterial ointment and wrap a bandage. This prevents bacteria from entering the blister and relieves the pressure of the blister.

• Apply the ointment and change the bandage every day until the blister is completely healed, a process that takes about a week.

After puncturing the blisters, soak your body, feet, and hands regularly. Bath salts help drain the liquid from the blister. For the next few days, put half a cup of bath salts in warm water and soak for 20 minutes every day.

Watch for signs of infection. If you are red, swollen, painful or draining pus, you may have an infection. At this point, you will need to see a doctor and receive antibiotic treatment.

• If there is redness and swelling around the blister, then you may be infected. You may have a fever (body temperature higher than normal 37°). If the blister is more painful than the blister and is accompanied by other symptoms, you probably have an infection.
• Pus is a yellowish-white fluid that drains from a sore. If your blister or punctured blister is leaking such a yellow liquid, see a doctor in the hospital and receive treatment for the infection.

Prevent recurrence of blisters. Use a “donut” pie hole pressure pad to vent pressure from the bony prominence. If you run regularly, you may want to consider buying new shoes and socks that fit better to reduce friction or improve the moisture-wicking properties of your equipment.

• If you’re a paddler, wear watersports-specific gloves or put tape on the handle of your paddle to reduce friction between your hand and the paddle.

Tips

• Some diseases can cause blisters, such as pemphigus, pemphigoid, or certain infectious diseases, such as acne vulgaris. If the blisters appear for no apparent reason and appear numerous and recurring, it’s a good idea to see your doctor.
• Make sure everything (hands, needle, around the blister, in the blister) is sterile to avoid infection.
• You can seek help from your doctor, dermatologist, or nurse practitioner who can use sterile tools to treat the blisters. If you have a lot of blisters, it is necessary to treat them like this.