TReatment for open blisters

Question

TL, DR: I have a nopen blister. What to do?

So this happened: I steped on a bee and got stung on the underside of my large toe. During the day after the sting, my foot swelled and formed blisters on the upper side, near the sting. I opened the blisters and applied Octenisept (disinfectant) and Dermatol (poweder of talcum and Bismutum Subgallicum) to dry and protect the wound - this is a treatment I remember from my childhood for wounds like this. Since then I kept the area in the open as far as possible (figuring that it heals faster that way) and apply Dermatol occasionally.

The fluid in the blister was clear, yellowish so I figure lymph fluid. No thick yellow fluid, affected foot isnt warmer than the other one and I'm generally fine. Else I'd have seen a doctor allready.

With googling i found out that Dermatol may not be sold in Germany anymore (since 2003 actually) because there's no proof of any effect.

From looking at this answer, the treatment seems to be "... get the sterile dressing on, then clean and redress (with a light application of an antibacterial cream)".
My problem is with the dressing: Blister-bandaids with a gel inside would seem a good idea, but don't fit the area. A packing of light gauze or something would be doable for now, but I will need to wear shoes or boots soon. Any alternatives?
I assume leaving the foot in the open or at least ouside a shoe is god for the healing process. Is this assumption correct?

Answer 1

An open blister should be treated as a wound because the skin is open.

There is something called second skin or hydrocolloid dressing that is ideal because it mimics most of the function of the outer skin. Unfortunately it is expensive. It is often used for open blisters on feet during a walking event when the walker want to continue walking (before taping the foot). See this youtube video for an example.

The full treatment is (according to the dutch red cross): - Wash hands - Wear gloves - Clean wound area - Use a disenfectance, beware of allergies - Apply the second skin (must overlap at least 1cm on healthy skin. - Remove gloves (some people can tape with gloves, most can't) - Tape the area. - Apply some talcum powder so the tape won't stick to socks. - Wash hands again.

Taping is a skill that takes practice. It must be smooth and has a 33/50% overlap. A good method is to measure a piece of tape, first attach the center and gently strike the tape outwards.

If you don't have second skin (or you don't want to use it) you can use normal wound dressing but you have some risk that this sticks to the wound. So I won't reccomend it.