A blood blister on the toe appears as a red blood-filled blister that may or may not be painful. Some of these blisters can occur on the toenail or even at the bottom of your toes. Should you pop them? How long will it take for them to heal and go away? Here are pictures and ways to get rid of blood blisters on toes.
Blood blisters are clusters of fluid that are collected on the upper epidermal layer of the skin. They are formed when the outer layer is damaged. Fluids get collected under the damaged skin for providing support for the tissues below. The process of fluid collection serves as a protective cover for the tissue underneath so that it heals very quickly.
Causes of blood blister on toe
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Cancer
You are likely to ignore your feet and the blisters occurring. Cancer on the foot or ankle is likely to be missed or diagnosed when it is too late. This is according to the News published by the BBC on June 21st 2008.
According to Antony Kontos who is a podiatrist at the London Foot and ankle center, a simple foot check could help protect you against undetected cancers of the skin. Failure puts you at a risk of getting melanoma of the foot that looks like a bruise toenail or blood blister.
Friction
This is one of the most likely causes of the blisters. You can face them when you walk or run a long distance or when wear tight fitting shoes. The rubbing causes the fluid to accumulate under the layer of the skin on toes and feet.
You will get blisters more often if your feet are moist and warm than when they are dry. Blisters on the feet do not develop repetitive friction or rubbing from sudden intense friction of the skin. Always avoid the events that would make you exposed to the friction.
Heat
The blisters can also come about as a result of intense heat. The first degree burns will often result to blisters after a couple of days as healing occurs. For the second degree burns they tend to blister almost immediately. Exposure to excess heat and UV light can lead to sunburn that regularly lead to painful blistering on the toes.
Cold
Conditions like frostbite can damage tissue resulting to blisters on the feet. Blood blisters on the feet can be associated with second degree frost bite.
Chemicals
Getting into direct contact with some chemicals can cause skin blistering. Some chemicals solvents and cosmetics can damage your skin leading to blistering.
Medical conditions
There are a number of medical conditions that can cause skin blistering. Blistering on the toes can be associated with skin conditions such as chicken pox shingles herpes impetigo cold sores scabies and some types of eczema.
Medications/Drugs
Allergic reaction to drugs is a very common phenomena. It takes place when you take some drugs that will induce inflammatory mediators in the body and this in the long run. The body can bring about hypersensitive reaction to some medications.
Should you pop a blood blister on toe?
Popping the blister on the toe should never be the first option. However if you have decided to pop then you have to do this with a lot of caution. The first thing is to clean the environment. This includes washing your hands and the site of the blister.
To do this piece the blister with a sterile tool like a needle or a scalpel knife. The sterilization can be done by the use of rubbing alcohol. Make punctures two or three places to relieve pressure and then let the fluid drain more effectively.
Once drained clean the place and apply an antiseptic cream. You can as well wrap the area with a sterile gauze or wrapping. Keep pressure and friction off the affected area as best as you can then monitor it closely for some few days for any signs of infection.
How to get rid of blood blister on toe
There are both medical prescribed medications and also home remedies that help you deal with this menace. They are easy and straight forward to make and follow. The outline below shows some of them.
There are some things that are just preventive measures that you should undertake in order to achieve the effect.
Apply some ice to the affected area.
This is the first and very initial thing that you need to do to treat blood blisters. To do this,
- Apply an ice pack on the affected area for about ten minutes.
- You need to give some rest for the affected area and again carry on applying the ice wrap around the blister.
- This will help in reducing the swelling of the blister as well as to prevent internal bleeding.
- It would work out better for you to apply ice wrap not directly on the blister and to use a towel as a medium between the blood blister and the ice pack.
Sandalwood Paste
This is a very effective natural ingredient that is essential for getting rid of blood blisters very quickly. What you ought to consider is to use good quality sandalwood powder and mix it with rose water to make a thick smooth paste. The subsequent procedure is as follows:
- Apply this paste to the affected area and allow the mixture to dry on the blister.
- Once, it gets dried, you can rinse the affected area with cold water.
- Ensure you repeat this process three to four times a day to reduce the pain and the inflammation.
Reduce Friction
To eliminate pressure might not be always possible. This is because a blood blister on the toes will most likely come into contact with objects around you as you drive and walk around to perform your daily chores. Blood blisters on the bottom of your feet are impossible to protect from pressure.
As an alternative, you can focus on reducing friction. Try using orthopedic felt or a donut pad, which can provide some protection in the blood blister area. A donut pad has a hole in the center for the blister and very thick fabric surrounding it. Ideally, you should use fabric that’s as thick as the height of your blister.
Cucumber Juice
It has been known to provide a lot of solution to so many skin problems and the best property is that it provides a cooling and soothing effect to your skin. Apart from that, it will also help in strengthening the connective tissue and will help in holding the skin together. It will help in easily reducing pain, inflammation and swelling.
In order to benefit, you can either use chilled cucumber pieces on the blister areas or keep it there for some time. Repeat this process for several times a day and for a few days to reduce the blister inflammation. You can also take in a glass of fresh cucumber juiced every day to reduce the pain and inflammation.
Garlic Oil
Always take natural garlic oil and heat it until it gets warm. Afterwards, cool it down to room temperature and massage the oil on the affected area gently. Apart from that, leave the oil for about half an hour on the blood blisters so that it penetrates into the blisters. Then, you need to rinse the area properly and repeat the process for several times in a day.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is one of the most effective natural oils that you can use to treat blood blisters quickly. The antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties of tree tea oil is very good at naturally drying out the blister. All that you need to understand is that as it is a natural process, it would take time to heal. But, you will surely see effective results and your blisters to pop out naturally.
Mouthwash
The most important and widely used mouth wash to break blood blisters is the antiseptic mouth wash. A good antiseptic mouthwash applied on the blister is essential to disinfect the wound. This will help in preventing bacteria or fungus to attack the cut and prevent the spread of infection.
Witch Hazel
The astringent tannins found in the witch hazel are very effective in treating blood blisters. You need to spread a small amount of witch hazel extract to reduce the pain and the inflammation from developing. It will also help in healing blood blisters quickly and effectively. You need to use it four times a week for about a week to get rid of blood blisters.
Avoid salty and spicy food
The moment you realize that you are suffering from blood blisters, then you should avoid spicy and salty foods. This is because they have chances of aggravating your blisters and increase the healing time. Citrus foods like lemon, lime, grape juice, lime, lemon, oranges and other foods like raw vegetables, lentils, salted chips, crackers and so on to prevent blisters from causing a lot of discomfort.
Avoid Smoking
It is essential to keep your body as cool as possible so that the blood blisters will heal very soon. Alcohol and smoking will increase heat in the body and this will delay the blood blisters to heal quickly. Hence, it is better to avoid smoking.
Ginger
Ginger juice extracts are known to have anti- inflammatory properties and you can apply the ginger juice to the affected areas on your feet or hands generously about five to six times a day to reduce the inflammation and to even reduce pain.
Apart from the above, you could also apply castor oil on the blood blister or soak your feet in lukewarm water for 15 minutes a day. This will soften the blood blister by non-invasively removing internal fluids.
Turmeric Powder
Turmeric powder is a well-known natural ingredient that has natural healing powers and is quite effective for a wide variety of skin problems including treating blood blisters. To achieve this,
- Make a fine paste of fresh turmeric powder and rosewater and apply it to the affected area.
- Then rinse it off after the mixture completely dries off on the blisters,
- Repeat the process three to four times to reduce the effect of blisters and to ease the inflammation on your skin.
Epsom Salt
Epsom salt has pain relieving and anti-inflammatory properties that can work very well on your blood blisters. To do this,
- Mix enough quantity of Epsom salt with clean warm water to make it into a smooth fine paste.
- Then clean the blood blisters on your feet or hands with this mixture at least three to four times a day.
- The warm Epsom salt mixed water will help in reducing inflammation as well as pain and will make the blister pop out naturally.
Aloe Vera Juice
The natural properties in this oil make it have the ability to bring down inflammation as it has well established anti-inflammatory properties. This is the main reason why it can be used to treat blood blisters. To effect this;
- You need to apply fresh Aloe Vera extracts and juices on the affected skin area for a few days every day to negate the inflammation of the blister and to ease pain.
- You can also use the Aloe Vera juice available in the market and mix it with vitamin e oil and apply it to the blisters.
- You need to allow it to dry on the blister and then wash it off.
As a precaution, never force a manual pop of the blisters. One of the most important tips to remember is to allow the blood blister to heal on its own and by taking proper care of the affected area. It is very important for you to not try to pop out the blood blister as this may lead to infections and sometimes even serious infections.
Treatments for blood blisters
It is evident that most blisters will heal on their own. In as much as that is the case, there are a few medicines you can try without getting a prescription. You can seek out medicinal creams for blisters and cold sores at your drug store. In most cases, a simple skin ointment will help speed up the healing process and reduce the risk of infection.
The medications are available over the counter and can also be given on prescription by a doctor. The instructions given by the doctor should be followed in order to achieve quick therapeutic outcome and avoid the likelihood of adverse effects like in the case of allergy.
How long to heal a blood blister
At the first instance the blister appears red but blood will congeal and then turn black over time. The moment the blood turns black you will be able to know that the cause of bleeding has healed. If your blister remains red then your blister is still fresh and yet to heal. When the blood turns black it will even fade away and may begin to flake off.
Blood discolors any skin it comes across and so your skin may remain discolored for some time. Once all the skin cells that came into contact with the blood blister are cycled out as dead cells your skin will appear healthy. The process can take from 30 to 4 days.
Pictures of blood blisters
How do blood blisters look like? Attached below are pictures that help you to visualize the real appearance of the blood blisters on the big toe, bottom of toe, under toenail. The pictures are generated from internet sources and therefore it needs professional input to determine the kinds of blisters.
