Over the next few days, over 90 ultra runners will test themselves at the Badwater Ultramarathon in California’s Death Vally. 135 miles. Extreme heat, scorching roads, sand, wind, hot winds, and then at the finish line – much colder temperatures. I’ll be there to help with runner’s foot care issues, working with Denise Jones.
I decided to rerun this blog post from 2010. It describes an issue that can harm a runner, and can happen when time is not taken to repair small blisters before they become large, and then huge.
Here’s the post from July 2010.
This was a good week. Badwater in Death Valley always is. Fit runners, great crews, fantastic scenery through the harsh reality of Death Valley – and for me, lots of feet needing care.
For the most part, things were pretty normal. Blisters and more blisters. A great case of severe capillaritis (heat rash) on one runner’s ankles. Ugly toenails. Stinky feet. And more. Lots to like for someone who does foot care.
At the closing ceremony, I noticed Monica, a runner from Brazil, was favoring her right heel. I had met her several years earlier at a previous Badwater when I patched her feet at the 40-mile mark. This year, she finished her 2nd Badwater and that was important. However, she had not come in for help.
She should have.
After the awards ceremony, Denise Jones came and told me I had to see this blister. She talked as if it was really a great find. Denise, as the Badwater Blister Queen, has seen everything and it takes quite a bit to faze her. This blister did. And yes, it was good.
What started as a small blister, one that could have been treated to prevent it from getting bigger, was now an enormous blood blister. The image shows you the size.
There were several issues we had to consider. First and foremost, Monica is a diabetic. This makes foot care a huge issue because any foot infection suddenly becomes a huge health issue. Secondly, the size of this blister, filled with blood, would make it difficult to patch. As always, blood-filled blisters must be managed with care.
We debated the issues and gave Monica advice on how to take care of the blister for her trip home. We advised frequent soaks in warm/hot water with Epson salts and sticking to sandals or other open heel footwear.
What I want to emphasize here is that this never should have reached the size it was and worse yet, filled with blood. For those wondering, a blood blister is bad because, once opened or torn, it can introduce infection into the circularity system if not kept clean.
I wish Monica had taken care of this earlier. She may have never mentioned it to her crew. At any rate, what could have been easily treated now became a huge issue.
It’s a good lesson on not allowing small problems to become large problems. In other words, “Don’t do this to your feet.”
