Need quick advice about finger blister...

darrenbassnyc · #1 07-06-2005, 06:41 AM

Hello,

I just got off tour, and have a nice big blister on one of my plucking fingers...

I have to play a show in two days, and I cannot remember if it is better to pop the blister, or leave it and let it go down on it's own...

Also, if there is anything to get at a pharmacy to expidite the healing...

Thanks so much,

Darren

Mon Rominee · #2 07-06-2005, 07:11 AM

I doubt it will go away in that amount of time, and even more doubtful still that the area won't be incredibly tender regardless. The skin is definitely gonna fall away.

IMO, I would get a heated (flame sterilized, no not the best thing, but it's better than nothin) pin and drain it, and then wrap the finger for the next day or so to let the skin underneath heal and be protected.

You may need to play the show with your finger taped. Or, superglued as some here like.

Finger Blister · #3 07-06-2005, 09:24 AM

Drain it.
Tight Band-Aid.
Use a Pick for a couple of days.

Mon Rominee · #4 07-06-2005, 09:29 AM

Listen to the man with the appropriate name.

The_Ryst · #5 07-06-2005, 10:08 AM

Hehe, just grin and bear it I guess.

darrenbassnyc · #6 07-06-2005, 10:15 AM

Hmmmm

A pick for salsa, time to bust out Anthony Jackson style!!!!

ddnidd1 · #7 07-06-2005, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finger Blister

Drain it.
Tight Band-Aid.
Use a Pick for a couple of days.

Yep. It'll heal into a callous. Probably not in time though.

**iriegnome** · #8 07-06-2005, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

I doubt it will go away in that amount of time, and even more doubtful still that the area won't be incredibly tender regardless. The skin is definitely gonna fall away.

IMO, I would get a heated (flame sterilized, no not the best thing, but it's better than nothin) pin and drain it, and then wrap the finger for the next day or so to let the skin underneath heal and be protected.

You may need to play the show with your finger taped. Or, superglued as some here like.

100% agree!! On the occassion I get a blister, after a day or 2 under cover, I will check to see if it needs to be drained again and then I tear it open. I cannot play with the constant rubbing of the dead skin on the new very tender under skin. Tape it and play away though!

Bob Lee (QSC) · #9 07-06-2005, 03:24 PM

Drain it, dry it, and cover it with some New Skin, which is a liquid bandage. When the New Skin cracks or peels after a couple hours, dab on some more. In a day or two your finger should be good to go.

GetLow · #10 07-06-2005, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

Drain it, dry it, and cover it with some New Skin, which is a liquid bandage. When the New Skin cracks or peels after a couple hours, dab on some more. In a day or two your finger should be good to go.

that sounds good, but wouldn't it still be sore?

Wesley R · #11 07-06-2005, 09:20 PM

poke it close to the base and do a small hole. it will drain some or all and then heal a little. When it heals over some liquid should come back and protect the raw area. The liquid skin is also a good idea.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.

CamMcIntyre · #12 07-07-2005, 01:13 AM

When i got a blister on my middle finger from over compensating on DB [no, not that kind of over compensating-i hadn't played much for the past 2 weeks so i played for 3 hours straight one day], i used one of my mom's unused sterilized syringes [i butchered the spelling...] to drain the liquid and i put the new skin on top of it. I think it was 3 days and it was gone.

Don't pop it and peel all the skin off. I did after getting a blister on the same finger [different reason......about 3 hours of Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, and a range of tunes from Pop to Big Band]-i popped it and pealed the skin off. NOT GOOD IDEA!! It took about a week to heal all the way. When i did that-i built up the layers w/the New Skin and then on the top coat-i used Super Glue.

In conclusion-drain it, but don't destroy it.

That's all

Meyekul · #13 07-07-2005, 09:47 AM

Drain it and wrap it with a thin bandage, and then either use a pick or try to use your other fingers more to give the injured one a break. You might want to turn your gain up more than usual and play with a lighter touch, just depending on how bad it hurts and how strong your threshold for pain is.

darrenbassnyc · #14 07-07-2005, 11:02 AM

Cool..

Thank you everybody for your helpful responses!!!

It's actually been good, been practicing some pick playing and 3rd and 4th finger pucking while it heals... its been years since I had a blister, so I kind of freaked...

Take care,
Darren

troll · #15 07-07-2005, 12:29 PM

I often get one on my middle finger if I've taken considerable time off. The whole tip is one big calous. I think it's due to being longer than all my other fingers, I tend to favor it for single finger runs and play harder with it, so it gets the most abuse.

Several times I've just drained it for a day or two, once the skin isn't bright red and fresh, I'll peel it, and then play on it. It hurts like hell, but the end result is a nice thick calous that never seems to blister again unless neglected. But if I play often and keep it in shape, it stands up to the roughest playing. I also can use my ring finger a bit for triplets, and can do ok for normal playing and replacing the middle, so when the blisters healing, it gets a bit of a break.

On that note, I recently developed a bit of a blister on my pinky, nothing bad but it was sore as hell yesterday. I had a bad habit of barely using it for years and switching postitions, I've been working on using it more and it's paying off. I finally have a big ol' calous on it.