Heat, electricity, and sunlight can burn the skin and lead to blistering. Chemical burns can also cause blisters. Historically, doctors labeled burns as either first, second, or third degree. Now, they prefer to classify burns according to their depth. There are three main types of burn:. Most household burns and sunburns are either superficial burns or minor partial thickness burns. There may be a small amount of blistering, and the area will look red and a little swollen.
It will also be painful. Read about treatments for burn blisters here. Dyshidrotic eczema is a common form of eczema that can cause itchy, dry skin and small, deep-seated blisters on the hands or feet. These blisters are usually itchy and painful.
Eczema is a long-term condition for which there is no cure, and the symptoms tend to come and go over time. Blisters can appear during a flare-up of symptoms, which stress or a rise in temperature can trigger. These small blisters usually clear up in 2—3 weeks. They may burst on their own, but people should avoid popping them. Certain viral infections can cause blisters. These include infections with the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles , and the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores or fever blisters.
Doctors will typically advise people to avoid scratching or breaking open chickenpox or shingles blisters as doing this can leave a scar.
Instead, a person can try applying calamine lotion to the skin or adding baking soda or colloidal oatmeal to a cool bath to help reduce the itching. Cold sores usually appear close to the mouth, often on or next to the lips. They may be in the form of a single blister or a cluster of blisters. Cold sore blisters will usually go away by themselves in a week or two.
It is important to avoid popping, scratching, or touching these blisters as this can spread the virus to other areas of skin, causing further outbreaks.
According to the AAD , a person can follow these steps to drain a blister properly:. Using rubbing alcohol to sterilize the needle does not always prevent infection. Contact dermatitis — a reaction that happens when your skin comes in contact with an allergen or irritant — can cause allergy blisters.
These blisters are a little different from the rest. Caused by bacteria or viruses, they can vary in size and shape and might be crusty or pus-filled. Cold sores, which can form around your mouth, are sometimes called fever blisters. Popping infected blisters will probably make the problem worse. For instance, you might end up spreading the germs from the blister to the surrounding skin.
Wash your hands and the blister. Plain old soap and water is fine — just be sure to wash well. Rub the blister with iodine. This will help get the area even cleaner to reduce the risk of infection. FYI, never rub iodine on an open or popped blister.
It should be used only on blisters that are fully closed. Sterilize your popping tool. A sharp needle — like a sewing needle or the needle end of a safety pin — is your best bet. Give the needle a good wipe with rubbing alcohol. Puncture the blister and let it drain. Make a bunch of small pops around the edge of the blister and let the fluid flow out, gently pressing on the area.
Try to keep the blister skin from tearing. Bandage it up. Wear protective gloves when using tools such as shovels or pickaxes, and when doing manual work such as gardening.
This will help prevent blisters developing on your hands. Be careful when dealing with heat such as steam, flames or boiling water. Make sure you use the right safety equipment in working environments involving heat or chemicals.
Use sunscreen when in the sun. Keep your skin covered with clothing to avoid getting blisters from sunburn. You should also wear a sun hat. Always wear protective gloves when handling detergents, cleaning products, solvents and other chemicals. Home Illnesses and conditions Injuries Skin injuries Blisters. Blisters See all parts of this guide Hide guide parts 1. About blisters 2. Causes of blisters 3.
Treating blisters 4. Preventing blisters. About blisters Blisters are small pockets of fluid that usually form in the upper layers of skin after it's been damaged.
Treating blisters Most blisters heal naturally after three to seven days and don't require medical attention. When to see your GP See your GP if you have blisters that: you think are infected are very painful keep coming back An infected blister will be filled with yellow or green pus and may be painful, red and hot. What causes blisters? Blisters can be caused by: friction to the skin heat — for example, from sunburn or a scald contact with chemicals, such as detergent medical conditions, such as chickenpox and impetigo Read more about what causes blisters.
Preventing blisters There are a number of things you can do to avoid getting blisters caused by friction, sunburn or chemicals. For example, you can: wear comfortable, well-fitting shoes help keep your feet dry with thicker socks or talcum powder wear gloves when handling chemicals use sunscreen Read more about preventing blisters. Causes of blisters Blisters are most often caused by skin being damaged by friction or heat. Friction Friction blisters are common in people who are very active, such as sports players and those in the military.
Skin reaction Blisters can appear when skin is exposed to excessive heat — for example, when you have sunburn. Medical conditions A number of medical conditions may cause blisters. The most common are: chickenpox — a childhood illness that causes itchy red spots cold sores — small blisters that develop on the lips or around the mouth, caused by a virus herpes — a sexually transmitted infection STI that most commonly affects the groin impetigo — a contagious bacterial skin infection pompholyx — a type of eczema scabies — a skin condition, caused by tiny mites, which may lead to blisters developing on young children's feet or palms of their hands hand, foot and mouth disease — a viral infection that usually affects young children Several rarer conditions can also cause blisters.
They are: bullous pemphigoid — a skin disease that causes large blisters and usually affects people over 60 years of age pemphigus vulgaris — a serious skin condition where blisters develop if pressure is applied to the skin; the blisters burst easily, leaving raw areas that can become infected dermatitis herpetiformis — a skin condition that causes intensely itchy blisters, usually on the elbows, knees, back and buttocks; blisters usually develop in patches of the same shape and size on both sides of the body epidermolysis bullosa — a group of rare inherited skin disorders that cause the skin to become very fragile; any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood — a condition that causes clusters of blisters to develop on the face, mouth or genitals bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma — a type of icthyosis someone is born with, which causes inflamed, scaly skin with blisters.
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Written by Scott Frothingham on November 13,
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