The Hydrocolloid White Gel Bubble - What Does It Look Like?
My mother came to visit last month.
She bought a new pair of shoes on her last day, wore them all day, walked all around town and guess what happened.
Blister!
She got a blister on her big toe that deroofed.
Bad news for mum.
But as it turned out, good news for me. Because I needed to photograph how a blister heals with a hydrocolloid plaster. There’s only one other photographic example of the hydrocolloid white gel bubble and I was keen to enhance that.
The only thing was she was leaving town that day. So she promised she would take photos and send them to me.
She did a great job. Her photos clearly show how the white gel bubble forms so you can see this is completely normal.
New deroofed blister with hydrocolloid blister plaster applied.
A white gel bubble starts to form within hours which indicates the wound is healing.
How Hydrocolloids Heal
Hydrocolloid blister plasters are exudate-absorbent hydrophilic gel dressings. They’re rubbery and slightly translucent. As your deroofed blister weeps, the hydrocolloid material absorbs the fluid and turns into a gel. From the outside, it looks like a white bubble. The dressing remains waterproof the whole time. The white bubble is a sign that your blister is healing.
You can learn more about how hydrocolloid blister plaster work here including:
When you should change your plaster
What your blister will look like when you take your plaster off
Why you should tape the edges of your plaster down
Blister healed!
Mum sent me a photo of her healed blister a week later on her way down south 😃
Examples of Hydrocolloid Blister Plasters
Compeed Blister Patches - Three convenient shapes/sizes of blister plasters.
BlisterPod Hydrocolloid Blister Plasters - Like Compeed, but sterile!
Duoderm Ulcer Dressings - Used more in the hospital setting for ulcers and bed sores
Comfeel Ulcer Dressings - As above
Click here if you want to know more about treating the 3 types of blisters, stimulating healing and preventing infection?
Podiatrist, blister prone ex-hockey player, foot blister thought-leader, author and educator. Can’t cook. Loves test cricket.
