[awlass]

Ran my first day of C25K today, and I feel GREAT!!!!

except..

The whole bottoms of my feet are one giant blister!! And my baby toes are as red and swollen as a tomato.. SO PAINFUL...

Whats the best relief I can get? (I'm in the Middle East, so most American medicines aren't available..) Soaking in water.. Hot or Cold?? With or Without SALT?? Sleep with Moisturizer or Cornstarch?? Tylenol or any other thing to relieve the pain???

Oh, and I get to do the run again on WEDNESDAY

[midwife]

Nooooo, do not run again until they are healed, my dear!!

What kinds of shoes and socks do you wear?

[awlass]

i was wearing cotton hanes socks, and safeTstep (oil slip resistant) tennis shoes.. trekkers is the name of those... .. i can change my socks, but the only shoes i can find here are not wide enough, so my pinkie toes suffer worst of all..

[LandonsBaby]

Is there anyone who will ship shoes to you?

[awlass]

maybe, bùt i have to have them custom fitted... i think for a while, im gonna run through the hallways in my house in slippers

[BlueToBlue]

Changing from cotton stocks--which hold in moisture--to socks that are made out of a moisture-wicking synthetic fabric has made a huge difference for me in terms of blisters. I used to have giant blister on my right foot that got worse every time I ran. Once I switched to the moisture-wicking socks, it went away. Last week, all my moisture-wicking socks were dirty so I wore cotten ones to run just one day; wouldn't you know it, the blister came back.

So maybe see if you can find some socks made out of a moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. The ones I got were Nike Dri-Fits, but there are other brands that make similar socks.

[MariaMaria]

You really do need proper socks and proper shoes.

In the meantime, once you've healed try vaseline (petroleum jelly) or paper tape on the soles of your feet when you're engaging in blister-causing activity--very different solutions, but IME they both work for keeping minor rubbing from causing problems.

[awlass]

We found some moleskin, so im going to try that...
for now, im in a developing country, and fancy socks and shoes for running or any sport, aren't readily available. I'll be heading to the capitol soon, so while im there, i'll look for some different shoes and socks... and maybe a shoe stretcher...

[MariaMaria]

Maybe you might consider some other lower-impact form of exercise.

300 pounds at 5'3 trying to run in shoes that (a) don't fit and (b) weren't designed to run in in the first place is asking for trouble.

[nelie]

I'd also recommend a lower impact exercise, I would hate to discourage you from running but running with improper shoes can cause something more serious than blisters like hurting your knees, hips and back.

[awlass]

i dont think its high-impact.. im doing a light jog.. slower than my top power walking speed, but fast enough to get my heart pounding. I think i average out at 2 steps per second.. a nice little cadence... I didnt have any troubles with it, just the blisters.
im going to the shoe store tomorrow to look for better shoes.. though wide shoes are hard to find. and for me, sometimes even the american shoes that are Wide are still too narrow.

thank you for the advice