Getting blisters on fingers

[erin-wood]

Last week I started playing for an summer opera festival.

[Tacye]

If I suddenly play more or harder than I have for a while I tend to get blisters.

[HBrock25]

Hi Claire,
I totally know what you mean by blisters! Just got a few water blisters on my fingers from playing with the orchestra. I know everyone says that you’re not supposed to pop them, but honestly, I have a show tonight, and I have to do so many glissando’s, it’s unreal. And, my fingers were killing me. So, I retreated to the old needle-popping trick. And just a few tips if you’ve decided to pop your water blisters: Use a needle the you have cleaned with rubbing alcohol, and also clean of the blister with alcohol. Then, slowly insert the needle into the blister until a clear liquid comes out. Quickly wipe it away with clean tissue, and if necessary, put some treatment cream on it, and bandage it up! But, I decided to leave mine bare, since I can’t really play with band-aid fingers LOL :p But, if you get a blood blister-that is a pink-ish or red-ish blister- NEVER pop it! Leave.it.alone. And, if you’re not in a rush, don’t pop the water ones either…it’ll heal into a much more satisfying callus. Full callus’s can take years to develop for some people…like me LOL
Well, best of luck
Sarah xxx

[niina]

I tend to get blisters quite often and how ever much I practice, they just seem to keep coming back! Im more vulnerable to blisters when my hands are cold or sweaty. The skin on my fingers feel thinner and more tender in these conditions so I always keep a flannel next to me while I play to keep my hands dry.
As others have said, I think its different for everyone as to how long it takes to harden your fingers. It took me just over a week when my fingers hardened for the first time after practising the harp, but that was because I wanted calluses to prove to my teacher that I practiced hard haha!

Personally, I prefer the sound I make when I have calluses. I can play with more power and strength without hurting myself and that means I can practice for a longer period of time. When I feel a blister coming up, I usually just fight through it to get a good layer of hard skin afterwards, otherwise the blister will just go down and leave my skin soft again. I keep my calluses under control by using hand cream occasionally and massage them to stop ridges forming. If your hands are generally quite dry, then maybe keeping your hands blister-free is a good option but if you have sweaty hands like mine, having calluses might help the tone of your playing.

Niina

[Havalah@Yarashus.com]

Minimizing water exposure is really hard for me because I have swim practice for two hours a day.
Bleach or vinegar will also bleach your skin a lighter color -?

[brianna-halpern]

Totally agree. There are 2 types of blisters: “water” blisters and blood blisters. I think the blood blisters are the more painful of the two. My secret is that my gig bag is 1/4 first aid kit. I keep a bag of rite aid sterile alcohol pads to harden my skin a little bit but more importantly, rather than use my teeth, I use the pads to clean sterile pins or needles (its not as scary as it sounds) and just lightly poke a few holes to drain the blister. Then I use another pad or some liquid bandage/antiseptic to keep it clean. This way, I’m not tearing off skin and making my fingers too tender to practice. But I get it, practicing less is not always an option! If you are going to perforate with a needle, I suggest doing it as soon as possible once the blister starts to hurt, otherwise you may have excess skin to deal with. I have also heard of harpists using superglue??

[Author]

Posts