Foot Blister Cure?

[Seejay21]

I'm a former Marine, and have a question for all you salty Docs out there!

I'm trying to figure out what this stuff was that Doc had on a hump. It was in liquid in a small glass or plastic bottle, and think the liquid was brown. You could "cure" the pain from a blister after applying this brown liquid substance directly to it. Doc wasn't suppose to give it to us, or let us do it. He would have gotten in trouble if he were found out.

When applying the stuff, it burned like mad, the WORST burning feeling possible, but after a few moments, the blister didn't hurt.. AT ALL.

Doc said it could cause nerve damage, and that's why he wasn't suppose to give it to us. Marines as we are, w-t-f, it works.

My new girlfriend who is a nurse says she thinks it was iodine, but I don't think so.

Is it iodine? What is this stuff?

Please help me solve this mystery! Thanks!

[Doc JoJo102E]

Sounds like it may have been benzoine tincture could be wrong hopefully one of the other Docs will have an answer to confirm this. I know we used it a few times on some of our Marines when I was with the 22nd MEU. I do know that it burned like hell. :D

[HMC-FMF-PJ]

Tincture of benzoin, benzoin tincture...

toMAYtoe, toMAtoe...

I referred to it as my special super glue as it is great for ensuring the adhesive sticks good. It also has antiseptic properties but it stings/burns like hell when it gets in an open wound. I would not say it is a "cure" for blisters but there are several bister field fixes where the fragrant brown mystery liquid is put to use.

[Doc JoJo102E]

Thanks for the confirmation on that Chief. I was pretty sure it was something to do with benzoin. It has been quite a few years about 11 or 12 since I've had to deal with blisters or take care of Marines.

[Da-Chief]

Hell we used to use the magical liquid on Cold sores as well.. It would burn like a "SUM BITCH" but would dry it up quick.

;-)
Later
D/C

[psencik1950]

In the sports world, they call it tough skin and spray it on when they do taping - such as an ankle. Personally glad I never went through that.

Ben

[jkeasling]

Put 'New Skin' on the blister. You can get it over the counter. Do not put anything that can cause nerve damage. I have nerve damage in my feet now and it's no fun.

[jkeasling]

I just did a quick check on the treatment that you got and there was no mention of nerve damage. If you get a rash, you should seek medical treatment. Benzoine tincture is made for skin problems to cut down on infection. Women who are breast feeding should not use it. Just send me a 20.00 co-pay and if not better in the morning see me at sick call.

[HMC-FMF-PJ]

My super glue had lots of uses. It is even a aromatic inhalant for vaporizers. And while I never used it internally, I heard it can work as a diuretic and treats flatulence.

However, virtually all my experience is strictly topical. Do not even think of using it any other way until you have researched and are fully familiar with the specific details of the proposed alternant treatment

[Doc_Stevens]

....and treats flatulence.

Now who would want to treat that?:rooster:

[jkeasling]

Speaking of super glue. I almost cut the end of my thumb off. I went to the ER and got it sewed up. When it was time for the sutures to come out, it broke open again. I had some super glue and put it back together and it healed with almost no scar.
Since then, I've seen write ups in medical news that they have a surgical super glue that they use in the operating room.

[8404]

...I've seen write ups in medical news that they have a surgical super glue that they use in the operating room.

They sure do Doc. Had it used on me, to close after, open heart surgery.

[8404]

...I've seen write ups in medical news that they have a surgical super glue that they use in the operating room.

They sure do Doc. Had it used on me, to close after, open heart surgery. It was used in Europe for years, prior to it being accepted for use in the US.

[jkeasling]

We should have had duct tape and super glue in out med bags in Vietnam!
That would have fixed most things we came across. I sure the med-evacs would not have made the personel happy when they got back to the med hospital.

[psencik1950]

Yeah, minor facial wounds on kids - super glue like product. Staples in the scalp. Sure a lot easier than suturing.

[FreeholderDoc]

Tincture of benzion, aka Tough Skin -- that's the stuff all right. To me it smelled something like watermelon. I used it for my Marines and myself. Made the socks stick to the skin the first time.
There is another remedy far older, and used by the Roman tanners and soldiers and everybody else I suppose. (On the street of the tanners in Pompei there were troughs outside the shops for passersby to pee in.) I'm sure Roman sergeants would say: "Your blisters hurt? Piss on them!" Sounds like an insult, like "So what?" But urine has the same property of toughing the skin as Tinc. Benzoin.
There is a website telling how many uses that urine has, skin toughening is only one of them.

[FreeholderDoc]

There also was something called flexible collodion, also a tincture (means dissolved in alcohol) of some kind of tough plastic material. We used it on scalp wounds so we wouldn't have to shave the scalp too far. I would touch it onto the sutures with a cotton-tipped applicator and when it dried it was a transparent sterile protective cover. It was flexible so we didn't use it on fingers, etc, 'cause it would work loose when moved too much.
Maybe that is the same (revised some over time) as the superglue used nowadays.