A blister is a friction injury to the skin that usually fills with water. The blisters on your hands are basically areas of skin trauma where the upper surface of the skin has torn and fluid has filled the created gap. While blisters commonly form on the feet, having hand blisters can be just as uncomfortable. Surprisingly, blisters are more commonly found on moist hands than dry ones.
Hand blisters are very common in people who do manual labor that involves hand tools, such as landscapers, construction workers, iron workers, auto mechanics, machinists, wood workers, plumbers, and carpet layers. People who have hands that contain a large amount of calluses will very rarely see any blisters on their hands; this is because the skin on the calluses is thick and very durable.
Some people’s first inclination when they get a hand blister is to immediately pop it; this is not the right thing to do. A popped hand blister will not heal any faster than one that isn’t. However, a popped blister is much more likely to get infected than a blister that heals untouched. This is due to the lower skin layers being exposed to the elements; in that environment infection is much more likely to occur. Once a hand blister is infected, then it must be treated with prescription antibiotics in order for it to heal.
The best treatment for blisters on your hands is to do nothing, actually. As long as you refrain from putting pressure on the affected part of your hand while it heals, the torn layers of skin beneath the blister will grow back and the body will reabsorb the excess fluid, thus healing the blister. Of course, leaving the blisters on your hands alone to heal is only recommended if the blisters have not been popped and the affected area shows no other signs of trauma. If you notice any other abnormalities in the area of the blister, then see your physician immediately.
It is also a good idea to see your doctor if the blisters on your hands have not healed within four days or so. That’s because blisters can also be indicative of other diseases and illnesses, including chicken pox, herpes, eczema and several others. If indeed the blister is a symptom of a more serious problem, then you will want to have medical intervention as quick as possible.
