Skin irritations - General - Israel National Trail Data Project

Israel National Trail Technical/Forum... General Skin irritations

9/19/2007 12:11 PM

	Mytilus
19 posts

Skin irritations

Alright, with tact, and without going into unnecessary details, I suspect this is a worthwhile topic to discuss.

In the ultralight thread, Greg said: "underwear: just got in the way. I had some shorts with a built in liner and they were great."

I know at least one of you guys dealt with chafing on the 2006 hike. Also, I know that Greg had a significant number of blisters. What recommendations do you experienced hikers have on chafing and blister care, disinfection, and prevention on the Trail, and does the INT affect these things differently than other trails you've hiked?

I suspect we'd probably start with wearing shoes that are broken in and wearing Smart-wool socks. Are "mole-skins" helpful prevention and treatment of blisters? Any other thoughts regarding pros and cons of underwear, and boxers vs. briefs if worn? And Greg, what kind of liner was it? Cotton? Were they made as hiking shorts or trunks?

9/19/2007 8:23 PM

	Yankale
393 posts
www.i-sys.co.il/eng.html

Re: Skin irritations

Prevention works: Smart-wool socks and broken shoes. I had only one blister after day 1 and that's it for the whole trail.

Underwear boxers only and not cotton.

9/20/2007 6:40 AM

	Maya
1 posts

Re: Skin irritations

I just started the trail and right now during a break. as someone who got all of the above and will probably be bothered by it in the future I can recommend the following:

there's Moraz's creams - they're all natural ingerdients and they work wonders. they have one for chaffs and one for keeping your feet healthy.

my other reccomendation is using this cream called Baby Pasta - just go to the nearest super pharm and ask for it. you rub it on the sensitive areas at the beginning of the day and it just keeps the skin intact. it really works great for me. but im a girl, so the physiology might be different. but its worth a shot.

the baby pasta is like 15 ahekels and Moraz's stuff is more expensive.

9/20/2007 9:23 AM

	Shay
104 posts

Re: Skin irritations

I'm with Yankale on the boxers and the broken-in shoes. I was surprised, actually, on the trail; without going into too much detail, I thought I would want more support than boxers offered. But going a little more naturally, so to speak, worked much better.

Maya's suggestions sound good. We used an anti-fungal powder (available over the counter at the drugstore) to help with chafing, and it worked well.

9/20/2007 10:00 AM

	Yankale
393 posts
www.i-sys.co.il/eng.html

Re: Skin irritations

The anti fungal powder is way too concentrated with the active ingredient "Zinc Undecylenate" (20%) and the Undecylenic acid (2%). You can mix it with regular baby powder (1:3) which costs only 15% of the concentrated antifungicide. Just mix them at home or on the road. The eventual 5% / 0.5% respective concentration of the active ingrdients, is sufficient to prevent skin irritation of all sorts and definitely keeps all afected areas dry.

On top of keeping your most precious organs well ventilated, the boxers don't have this "tight" contact with your skin which is important too.

9/20/2007 10:03 AM

	Yankale
393 posts
www.i-sys.co.il/eng.html

Re: Skin irritations

Hi Maya the girl from Haifa. The boxers will do the same work for you too. Enjoy the trail...

9/20/2007 12:53 PM

	Mytilus
19 posts

Re: Skin irritations

Everyone, thanks for the advice, and welcome, Maya.

To those suggesting boxers, I'm curious to know if you think there's a benefit to boxers as opposed to nothing as Greg suggests? Ready-at-a-moment swimming trunks?

The overall effect seems identical to me.

9/20/2007 1:13 PM

	Shay
104 posts

Re: Skin irritations

Identical effect. Truth be told, I may have gone commando for awhile on the INT. No complaints. Overall, it's six of one, half-dozen of the other, says me. Guess it might sometimes depend on the pants/shorts you're wearing, too. Use your own discretion.

9/20/2007 6:30 PM

	gbercaw
22 posts

Re: Skin irritations

Modified By gbercaw on 9/21/2007 6:23:42 AM)

I think the number one thing to do is prevent. Put it on even if you think you don't need it; because by the time you do it may be to late. I recommend some powder for chaffing. I did not have to many chaffing problems. My problem was namely blisters.

My feet were not ready for the 15 miles a day, 100+ temps. I should have got out of the gym and headed away from the plains of northern Indiana to some rugged hills. I have since done a great deal of research on how to prevent blisters. Some people recommend a powder lubrication while other use a wet lubrication like sports slick or Vaseline. I have been trying things out since my INT hike and find that powder works best for me. However, I will continue to experiment on practice hikes to find out what works best. I have also put together a blister kit that will be in my bag.

Blister Kit
3M scotch A/C Ventilating Duct Tape
spenco 2^nd skin or New Skin
alcohol
tincture of benzoin
Talc
Band-Aid Blister for Fingers and Toes
2^nd Skin Blister Pads
needle

I am open to suggestions if you know anything else that works. A great book to check out is Fixing Your Feet by John Vonhof.

9/21/2007 1:34 PM

	Shay
104 posts

Re: Skin irritations

I'm amazed that a thread with the title "Skin irritations" has been so successful. lol.

Chase mentioned in another thread that he trained by walking barefoot. We both did that before our hike, and neither of us had much trouble with blisters. In The Complete Walker IV, Colin Fletcher talks about pre-hardening your feet by rubbing them with alcohol in the weeks prior to your trip. It dries out your skin and toughens up your feet. Never tried it, but I probably will on the next go-round.