Billions of blue bilious blisterless barnacles

February 5, 2007 8:43 AM

I don't blister - is that odd?

I've never knowingly had a blister; I've done long hikes, runs and suchlike, I've spent days at a time hammering things (including my fingers) and putting in screws, and yet I never get those pus-filled bubbles that plague others doing the same things at the same times. I can't recall ever getting one from a burn either, but I've never been burnt particularly badly.

I do get calluses, and after doing the various things described above my skin is often raw or tender to the touch, but is pustule free.

Am I some kind of freak?

posted by Luddite to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Yeah I'm pretty sure you'll get a blister if you burn yourself. Try touching a peice of metal hotter then 500 degrees.
posted by delmoi at 8:57 AM on February 5, 2007

Best answer: It's not pus. Blisters contain sterile watery fluid. They're not always filled up, meaning sometimes you could have one and not realize it because there is only a little bit of fluid. The skin over such a (burnt, abraded etc) site is still going to be dead and come off over a week or so.

Maybe you wear well fitted footwear that will prevent friction rub. Maybe you don't realize when you've had one. Those callouses you mention might both help to prevent a blister forming and also prevent you from seeing it because it will be deeper than on non-calloused areas. But unless you are inexplicably able to avoid all friction and hot objects in your life then yes, you too will at some time have a blister, even if you don't recognize or acknowledge it as such.
posted by peacay at 8:58 AM on February 5, 2007

Best answer: I'd guess that you merely are blessed with not-too-sensitive skin. I don't know if sensitivity is directly tied to race per se, but anecdotally, all of my fair/pale skinned friends easily sunburn and also seem to get blisters on their feet and hands easily (I noticed from hiking/camping). I'm part Hispanic and have neither problem as often, but have gotten hand blisters from yard work.

An active lifestyle may also have something to do with it. When I rock climbed in college my hands, while not heavily calloused, seemed more durable than they are now (stuck doing data entry), when I seem to get small blisters from something as simple as raking leaves.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 9:02 AM on February 5, 2007

Response by poster: Hmm. I'm very slow to sunburn (for a white guy,) so tolerant skin and the 'eeny weeny shallow' thing could be the explanation. Although I've never noticed any clear fluid emerging from any unusual parts of my body, it could be sneaking out in the shower or when asleep.
(like those other clear fluids)
posted by Luddite at 9:11 AM on February 5, 2007

I get blisters extremely rarely and I do the same sorts of things (hike in ill-fitting shoes, etc). I am quite white, but don't burn easily. But maybe I'm just a freak, too
posted by 0xFCAF at 9:35 AM on February 5, 2007

I got several burns recently without realizing the skin had blistered. After several days the skin just fell off in every place I had burned, so apparently I had blistered, the liquid had been reabsorbed (or leaked), and the area healed all without feeling any particular sensitivity usually associated with blisters.
posted by artifarce at 9:59 AM on February 5, 2007

I trained for and completed an entire marathon without getting a blister so its completely within reason. I can only remember a few blisters in my 30.5 years on the planet.
posted by mmascolino at 10:03 AM on February 5, 2007