The best thing to put on most blisters is plain petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) covered with a loose bandage. This keeps the damaged skin moist, protects it from bacteria, and lets new skin form underneath. Most friction blisters heal on their own within about a week if you keep them clean and covered.
What you put on a blister depends on whether it’s intact, already popped, or from a burn. Here’s what works, what doesn’t, and what to avoid.
Leave It Intact When You Can
Your body forms a blister as its own built-in bandage. The fluid inside cushions the damaged skin below and gives it a clean environment to heal. In most cases, the best move is to leave the blister unpopped and let your body gradually reabsorb the fluid over the course of a week or so.
The American Academy of Dermatology says you can drain a blister only if it’s very large and painful. Even then, you should wash your hands and the blister with soap and water first, swab a clean needle with rubbing alcohol, and puncture just the edge to let the fluid drain. Leave the overlying skin in place as a natural protective layer. People with diabetes, HIV, or suppressed immune systems should have a healthcare provider handle draining rather than doing it at home.
Petroleum Jelly Over Antibiotic Ointment
If your blister has popped or you’ve drained it, your first instinct might be to reach for an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or Bacitracin. Research suggests that’s unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. A landmark study comparing bacitracin to plain white petroleum jelly found no significant difference in infection rates. Antibiotic ointments contain ingredients like neomycin and bacitracin that are known to cause contact dermatitis, a red, itchy, irritated reaction that can slow healing and feel a lot like infection.
Plain petroleum jelly does everything you need: it seals moisture in, keeps bacteria out, and lets new skin form without scabbing. Apply a thin layer directly over the blister, then cover it with a sterile bandage. Change the bandage and reapply petroleum jelly daily, or whenever the bandage gets wet or dirty.
Hydrocolloid Bandages for Active Blisters
Hydrocolloid bandages (sometimes sold as “blister bandages” by brands like Band-Aid or Compeed) are a step up from regular adhesive bandages. They contain a gel-forming inner layer made of materials like gelatin and pectin that absorbs fluid from the wound while maintaining a moist healing environment. The outer layer is waterproof, which shields the blister from bacteria and debris.
This moist environment promotes faster healing and reduces scarring compared to letting a wound dry out under a standard bandage. Hydrocolloid bandages also act as a cushion, which makes them especially useful for blisters on the feet or other high-friction areas. You can leave them on for several days as long as they stay sealed around the edges.
Moleskin Padding for Pressure Areas
For blisters on the bottom of your foot or other spots that take constant pressure, a doughnut-shaped moleskin pad is one of the most practical options. Cut a piece of moleskin with a hole in the center slightly larger than the blister. The raised ring around the blister lifts pressure off it and redirects friction to the surrounding skin. You can apply petroleum jelly to the blister itself and then place the moleskin pad around it, topped with a bandage if needed.
Aloe Vera for Burn Blisters
Burn blisters need slightly different care than friction blisters. The key rule: don’t pop them. Broken burn blisters are especially prone to infection.
For minor, superficial burns where the blister is small enough for your hand to cover, aloe vera gel is well supported by research. Studies on partial-thickness burns found that aloe vera applied topically led to faster healing and significantly better pain relief than standard burn creams, with patients reaching pain-free status sooner. The soothing effect is partly due to aloe vera’s high water content, and it may also have mild antimicrobial properties. One caution: avoid aloe vera if you’re allergic to plants in the onion and garlic family, as it can trigger contact dermatitis in those individuals.
For deeper burns or larger blisters, skip ointments and creams entirely. Ointments can trap heat in deeper burns and make them worse. Cover the area with a sterile bandage or clean cloth, wrapped loosely so it doesn’t press against the blister.
What Not to Put on a Blister
Hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are too harsh for open blisters. They damage the healthy cells trying to repair the wound. Stick with gentle soap and water for cleaning.
Moisturizers and lotions (as opposed to petroleum jelly) can actually increase friction on skin rather than reducing it. Research on skin lubricants found that mildly and moderately greasy moisturizers raised friction levels immediately upon application, which is the opposite of what you want on a healing blister.
Butter, toothpaste, and other home remedies for burn blisters have no evidence behind them and can introduce bacteria to the wound.
Signs of Infection
A normal blister contains clear or slightly yellowish fluid. An infected blister looks different: the fluid turns green or yellow and resembles pus, the skin around it feels hot to the touch, and the surrounding area turns red. On darker skin tones, the redness can be harder to spot, so pay extra attention to warmth and changes in the fluid’s color. Red streaks extending outward from the blister are a sign the infection is spreading and needs prompt medical attention.
Preventing Blisters in the First Place
If you’re dealing with recurring blisters on your feet, prevention is more effective than any treatment. Friction is the root cause, and the goal is to reduce it before skin damage starts.
Viscous lubricants like petroleum jelly applied to friction-prone spots lower friction levels right away. The catch is that the effect wears off, so you’ll want to reapply roughly every 90 minutes during prolonged activity like hiking or running. Foot powders designed for blister prevention help manage moisture, which is a major friction amplifier. Low-friction shoe patches (like ENGO patches) applied inside your shoe at the hot spot provide friction relief that lasts hundreds of miles without reapplication.
Moisture-wicking socks, properly fitted shoes, and breaking in new footwear gradually all reduce the shearing forces that cause blisters. If you know exactly where you tend to blister, applying a hydrocolloid bandage or moleskin to that spot before activity starts is one of the simplest and most reliable prevention strategies.