As most hikers find out, blisters are a definite downer on a hike.
The cause of a blister is the separation of the dermis and epidermis skin layers when the protein "glue" holding those layers together gives way due to the repetitive shear forces from every step.
Proper prevention strategies like wearing ArmaSkin, proper sized boots etc are sensible and easy to adopt.
But consider for a moment that the protein "glue" keeping those layers together is weak or just missing!
For a certain part of the population, about 1 in 25,000 that is the case!
These folk suffer from a condition called Epidermolysis bullosa (EB for short)
This is a group of rare genetic conditions that cause the skin to be very fragile and to blister easily. Blisters and areas of skin loss (erosions) occur in response to minor injury or friction, such as rubbing or scratching.
Children with EB are sometimes referred to as butterfly children because their skin is as fragile as a butterfly's wings.
Currently, there is no cure for EB. Many types are well controlled and many patients with EB lead normal lives. Unfortunately, there are several rare types that can cause significant pain and more severe disease.
EB is not contagious, it is a genetic (inherited) skin condition. It cannot be caught by coming into contact with people who have it.
Since introducing ArmaSkin we have had a couple of occasions where we were absolutely delighted to hear of the positive outcome afforded by ArmaSkin to an EB wearer.
Just recently, Laura from MI USA sent us this glowing report about ArmaSkin,
"My 13 year old son Austin #33 has EB Simplex of hands and feet. Worse on the feet. These socks are amazing for him. He used to have to mostly sit out on the third day of a tournament, and wait days after playing in the heat to do any activities again, waiting for his painful blisters to heal. Now he is good to go, and looking forward to using them for basketball as well.
Researching solutions to help him over the years has been frustrating. A lot of the advice is to limit activity, and focus on wound care. Austin loves sports, and has not wanted to give up what he enjoys. He just wants to be active and keep up with his friends. This summer has been so different because of these socks, he can play baseball every day, and also go hang out with his friends after instead of resting or soaking his feet. He used to be in a cycle of draining blisters, bandaids, limping, and then getting new blisters from the bandaids or from favoring one side of his foot too much. I would hope there could be a way to reach out to others to link your product, currently there is not a lot of information for preventative measures when searching online."
Laura and Austin gave us permission to share this story so if you know of someone in a similar situation you might like to pass this along. ArmaSkin would be pleased to hear from and help make lives a bit better for youngsters like Austin.