Minimal Care For Burned Soles

Long post, but I think it's a good read for those who regularly walk on burning hot surfaces during summer barefooting, whether deliberate or they just ended up having to do it that day if they usually barefoot on less hot surfaces.

It's been years since I really burned my soles. Usually when I do deliberate and extended hot walks, it's miles on heat no problem or else too hot enough that if I got blisters too soon then I had to stay off the hottest heat after blisters. This most recent event was slower with moments of slightly below the blister threshold, but prolonged burning for the entire two hours except for five minutes at a grocery store. Several times around city blocks (didn't keep track of miles) during two hours of the hottest afternoon hours in what was showing on an electronic sign as 96 degrees, in the range I consider as high heat.

Just to review: sidewalks barely felt hot, except for isolated burning hot spots I could stand on to heat test the soles, but many of those sidewalks that don't have embedded rocks or rough ridges still have fine enough shiny particles in the concrete to still have roughness... plenty of that.

Rocky asphalt hurt in various amounts depending on the size and sharpness of the rocks, because I still have surface texture sensitive soles. Some blacktop asphalt spots really burned... great opportunities for heat testing standing feet fully on the ground, then rolling on both soles when full foot standing was too hot, and then walking off the burn when rolling on the soles standing was too hot... all of the time the too much burning dissipated when walking again, but in some cases it was still burning hot enough to tense up when walking but not quite to the wincing point. Still... prolonged abrasion and prolonged moments of absorbing heat before walking on it.

Then I carefully added metal plate standing. Yes, very quickly ouch hot hot hot as I wrote about in another topic, but I also stopped as soon as a sharp metal burn occurred also because of the residual burning for a couple of more seconds after stepping off the plate. That burning also went away in several steps... but... then there were longer stretches of rough sidewalk just after the hot metal plates. Lots of abrasion after the more quickly soles burning on metal (but still not BURNED) feeling went away.

Okay, enough review... it was deliberate heat training but I didn't expect really burned soles from it.

Suffice to say, no blisters but I got really burned soles by the end of the walk. I'll emphasize it: really burned, even if still a first degree burn. Not just the friction from roughness and sharpness, not just the asphalt, not even just the metal plates because I only did about eight of them total, but ALL OF IT combined. Think of the soles as if they were rotisserie "slow roasted" to uniformly burn the entire sole vs. quick burn "griddled" that even blisters more sensitive spots, but then the soles are not left on the heat once they blister, and then. again, they usually they stay off the hottest heat. "Slow roasting" is deceptive because the full effects of the prolonged burning are not actually felt until the soles are actually at that much of a burned level, and then they stay there. Balls of the feet on the soles were especially over-sensitive, still just losing sensitivity as of all day yesterday because I didn't stop barefooting, just less of it. I actually had to end the last tenth of a mile or so in flip flops because I would have been taking extremely slow and delicate steps while wincing in pain with every step along the gravel stretch I started the walk on in order to finish the walk. Still residual tenderness all of the next day and just starting to lose tenderness this early in the morning. Even walking on wood floor was and still in uncomfortable pressure with each step. Rough sidewalks hurt, but not enough to wince, but I'm not going out barefoot tomorrow anyway. Gravel stretches are done at about 1/3 of normal walking speed and I end of wincing every few steps because I'm not stopping the walk, even if I have to momentarily pause or walk even slower for a few steps.

Foot care? Not much. I'll mention what I still consider uniformly whole-sole burned soles as normal, so everything was done more slowly and deliberately with gentler steps when possible, but I'll mention what I did and didn't do also because running the hands over the balls of the foot on the soles feels very close to firmer furniture leather...

They weren't painfully burned like quickly touching an iron, even when that much heat doesn't cause a blister, so soaking them in water would do nothing other than make them wet; however, in retrospect it would have been useful to actually wear socks when walking on the wood floor. Let's say wear socks or soft slippers when walking on harder surfaces indoors, but no need to stay off specific parts of the sole like when there is a blister, to minimize any rubbing (like hard store floors that aren't slippery) even on the smoother surfaces. Only really needed for the same day as burned soles.

Staying off the more uncomfortable and painful surfaces was a definite, but since the soles were only burned, this didn't prevent all barefooting. Because barefooting still continued, I didn't bother with flip flops except for driving (I've discussed this controversy before so I'll just leave it at I wear flip flops with very small anti-slip dots on the footbed when driving).

When I parked at one parking lot, I actually found I could still stand on the heat on smooth blacktop, not quite during the hottest afternoon hours, that it did burn sooner, and with enough even shorter duration burning heat exposure that the pulse feeling and heat stinging lasted more minutes than it did before I got burned soles. I didn't try a second heat test, because I still heated up already burned soles, and later in the day it would have been stronger burning on still burned soles. So let's say that for smooth sidewalk or especially smooth blacktop asphalt that is still burning hot: limit heat duration to one or two heat tests maximum, but still heat them just enough to force them into getting used that much slightly more additional heat. Once the tenderness goes away, and since the additional heat exposure did not BURN the already burned soles, the benefit in that much extra heat tolerance is worth it. In retrospect, better than forcing to blisters because it's whole soles and no single weak spot overburns. All that said: DO NOT WALK ON THE HEAT, just stand on it for only that much and no longer, to avoid adding friction to the heat, because hot steps will add discomfort and make them burn too much too soon once the tenderness becomes more than it already is.

Rough, just take slower steps, don't overstride, and walk only as far as is comfortable. Also factor in the way back. For a particularly long walk to push the limits, and I don't recommend it because I prefer smooth and hotter over rougher, be sure to bring flip flps. Sharp is an exaggeration of rough, and longer stretches become more painful with each step as the walking speed slows down and the stepping tries to be lighter and more delicate... definitely stay off sidewalks with embedded rocks and all types of gravel asphalt. Ouch, ouch, ouch is an understatement for sharp with really burned soles.

Natural hazards, such as sticks, twigs, acorns, small isolated rocks, firmer dirt: AVOID THEM. I found that walking comes to a STOP for a second or two before the next small and very uncomfortable to painful step, making for very short and ineffective barefoot walking. I would say at least for the first day after burned soles, wear flip flops because even socks outdoors won't protect against these... even the sharpest gravel asphalt stretches are uniformly spaced out rocks... not quite like the "bed of nails" effect... but the gravel pokes on the entire sole rather than a specific pressure spot that hurts way more than the rest of the already tender sole.

I still grate the next day, but I also take an additional day off after the grating instead of going barefoot the same day as the grating.

In summary, I would rather get "griddled" sole blisters than "slow roasted" whole soles, because when the blistered spots are healing, the rest of the sole is not tenderized and is otherwise fully usable even if the blistered spots HURT. I suppose I should do "slow roasting" again if I anticipate particularly long stretches in extreme heat, but then "slow roasting" in excessive heat would be a terrible idea. After just a bit more heat training to at least tolerate longer blacktop standing WITH HEAT RELIEF METHODS in the low 100 degrees F range extreme heat, already knowing my limits of walking on the hottest asphalt, I am just going to have a deal with the surface as it has to be walked on or endured during a barefoot walk. That would effectively mean much less extended asphalt walking except for bike trail asphalt sidewalks, street festivals with vendor booths and tables specifically on the streets, flea markets that are all street some with very little shade would be the most difficult in the low 100's, even if I could "slow roast" the soles during high heat mid 90 degrees F. Enough heat-footing so I don't lose heat tolerance to the hottest heat, but not getting blisters or even worse, "slow roasted" in 100+ degrees F soles even if I could handle the heat for a shorter time, because of the cumulative effect before the soles are actually fully burned all over and then, again, there is no unburning the entire sole the same day for sure. I will only deliberately "slow roast" in the extreme heat low 100's if I know I can take a couple of days off for sure, similar to how I would deal with blisters, but then no need to worry about reattaching vs. peeling off when healing.