15 Quick and Effective Home Remedies for Blisters on Feet

How to Heal Blisters on Feet Overnight, and How to Care for Them Until They’re Gone

Written by Montoya Sigafoose, founder of Home Remedy Shop · Medically reviewed by Veronique Claes d’Erckenteel, D.C., chiropractor since 1991 · Last reviewed: 22 October 2026

To heal blisters on feet overnight, take off the shoes that caused them, soak your feet in warm salt water for 10 to 15 minutes, pat them completely dry, smooth a little coconut oil around the blister and let it breathe while you sleep. A blister won’t disappear in one night, but this gives it the best start. To care for blisters on feet until they’re gone, stop wearing the shoes that caused them until they have healed. When you do need shoes, cover the blister with a hydrocolloid blister plaster so it can’t rub. Don’t pop it: the skin on top is the best protection there is. At home, soak your feet in warm salt water, pat them dry and smooth on a little coconut oil, and let the blister breathe. Most friction blisters heal on their own in 3 to 7 days. See a doctor or podiatrist if a blister looks infected (red, hot, swollen, pus), if you have diabetes, or if blisters keep appearing without any rubbing.

A blister, or a few of them, on your feet almost always comes from one simple thing: skin rubbing against another surface for too long. Most of the time that surface is the inside of your shoe, which means the shoes are too small, too stiff or just not right for your feet. Your skin protects itself by filling a soft pocket with fluid, and that pocket is what you feel with every step. So the most important part of healing a blister isn’t a cream or a tea, it’s taking away the rubbing. This guide shares how I deal with blisters, how to get rid of blisters on feet with home remedies that have research behind them, how to get rid of blood blisters, how to prevent blisters on feet, and what to do about infected blisters and itchy blisters that don’t come from shoes. It’s part of our hands and feet series; for the main guide, see home remedies for calluses and dead skin on feet, or browse all our natural home remedies.

Table of Contents

• How to Heal Blisters on Feet Overnight
• Friction Blisters on Feet: What Causes Them?
• Care for Blisters on Feet: My 4 Steps
• Should You Pop a Blister on Your Foot?
• How to Get Rid of Blisters on Feet: 9 Home Remedies
• How to Get Rid of Blood Blisters
• Infected Blisters on Feet
• Itchy and Small Blisters on Feet
• Blisters on Feet From Diabetes
• How to Prevent Blisters on Feet
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Heal Blisters on Feet Overnight

A blister won’t vanish in one night, but how you care for it that first evening makes a big difference to how fast it heals. Here’s how to heal blisters on feet overnight as well as you can:

• Take off the shoes that caused it, and keep them off.
• Soak for 10 to 15 minutes, then dry thoroughly.
• Apply coconut oil or aloe vera around the blister and let it breathe overnight; or, if it has opened, a thin layer of honey or petroleum jelly under a gauze pad.
• In the morning, a blister plaster before you put shoes on.

Why overnight care works: a blister heals fastest when the rubbing stops, the roof stays on and the skin stays clean and hydrated (Knapik et al., 1995). Most friction blisters heal in 3 to 7 days this way; an open blister can take a little longer.

Friction Blisters on Feet: What Causes Them?

Most blisters on feet are friction blisters. When your shoe rubs the same spot over and over, the upper layers of skin start to slide over the deeper ones and tear apart. Fluid seeps into the gap and forms a soft, raised bubble that cushions and protects the skin underneath while it heals (Knapik et al., 1995). Blisters form more easily when skin is warm and damp, and the more force and the more steps, the faster they appear.

The usual culprits:

• Shoes that are too small, too tight or too stiff, or new shoes that haven’t been broken in.
• Shoes that are too loose, so your foot slides with every step.
• Heels and narrow shoes: blisters on the back of the heel and the toes are classics.
• Damp feet and cotton socks, which hold sweat against the skin.
• Long walks, hikes, running and sports, especially when you’re not used to them.
• Heat: walking on hot sand or pavements, or in summer.

Blisters that appear without any rubbing have other causes: athlete’s foot, eczema, an allergic reaction, insect bites, burns, a viral infection or, rarely, diabetes. More on those below.

That’s why I see a blister on your foot first of all as a message about your shoes. In my experience, it nearly always means the shoes are too small or just unsuitable for your feet.

Care for Blisters on Feet: My 4 Steps

This is how I care for blisters on feet at home, and how we’ve always done it in our family. It’s also the simplest answer to how to treat blisters on feet:

1. Stop wearing those shoes. Don’t put on the shoes that gave you the blister until it has completely healed. If you love them, take them to a shoemaker: they can stretch the leather where it pinches. If they still hurt after that, the honest answer is that they’re not your shoes. Sell them, give them away, and let someone else’s feet enjoy them.
2. Use a blister plaster in any other shoes. Whenever you put on shoes, cover the blister with a hydrocolloid blister plaster. It cushions the spot, stops the rubbing and keeps the skin moist, so you can keep walking and the blister keeps healing.
3. Soak at home. In the evening, soak your feet in warm salt or Epsom salt water for 10 to 15 minutes to clean and relax them, then pat them completely dry.
4. Coconut oil and air. Smooth a little virgin coconut oil around the blister to keep the skin hydrated and help keep bacteria away, and let your feet breathe while you’re at home and at night.

Leave the blister plaster off while you use the oil: plasters don’t stick to oily skin. Oil at home, plaster in shoes.

Should You Pop a Blister on Your Foot?

No, not if you can help it. The skin on top of the blister (the “roof”) is a natural, sterile dressing. Blisters with an intact roof heal faster and get infected less often than blisters that have been opened (Knapik et al., 1995).

A blister that’s very large, tight and painful, or in a spot where it will burst anyway, can be drained carefully:

• Wash your hands and the blister with soap and water.
• Clean a needle with rubbing alcohol.
• Make a small hole at the edge of the blister and gently press the fluid out with clean gauze.
• Leave the roof on: don’t peel it off.
• Cover with a blister plaster or a little petroleum jelly and gauze.

Don’t drain a blood blister or a blister if you have diabetes or poor circulation. If the roof has already come off, rinse the area, cover it, and keep it clean until new skin has formed.

How to Get Rid of Blisters on Feet: 9 Home Remedies

The fastest way to get rid of blisters on feet is to stop the rubbing; these remedies help the skin heal, stay clean and stay comfortable. They work best together with the most important step: no more rubbing.

1. Blister plasters (hydrocolloid)

The best thing you can put on a blister on your foot when you need to wear shoes. Hydrocolloid blister plasters (Compeed is the best-known brand) act like a second skin: they cushion the blister, stop the rubbing and keep the wound moist so it heals faster.

• Wash and dry the skin well; the plaster won’t stick to oil or cream.
• Warm the plaster in your hands for a minute, then press it on without touching the sticky side.
• Leave it on until it starts to come off by itself, often 2 to 4 days. Don’t pull it off early.
• Use them every time you put shoes on until the blister has healed.

Why it helps: Covering a blister protects the roof and keeps the skin underneath moist, the conditions in which friction blisters heal best (Knapik et al., 1995).

2. Coconut oil

My at-home remedy for blisters that have opened, or a sore area around a blister. Coconut oil keeps the skin supple and is a traditional antibacterial in many cultures.

• Use plain virgin coconut oil (fractionated coconut oil contains little lauric acid).
• After your soak, pat dry and gently smooth a little oil over and around the blister.
• Do it in the evening when you’re barefoot, and leave the blister open to the air or loosely covered with gauze.
• Add 1 drop of tea tree oil per teaspoon if the skin has opened.

Why it helps: Lauric acid, the main fat in virgin coconut oil, kills skin bacteria in lab studies (Nakatsuji et al., 2009), and oils that stay on the skin hold moisture in (review on emollients, 2003).

3. A warm salt or Epsom salt soak

A gentle soak cleans the area, relaxes tired feet and softens the skin around the blister.

• Dissolve 1 to 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt or sea salt in a basin of warm (not hot) water.
• Soak for 10 to 15 minutes, once a day.
• Pat dry gently with a clean towel, then apply coconut oil.
• Don’t soak a blister that’s very raw and open for long: a quick rinse is enough.

Why it helps: Warm water and salt clean the skin; drying well afterwards is just as important, because blisters form more easily on moist skin (Knapik et al., 1995).

4. Green tea soak

A traditional soothing soak from the old version of this article, popular because green tea is rich in antioxidant polyphenols.

• Steep 3 green tea bags in a litre of boiling water, then let it cool to lukewarm.
• Soak your feet for 15 minutes.
• Pat dry and moisturise.

Why it helps: Traditional use; there are no studies on green tea for blisters specifically, so think of it as a pleasant, calming alternative to the salt soak.

5. Aloe vera gel

Aloe vera gel cools and soothes, and is one of the best-researched plant remedies for burns and skin wounds.

• Use fresh gel from an aloe leaf or a pure aloe gel.
• Apply a thin layer around (or on an open) blister 2 to 3 times a day when you’re at home.
• Let it dry before putting on socks.

Why it helps: A meta-analysis of trials found aloe vera helped burns heal faster (Huang et al., 2024), and a review of clinical trials found it supports wound healing (Hekmatpou et al., 2019). A friction blister is a small burn caused by rubbing.

6. Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is antimicrobial and is useful when a blister has opened, to keep it clean.

• Always dilute: 1 to 2 drops in a teaspoon of coconut or olive oil.
• Dab around the blister once or twice a day.
• Stop if it stings or the skin gets red.

Why it helps: Its active compound terpinen-4-ol acts against a wide range of skin bacteria and fungi (Carson et al., 2006).

For clean, happy feet

The drop of tea tree I add to my coconut oil

When a blister has opened, my evening routine is a warm soak, then a teaspoon of coconut oil with a drop of tea tree oil around the blister before bed. Tea tree is one of the best studied antibacterial oils, and it’s my go-to for anything that happens to feet.

• 1 to 2 drops in a teaspoon of coconut oil, never neat
• Around the blister in the evening, when it’s uncovered
• Also great for athlete’s foot and smelly shoes
• Not for children under 6 on the skin

Shop Revive essential oils

Affiliate link: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

7. Honey

Raw honey is a time-honoured wound dressing and works well on a blister whose roof has come off.

• Dab a thin layer of raw or medical-grade honey on the raw skin.
• Cover with a non-stick gauze pad.
• Change once a day.

Why it helps: Honey keeps wounds moist and is antibacterial; a Cochrane review found it helps some wounds, especially burns, heal faster (Jull et al., 2015).

8. Petroleum jelly

Simple and cheap: a thin layer protects an open blister and stops the gauze from sticking.

• Dab a little on the blister.
• Cover with gauze overnight.
• Also great before a long walk on spots that tend to rub.

Why it helps: Petroleum jelly keeps the healing skin moist and acts as a barrier (Ghadially et al., 1992).

9. Lavender oil

A gentle oil with a long traditional use for small burns and scrapes, kept from the old article.

• Mix 2 drops of true lavender oil into a teaspoon of coconut oil.
• Dab around the blister in the evening.

Why it helps: Traditional use; lavender is soothing and mildly antiseptic, but there are no blister studies.

Other traditional remedies

Some remedies from the old version of this article have a long history of use but no research on blisters, so we mention them as traditional extras: castor oil under gauze overnight, witch hazel dabbed on to dry a weeping blister, a cool chamomile tea compress for itching, and a turmeric paste (½ teaspoon of turmeric with a little coconut oil or honey) on the skin around a blister. We’ve taken out toothpaste and apple cider vinegar on open blisters: both can irritate raw skin.

How to Get Rid of Blood Blisters

A blood blister forms when rubbing or pinching also breaks tiny blood vessels under the skin, so the fluid is red, dark purple or almost black. On the feet they’re common on the toes and soles after a long walk, tight shoes, or a toe being stubbed or pinched. The way to get rid of blood blisters is the same as for any friction blister, only gentler: take the pressure away, protect it, and let your body reabsorb it.

Should You Pop Blood Blisters?

No, you shouldn’t pop blood blisters. The blood inside comes from broken vessels, so an opened blood blister is a direct path for bacteria into your bloodstream and more likely to get infected than a clear blister. Leave the skin intact, even if it looks dramatic; the dark fluid will slowly be reabsorbed. If a blood blister is so big and tight that it’s about to burst, or it bursts on its own, let a doctor, nurse or podiatrist deal with it, or clean it gently with water, cover it with a clean dressing and watch for signs of infection.

How to Treat Blood Blisters

• Cool it: a cold compress or ice wrapped in a cloth for 10 minutes, a few times on the first day, eases pain and swelling.
• Take the pressure off: no more of the shoes that caused it. Wear roomy, soft shoes.
• Protect it: a blister plaster or a soft ring-shaped pad keeps it from rubbing or bursting.
• Soothe it: aloe vera gel around the blister, and coconut oil on the skin around it at night.
• Be patient: it will darken, dry out and the skin will peel away by itself in one to two weeks.

See a professional if a blood blister appeared without any pressure or injury, if you have many of them, if you have diabetes, or if a dark spot under the skin keeps growing and doesn’t fade.

Infected Blisters on Feet

Most blisters heal without trouble, especially when you don’t pop them. Signs that a blister on your foot is infected:

• Yellow or green pus, or cloudy fluid
• Redness that spreads, or red streaks up the foot
• The area feels hot, swollen and more painful each day
• Fever or feeling unwell

Clean the area twice a day with warm salt water, use tea tree in coconut oil or honey under a clean dressing, and rest the foot. If there’s spreading redness, red streaks, fever, or it’s not clearly better in 2 days, see a doctor. With diabetes, see a doctor straight away.

Itchy and Small Blisters on Feet

Small, itchy blisters that appear without any rubbing usually aren’t friction blisters:

• Athlete’s foot: the “vesicular” type causes small, itchy, fluid-filled blisters, often on the arch or between the toes (review on tinea pedis, 2023). See our athlete’s foot home remedies and itchy feet guides.
• Eczema (dyshidrotic eczema): tiny, very itchy blisters on the soles, sides of the feet, palms and fingers, often in warm weather or with stress.
• Contact allergy: to shoe glue, dyes or rubber, on the parts of the foot the shoe touches.
• Insect bites and pool blisters from rough pool floors.
• Blisters on the feet, hands and in the mouth: in children especially, this is usually hand, foot and mouth disease, a common viral infection. It passes on its own in about a week; keep your child drinking and see a doctor if they can’t drink, seem very unwell or have a high fever.

Blisters on Feet From Diabetes

People with diabetes need to take blisters on their feet seriously. Nerve damage can mean you don’t feel a shoe rubbing, poor circulation slows healing, and a small blister can become a foot ulcer. There’s also a rare type of blister, bullosis diabeticorum, that appears suddenly on the feet or lower legs without any injury; it’s usually painless and heals on its own, but needs a professional check (Zhang et al., 2013; review on skin signs of diabetes, 2025).

• Check your feet every day.
• Never pop or cut a blister yourself.
• Cover it with a clean, dry dressing and see your doctor or podiatrist straight away.
• Have your shoes fitted professionally. See also numbness in hands and feet.

How to Prevent Blisters on Feet

How to prevent blisters on feet comes down mostly to your shoes and keeping your feet dry. A 2024 review of the research found good evidence for padded, moisture-wicking socks and for getting used to new shoes and activities gradually, while other tricks have mixed results (Rushton and Richie, 2024).

• Buy shoes that fit: shop in the afternoon when your feet are biggest, with a thumb’s width in front of your longest toe, and a heel that doesn’t slip.
• Break new shoes in slowly: a short walk at home first, then longer outings.
• Choose shoes that breathe and suit what you’re doing; heels and narrow shoes for short occasions only.
• Wear padded synthetic or wool socks, not cotton, which holds sweat against the skin.
• Keep feet clean and dry, and change socks once a day, or more on hot days or long walks.
• Protect hot spots early: as soon as you feel a spot rubbing, stop and put on a blister plaster or tape.
• Petroleum jelly on spots that tend to rub can reduce friction on long walks.
• Antiperspirant? Military studies found fewer foot blisters with antiperspirant, but many people got skin irritation (Knapik et al., 1998), so we don’t recommend it as a first choice.
• Look after your feet: thick calluses and cracked heels can make blisters more likely.

Related Foot Guides

• Home remedies for calluses and dead skin on feet (our main hands and feet guide)
• Cracked heels home remedies
• Athlete’s foot home remedies
• Home remedies for sore feet
• Swollen feet remedies
• Plantar fasciitis relief
• Toenail fungus home remedies

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you heal blisters on feet overnight?

Take off the shoes that caused it, soak your feet in warm salt water for 10 to 15 minutes, dry them completely, apply a little coconut oil or aloe vera around the blister and let it breathe overnight. It won’t fully heal in one night, but it gives it the best start.

How do you care for blisters on feet?

Stop wearing the shoes that caused it, cover the blister with a hydrocolloid blister plaster when you wear other shoes, and at home soak, dry well and apply a little coconut oil. Don’t pop it.

How do you get rid of blisters on feet?

Take away the rubbing, keep the blister’s roof intact and the skin clean and hydrated. Most blisters on feet go away by themselves in 3 to 7 days.

Should you pop a blister on your foot?

No. The skin on top protects the blister from infection. Only drain a very large, painful blister with a clean needle at the edge, and leave the roof on. Never pop a blood blister or a blister if you have diabetes.

How do you get rid of blood blisters?

Take the pressure off, cool it with a cold compress, protect it with a blister plaster or pad and leave it alone. Your body reabsorbs the blood and the skin peels away in one to two weeks.

Should you pop blood blisters?

No. A popped blood blister is more likely to get infected. Leave it intact, and see a professional if it’s very large or bursts.

How do you treat blood blisters?

Cool, cushion and protect: a cold compress on the first day, roomy shoes, a blister plaster or ring pad, and aloe vera or coconut oil around it.

How do you know if a foot blister is infected?

Pus, spreading redness, red streaks, warmth, swelling, more pain each day or a fever. See a doctor if you notice these.

How do you prevent blisters on feet?

Wear shoes that fit and suit your feet, break new shoes in slowly, wear padded synthetic or wool socks instead of cotton, keep your feet dry and put a blister plaster on any spot as soon as it starts to rub.

Can you put coconut oil on a blister?

Yes, at home, around the blister or on an opened blister to keep the skin hydrated. Don’t use it under a blister plaster, because the plaster won’t stick.

Recommended

• Home Remedies for Calluses and Corns
• Cracked Heels Home Remedies
• Athlete’s Foot Home Remedies
• Sore Feet Remedies
• More natural home remedies

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