Footcare in the field (And other questions).

[ash933]

Before leave, the training team told my troop to start building up a personal collection of items that we feel we would find useful in the field. Besides the pieces of kit we're told to take into the field.

So far, I've bought a 'Lifesystems Trekker' First Aid kit, which looks to me as if it contains everything I could need. I've not had a proper look through it yet though. I've also bought some anti-septic cream, teatree oil, dental floss and one or two other things.

However, I don't really have a "blister kit", or anything really for footcare, that I can take. Or, at least, nothing that I know of. So, I'm asking, what items are absolutely essential for good footcare? I'd like to have a set of items for my bergan, and some super essential ones for my PLCE. However, I'm not sure if we're allowed to have items in there besides what we're told to carry, but I guess it can't hurt to be prepared. I can always clarify that when I get back there.

One or two other questions. I've got some floss, but I think there's probably one or two other things I could find myself needing. I know oil of cloves is a good remedy to toothache, but you can smell that from a mile away, are there any non-scented alternatives to this?

My final question, this time regarding the CS95 combat jacket. We're told to tie our compass and so forth to the little loops under the flaps of the upper outside pocket. I've got some mini-karabiners, is using these a sensible idea to link the items, via para-cord, or are they ****e to coming loose?

I guess that's it. Big thanks to anyone who can help.

[Creeper]

These are good basic questions, let see if i canhelp.
IMHO: Tie down anything that can go loose on yourself-weapon etc.
I use paracord to triple secure items on my webbing-good tight knots then burn the ends to a nub so the ends don't flaire(looks professional), The compass- yeah, loop through your jackett button packett-where ever you tend to stash it. Red dot sight-hell I even secured w/ para-cord.
**** happens- I dont want to leave something in the field- gives yourselfand team away- they can track it.
Furthermore: if your webbing is triple secured- it can not produce any noise or any shinney areas (light reflection). Itry to tie every item I can(or need) in ordr to do my part insuring a successful mission.

As far as footcare: there will be many diffrent opinions concerning this.
IMHO: it begins with a proper fit into the boot-not too tight>not too loose. Good socks to wick the moisture off the skin. the moisture accelerates the exess abrasion- Note: your feet will swell after several hours humping.
What I use (meds) may diffrent from what you get over there. Ask a old-timer in your platoon.

Did I mention use good foot care: wash-dry-powder-freash socks. b-4 bed. Change out socks 1xor 2x a day. I do not put any type of creame on my feet in the am while dressing. Keep ur feet dry----

I think thats it.
Cheers mate.

[Marsuitor]

A small towel, sports tape, loads of socks. If you can get compeed in the UK, lots of that as well.

- Tape feet before long marches.
- Use two pairs of socks, a thin inner pair, and a thicker pair on the outside to reduce friction.
- Whenever you have a rest during marches and the situation allows for it, always take your boots off and dry your feet with that towel. Your feet needs air. And if you've marched for hours or days and are tired as you've never been before, those ten minutes of "sleep" won't help ****. Don't be lazy and stare for the duration, take care of yourself!
- If you get a blister, don't poke a hole in it, you'll just rub the flap off quicker and expose what's underneath it. The skin flap will soon enough fall off, so why extend the agony? ;)
- Compeed works wonders. Why it isn't issued is beyond me.

EDIT:
During basic and final excercise for selection we had a 140km march and activity course to complete in 48 hours before we had our berets handed out. There were so many ignorant recruits who didn't know how to take care of their feet. If i remember correctly, among the worst i think we had ten cases of early trench-foot and whole footsoles that fell off. The guys had to quit due to this, but were otherwise still fit to continue. Goes to show that footcare is one of the most important parts of getting through basic and for soldiering in general.

Take care and good luck!
Marcus

[PrincessRAR]

okay heres the 101 of foot care from ME, this is my opinion, but others may have it aswell.

dont tape before marches that leads to further rubbing - if you must, make it minimal
get some good socks that dont get wet
get a good boot that fits
air your feet everyday and night when you get the chance even its its 5 minutes, i know you can only have one off at a time but do it.when you go to bed take your socks and boots off and when its piquet or stand-to just put your boots on.
always powder your feet with startch this will keep the moisture down and stop the blisters which would be naasty
finally change your socks regularly. I was a big sinner of this - i went one week in rainy condition in the same socks with 30km of marching and no airing, from then on i have always done the above and been fine.

[Marsuitor]

One more thing i remembered,
If you have thick skin under your feet a good tip is to get rid of it. Go buy a Scholl brush or something and brush it off. Thick skin that's wet dissolves and leaves you with horrible blisters.

And yes, if you tape don't mummify your foot. Use tape designed for this use. Heels and toeballs should do. Don't get any creases as that's an invitation to trouble.

[bluffcove]

Zinc Oxide! is the be all and end all if you ask me, I had problems with Compede

(I took a compede shaped patch of skin off the ball of my foot when th blister spread to the boundary of the compede!) Other than that, try and walk around barefoot as much as possibly before going on ex, toughen up your feet before you do any big sessions. as was said earlier try to get rid of all the dead and thick skin before you head out, this wiull jsut create problems if you let it get sweaty and start to peal into the fresh healthy skin.

Just my tuppence.

Bluff

[CMNot]

IIRC you you're somehwere between PRMC and Foundation at CTC right?

Here's just one thread, by booties or nods on foundation: http://www.militaryforums.co.uk/cforums/viewtopic.php?t=7010&highlight=footcare++blisters

Heaps of extra info there on RM PRMC/Foundation too ;)

[Flagg]

For foot care I do the following:

pair of jandals to avoid tinea and hookworm when boots are off, and get them off whenever you can

if med tape is unavailable or too dear, use duct tape...works just as good

foot powder, if in doubt use more

dry you feet, dry your feet, dry your feet

nail clippers..don't rip off toe nails.

For packmarches I always use my beatup field boots.....they may not be pretty enough for the parade ground(different boots for that), but they're perfectly broken in and molded to my foot.

If you're feet are f*cked up you can't do your job, looking after your feet is as important as staying hydrated.

[Thucydides]

1) Build up your feet ahead of time.
2) Break in your boots - see #1.
3) Figure out which socks work best for you to avoid blisters. Here's a nice trick - wear a pair of nylon dress socks outside a pair of cotton athletic socks. I'm not sure why it works, but it helps to prevent blisters.
4) In the event you get blisters there is ony one thing I've found that helps - Moleskin. Don't settle for anything less than no-kidding moleskin. (There are all kinds of blister remedies that don't do jack.) Cut out a piece that covers the blister and stick it on. It's the only thing that I've foudn that will make the pain bearable when you've got a nasty blister but still have 3 days marching to go.
5) Dry socks before a jaunt, air your feet out while you sleep at night. Powder helps a bit, but the most important thing is to build up those calluses on the wear points of your boots before you ever get there.

Thucydides

[Ratamacue]

When I went down to MEPS and a bunch of us were waiting for some duck-walking testing, there was a doctor who served in the Navy as a Corpsman. His suggestion was to, as a first layer, wear a pair of pantyhose. Over that, wear a pair of white cotton socks. And over those, wear a pair of nylon dress socks.

I've never tried it, so I don't know how well it works. I suspect that the pantyhose may draw a few strange looks, but if it works... ;)

[digrar]

The 6 Ps. Prior preperation prevents piss poor performance. Sort your feet out so you don't get blisters by using the above advice. I never worried with taping or two pairs of socks, dry feet, fresh socks and powder was enough for me. But horses for courses, find out what works for you.
I wouldn't worry about remedies for things like sore teeth, just carry some pain relief, antiseptic swaps, bandaids ect and leave the more advanced cures for the medics.

[PrincessRAR]

For foot care I do the following:

pair of jandals to avoid tinea and hookworm when boots are off, and get them off whenever you can

if med tape is unavailable or too dear, use duct tape...works just as good

foot powder, if in doubt use more

dry you feet, dry your feet, dry your feet

nail clippers..don't rip off toe nails.

For packmarches I always use my beatup field boots.....they may not be pretty enough for the parade ground(different boots for that), but they're perfectly broken in and molded to my foot.
If you're feet are f*cked up you can't do your looking after your feet is as important as staying hydrated.

just to add to that - i always wore a pair of GP boots around barracks for a year before i would even attempt to use them in the field - boots are best when they are on their way out

[PrincessRAR]

1) Build up your feet ahead of time.
2) Break in your boots - see #1.
3) Figure out which socks work best for you to avoid blisters. Here's a nice trick - wear a pair of nylon dress socks outside a pair of cotton athletic socks. I'm not sure why it works, but it helps to prevent blisters.
4) In the event you get blisters there is ony one thing I've found that helps - Moleskin. Don't settle for anything less than no-kidding moleskin. (There are all kinds of blister remedies that don't do jack.) Cut out a piece that covers the blister and stick it on. It's the only thing that I've foudn that will make the pain bearable when you've got a nasty blister but still have 3 days marching to go.
5) Dry socks before a jaunt, air your feet out while you sleep at night. Powder helps a bit, but the most important thing is to build up those calluses on the wear points of your boots before you ever get there.

Thucydides

wrong - if i took it the way i think you meant it (if not apologies), someone with calassed feet, or areas where youve had blisters before and its now hard - does not mean you will not get blisters.

[PrincessRAR]

When I went down to MEPS and a bunch of us were waiting for some duck-walking testing, there was a doctor who served in the Navy as a Corpsman. His suggestion was to, as a first layer, wear a pair of pantyhose. Over that, wear a pair of white cotton socks. And over those, wear a pair of nylon dress socks.

I've never tried it, so I don't know how well it works. I suspect that the pantyhose may draw a few strange looks, but if it works... ;)

too many socks is uncomfortable, hot and most importantly as per the tape - more friction = more blisters and hotspots.

blisters are okay - you ant feel them as bad as hotspots. ;)

[PrincessRAR]

When I went down to MEPS and a bunch of us were waiting for some duck-walking testing, there was a doctor who served in the Navy as a Corpsman. His suggestion was to, as a first layer, wear a pair of pantyhose. Over that, wear a pair of white cotton socks. And over those, wear a pair of nylon dress socks.

I've never tried it, so I don't know how well it works. I suspect that the pantyhose may draw a few strange looks, but if it works... ;)

too many socks - stinky hot wet feet = bad, it also = more friction which like tape is the cuase of hotspots = blisters eventually.

hotspots hurt more then blisters :(

[Flagg]

For foot care I do the following:

pair of jandals to avoid tinea and hookworm when boots are off, and get them off whenever you can

if med tape is unavailable or too dear, use duct tape...works just as good

foot powder, if in doubt use more

dry you feet, dry your feet, dry your feet

nail clippers..don't rip off toe nails.

For packmarches I always use my beatup field boots.....they may not be pretty enough for the parade ground(different boots for that), but they're perfectly broken in and molded to my foot.
If you're feet are f*cked up you can't do your looking after your feet is as important as staying hydrated.

just to add to that - i always wore a pair of GP boots around barracks for a year before i would even attempt to use them in the field - boots are best when they are on their way out

That's the irony....just as they're getting good it's almost time to throw them in the skip :(

[Weasel]

Don´t tape your feet!
Use two pairs of socks.
Piss in your boots to make them perfectly fitting. p-)

[SamHamam]

I've always carried (and used, mostly on others) this. Unlike a reel of Zinc Oxide tape it will fit easily in a pocket or at the back of a pouch. I always found that the adhesive knit tape stuck better that Zinc Oxide as well.

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/cat_id/FOOT1AID/product-Spenco-2nd-Skin-Dressing-25532.htm

[Creeper]

Yeah- listen to those freaking Aussies-they are GTG.Hell only knows they walk enough klicks in that dammed bush.
KISS and the 6Ps.

[RGRBOX]

These are good basic questions, let see if i canhelp.
IMHO: Tie down anything that can go loose on yourself-weapon etc.
I use paracord to triple secure items on my webbing-good tight knots then burn the ends to a nub so the ends don't flaire(looks professional), The compass- yeah, loop through your jackett button packett-where ever you tend to stash it. Red dot sight-hell I even secured w/ para-cord.
**** happens- I dont want to leave something in the field- gives yourselfand team away- they can track it.
Furthermore: if your webbing is triple secured- it can not produce any noise or any shinney areas (light reflection). Itry to tie every item I can(or need) in ordr to do my part insuring a successful mission.

As far as footcare: there will be many diffrent opinions concerning this.
IMHO: it begins with a proper fit into the boot-not too tight>not too loose. Good socks to wick the moisture off the skin. the moisture accelerates the exess abrasion- Note: your feet will swell after several hours humping.
What I use (meds) may diffrent from what you get over there. Ask a old-timer in your platoon.

Did I mention use good foot care: wash-dry-powder-freash socks. b-4 bed. Change out socks 1xor 2x a day. I do not put any type of creame on my feet in the am while dressing. Keep ur feet dry----

I think thats it.
Cheers mate.

Damn creeper did you go to ranger school... iwas about to say all the same stuff...

x2 with what creepeer said... for the socks I've found some great ones... Rohner Socks the model called Grenadier..