Blisters & Chafing From Prosthetics
Is chafing causing issues for you when you wear your prosthesis? Dealing with the constant pain and irritation that arises from chafing can be an annoyance. Luckily there are things you can do that can keep friction and chafing at bay.
Chafing from your prosthesis, just like any other sort of chafing, is caused by the friction your limb exhibits on your prosthesis. This constant rubbing and friction can injure your skin causing inflammation, rashes, blisters and of course – tender raw skin. If left untreated you may have to deal with an infection or be forced to avoid wearing your prosthesis for a few days to allow your skin to recover.
Read our tips below to find out how you can avoid chafing and blisters from occurring due to your prosthesis.
Prosthesis Chafing Prevention Tips
1. Wear a properly fitted socket
An ill-fitting socket can cause an excess of friction and sweat to build-up due to the amount of movement allowed inside your socket. The moisture from your sweat and this unnecessary movement will inevitably join forces causing chafing and blistering. Make sure your socket fits as snug as possible at all times. Wearing additional prosthetic socks, utilizing adjustment pads or simply speak to your prosthetist can help reduce this wiggle room and keep you chafe and blister-free.
2. Keep it Dry
As we mentioned above moisture can be an especially exacerbating factor in chafing and blistering. Making sure to keep your residual limb dry while also taking care to switch out wet socks and giving your prosthetic liners time to properly dry will do wonders in helping you stay chafe-free. Utilizing a prosthetic antiperspirant can reduce the amount of moisture present in your prosthesis as well.
3. Additional Protection: Sheaths & Liners
Wearing sheaths under prosthetic socks is a proven technique to protect against friction. Sheaths allow movement to be absorbed between your residual limb and socks while the sheaths slick nylon material helps reduce friction.
Liners also play an important role in the comfort and health of your prosthesis. They fit over your residual limb and go between your limb and the socket – working in a similar way to how sheaths do: absorbing movement while reducing friction and moisture.
4. Reduce friction with an anti-chafing balm
Utilizing an anti-chafing balm like Body Glide can help reduce friction between your residual limb and your prosthesis. Helping to lessen the amount of strain you place on your limb while also giving you peace of mind that it will be chafe-free. Body Glide balms are skin safe – made with allergen free, plant-derived ingredients. Vegan approved, and never tested on animals Body Glide balms are never wet or greasy! They contain no petroleum, lanolin or mineral oils – so they will never stain your liners, sheaths, or socks.
