Cracked/blistered feet from working in extreme heat

[PitBullLove]

I am hoping you guys may be able to give me some insight or ideas for a very blistered and painful foot!

My dad pours asphalt for work so his feet are around 400 degree asphalt all day long & one of his feet has been reacting rather badly to it for the past year (only one foot though, not both) and recently it has become progressively worse (I imagine from his feet getting so hot combined with being in sweaty socks/shoes) to the point where sometimes he comes home limping & his sock is completely soaked through with blood.

It is extremely dry & cracked when he goes to work & it has had time over night to dry out, but when he comes home it looks like the entire top of his foot and in between his toes is one gigantic open, oozing (sorry...gross word choice) blister. He soaks it in Epsom salt for 10 minutes every night but it has not gotten better at all & I think it is actually getting worse - so I am thinking the Epsom salt is not doing any good. Does anybody have any ideas for remedies or at home treatments that could help it heal or at least slow down it's progression until he gets into the doctor (since God knows it's going to take me some time to convince him to actually go to the doctor...)

Thank you so much Chazzers! I really appreciate any advice, insight, or ideas you may have. I apologize for the disgusting topic.

Oh, and I have some of this stuff:
I was Googling remedies for foot blisters in general & it suggested Tea Tree Oil - well this stuff is 75% tea tree oil, but it has many other ingredients & it is meant for nails & cuticles...what do you think as far as using it for the top of his foot goes?

Ingredients: Sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil*, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil*, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil*, tocopheryl acetate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, glycine soja (soybean) oil, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, allantoin, retinyl palmitate*Certified Organic Ingredient

 

[sassafras]

If it were me (and if he can stand to sleep with socks on), I would slather my feet with Aquaphor and pop some socks on just before bed.

 

[milos_mommy]

Aquaphor isn't going to do anything for an open wound!

Tea tree oil is very drying and disinfecting, so it might help. Is he able to keep his socks/dressings off at night to let it get air? If it's really coming from a blister type situation, air will help it heal.

Epsom salt shouldn't make it worse, but isn't really for open wounds.

 

[joce]

I know people say tea tree oil for everything but it can be very irritating. I would test it in a very small area. I wouldn't use it honestly. I use it for very bad pimples and only that.

Dr appointment first thing.

Well fitting boots and thick nice socks.

Powder once no open wound. Depending on what dr says maybe with wound.

I agree I would slather on the aquaphor and sleep with socks every night.

If he will let you show pics. He may have a bad infection going on. Maybe advanced athletes foot?

 

[sassafras]

Aquaphor isn't going to do anything for an open wound!

Nothing is going to do anything for these open wounds except 1. Not wearing socks and shoes while working around 400 degree asphalt all day long until they are healed (presumably not an option) and/or 2. Appropriate medical treatment (presumably on its way).

But the Aquaphor will hopefully keep his feet from cracking so badly that new wounds form.

 

[sparks19]

I say aquaphor also. It was a miracle when hannah would have diaper rashes with open sores and all that stuff.

but a doctor is what is really needed!!!

 

[Locke]

I would try coconut oil before tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is very strong and is known to cause bad reactions for some people.

 

[Kat09Tails]

First off your Dad needs new socks and possibly new socks and boots. Cotton = Rotten. He needs to switch to wool. I recommend smartwool but any kind of wool work or hiking sock will be superior to what he is wearing. Second - look at what boots he's wearing at this job. He probably needs to be switching them out every other day and if they are worn unevenly they probably need to be tossed or resoled. The off days for these boots they need to be on a boot dryer to remove any excess moisture. Moisture is the enemy most of the time in jobs where you're on your feet all day..

Ditto on the doctor but for my poor dry blistered self I use something gross like bag balm on blisters on the very rare occasion I get them and then sock up in those rotton cotton socks for the evening (it's the only thing they're good for). I also have been known to slather my winter dry feet in moisturizer like gold bond or eucerin and again cotton sock up for a couple hours.