I just bought a pair of new shoes, and came to think of these. I seem to have very tender feet, or maybe awkwardly shaped heels, or both… but whatever the reason, almost every new pair of shoes is an exercise in excruciating pain until they are worn in. So these Compeed patches have become a bit of a staple for me. They are ridiculously expensive (about SEK50 for a pack of five, and directly converted that’s about €5.50 or US$8.50), but I haven’t found anything that works half as well. They stick well, staying on for a couple of days, and they cushion really well.  They are thick and gel-ish, and seem to work by absorbing moisture from the blister since the part of the patch covering it swells up (that’s even if the blister has been punctured and the outer skin has fallen off). Don’t know what more they do, but something makes them unsuitable for diabetics.

Anyway… they have the ability to take me from a grimacing zombie stagger to walking more or less normally in a matter of minutes, so I try to always keep a pack at hand.

Now I’ll stop unless Johonson and Johnson offer me money to be their spokesperson…