Blood and water blisters have different causes and fluids, but both can be painful and inconvenient. Water blisters are caused by friction and filled with blood serum, while blood blisters are caused by pinching and filled with blood. Both should be treated with care and not popped or drained.
On the one hand, the differences between blood bubbles and water bubbles can be determined by the way they occur and the liquids with which they are filled. On the other hand, the two actually have more similarities than differences. Perhaps the biggest connection between these blisters is that they can be painful and usually appear at the least desirable time.
A water bubble, at least in most cases, is caused by simple friction. Your shoes may be too tight and rubbing the skin against the toe will cause a blister. The same theory applies to almost any repetitive motion where the skin meets a foreign object. Too much time spent raking, shoveling, or swinging a baseball bat or tennis racket can lead to a water blister. These blisters can also be the result of sunburn, excessive heat, allergies, or viruses such as chickenpox, shingles, or herpes.
In the case of water bubbles caused by friction, the outer layer of the skin is damaged. However, a water bubble is not filled with water. The clear fluid is in fact blood serum, the substance that remains when the blood no longer contains clotting agents or red blood cells. The serum collects under the damaged skin to protect the wound and help it heal.
In the case of a blood blister, it is the blood vessels near the skin’s surface that have been damaged. Injuries of this nature are usually caused by some sort of pinching action. If you happen to hit the edge of your finger with a hammer, catch it in a car door, or bang it hard against the edge of a table, there’s a good chance you’ll soon notice a blood blister.
Blood blisters do not occur when the outer layer of skin has been cut. It is the vessels under the skin that are damaged, and because blood from the burst vessels cannot escape, they form into a small pool or blister. Blood blisters are minor injuries, assuming they are treated properly and the infection cannot set in.
You should never pop a blood blister or attempt to tear the skin covering it. Nor should any attempt be made to drain it. Simply wash the area around the blister, apply antibiotic ointment, cover with a bandage, and let it heal on its own. A water bubble can be pierced with a sterilized needle to drain the fluid, and then covered with an antibiotic ointment and bandage.
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