UNITED STATES—Gaming is certainly fun. But it can also be quite painful, especially when a loss in League of Legends or Apex Legends is crowned by a thumb blister that makes you unable to properly grip your mouse.

Moreover, if you are a semi-professional player and above, you’ll soon find out that a blister on your thumb can have a serious impact on both your and your team’s performance. Obviously, this doesn’t apply only to team-based games.

A blister located pretty much anywhere on your hands can prevent you from enjoying the full gaming experience provided by a mouse or even a controller. As such, here are a couple of steps that you can try to prevent and, if needed, heal thumb blisters caused by gaming.

How to Prevent Blisters

Preventing blisters is the hard part – why? Because we all know how sometimes you  just wake up with them on your hands or feet. This is why personal care is essential, mainly because the simplest of things can keep blisters away.

  • Keep Your Hands Dry – if your skin is dry, blisters will almost never form. This is because their very existence is stimulated by moisture.
  • Use Talcum Powder – as a professional gamer, you might already use talcum powder. It’s not meant only for high-ranked athletes of physical sports and it does do wonders when it comes to preventing blisters.
  • Wear Moisture-Resistant Gloves – if you find a pair that are comfortable enough and feature thumb protection, then you should give it a shot. Bulkier mice and prolonged gaming sessions might not pair too well with gloves, but it’s one of the best ways to stay away from blisters.

How to Care for and Heal Blisters

Now, let’s take a look at the ugly part of having thumb blisters – namely, taking care of and healing them. Many things can go wrong, especially with un-popped blisters. If such things happen, you’ll be in more pain than before.

  • Keep Clean and Don’t Pop – while you might be tempted to rub your other fingers against the blister, don’t do it! When a blister pops, there is a high chance that it will let go of the skin layer that protects it. If that layer goes away, you’re left with exposed flesh that will NOT let you grab a mouse under any circumstances due to the pain.
  • Use Soothing Gels – some blisters can come with itching and discomfort that most people usually can’t handle. A good way to calm these symptoms down is to rely on soothing gels, such as aloe vera cool gels or premium organic CBD softgels. The latter might also have some positive effects on your mood.
  • Cover It Up – the world has come a long way and we now have band-aids that are dedicated to blister care. Moreover, some incorporate soothing gel technology as well!

The Bottom Line

It doesn’t matter if you’re a PC, console, or mobile gamer. We are all prone to thumb blisters that can prevent us from doing what we enjoy the most – gaming!

Therefore, make sure to keep the above in mind before letting your palms sweat profusely on your mouse/controller or before you decide to pop your blister (which you should never do)!