Foot care for the troops?

[KarinTimour]

Re: Foot care for the troops?

Dear Jake:

You soap the inside of the socks that will be next to your skin.

With regard to the blisters you got football, were you wearing cotton socks?

Were they cotton tube socks (made without a heel)?

I'd like to echo here all the people who advocated a) woolen socks and b) dry socks. Wet cotton socks are just a foot disaster on many levels.

Also, have a good pair of socks made to fit your foot. Most people buy commercially made socks, which are made to fit a range of sizes. On the package it says something along the lines of "Fits Sizes 6-10." The bigger the difference between the size of the sock and the size of your foot, the larger the chances for blisters to develop.

Ideally, both your socks and your shoes should fit your feet like gloves. If that's not possible, your (woolen) socks should fit like a glove. That way they will move with your foot if it has to slide around a bit in the shoe.

But if you have socks too big as well as shoes too big, then you've got the foot, sock and shoe all moving independently with each step. There are bound to be hot spots build up on your feet, especially if the sock folds or bulges at certain points.

Your milage may vary,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[jake.koch]

Re: Foot care for the troops?

Thanks Karin,

That makes sense. I think half the problem at earlier events was that I had a really shoddy pair of shoes that didn't help my feet much. I have a beautiful pair of Robert Land brogans now that are ten times better then what I have had. Thanks for the information about the soap, I'll try that out the next time I'm in the field.

[Bob 125th NYSVI]

Re: Foot care for the troops?

Regular (every night) washing of the feet will actually help prevent the problem before it starts. The Union Army had a reg requiring officers to make sure that the soldiers bathed their feet every night (and the rest of them once a week) although I suspectthe officers probably didn'y follow through religously on th esubject.

Period farmers did it after a hard day working the fields and the Amish still practice it today.

I always try to walk around in my bare feet for at least a little while each day and I always change my socks at night before going to sleep and hang up the day's socks so they can air out and dry.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[unclefrank]

Re: Foot care for the troops?

It may sound disgusting to some people, but the best thing to do is wrap your wet socks around your body at night. They will be ready and dry in the morning.

[SJohsz]

Re: Foot care for the troops?

From "THE CUSTOMS OF SERVICE FOR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS BY AUGUST V. KAUTZ" 1864:

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH.

670. The following extracts are from the Sanitary Commission, Dr. Hall’s and other advice to soldiers:—

"22. Wear woolen stockings and moderately loose shoes, keeping the toe and finger nails cut close. Wash the stockings whenever soiled and the underclothing once a week. Thoroughly dry both.

"23. It is important to wash the feet well every night (not in the morning); because it aids to keep the skin and nails soft, to prevent chafing, blisters, and corns, all of which greatly interfere with a soldier’s duty.

"24. If the feet begin to chafe, rub the socks with common soap where they come in contact with the sore places.

If you rub the feet well with soap (hard soap) before the march, you will scarcely be troubled with sore feet "25. The most universally safe position, after all stunnings, hurts, and wounds, is that of being placed on the back, the head being elevated three or four inches only,— aiding, more than any thing else can do, to equalize and restore the proper circulation of the blood.