Blisters - Warning Signs & How to Prevent

I have read quite a few threads about pumping and vacextenders, and I’ve seen various reports of water and blood blisters. That said, I haven’t found a thread that discusses warning signs and how to prevent blisters.

The obvious way to prevent blisters is to limit vacuum strength and time under vacuum. However, can we tell when we are more at risk and limit vacuum / duration during those times?

- What are the warning signs of blisters?
- Can you tell when you are at risk of developing a blister, or does the glans go into the pump / extender looking completely normal and just come out with a blister?

I currently have an area approximately the size of 1/2 a dime that appears slightly more raised than the rest of the glans when in the pump or coming out of my Penimaster Pro. I use a light vacuum in the PMP and have been doing some light pumping as well (3-4hg, 10min sets). I suspect this may be the warning sign of a blister to come.

I’m looking forward to what some more experienced members have to say, not just about the symptoms I described, but about blister warning signs and prevention in general.

Blisters are likely to happen from vacuum and sucssesive days of pumping.

So that part I understand, but which of the following scenarios are we looking at?

Blister out of nowhere:
Day 1: glans looks good, let’s pump!
Day 2: glans looks good, let’s pump!
Day 3: glans looks good, let’s pump!
Day X: shoot, blister came out of nowhere. I should have known better, but I went into the tube looking 100%.

Warning Signs:
Day 1: glans looks good, let’s pump!
Day 2: hmm, a little edema, but let’s pump!
Day 3: hmm, glans looks a little different, but let’s pump!
Day X: shoot, there were warning signs and I ignored them and got a blister.

For me there are no warning signs, but have only occurred when continuing to pump for an extended period of time after fully packing the tube. That is because after packing all of the vacuum pressure is concentrated on the glans.

+1

yesterday I had some blisters in vac hanging, had no predecessors to warn me, just appeared on the second set, and happened in the third, so I stopped.

If you’re using a vac hanger you gotta tape the mushroom tip.. Preferably using micropore tape. I also tape it approx 1 inch under the tip too because fluid buildup can occur that will come through the pores which can cause slippage which can cause blisters. Honestly I’d be surprised if someone started vac hanging and never got a blister.. It seems like it’s part of the process.. Figuring it out how to make it work

So the lesson here is move up in tube size once you get very close to fully packing the tube??

Yes, and/or edge in between sets to reduce the fluid build up.

I’ve been lucky enough to not get a blister but I do get to a point with pumping usually after 25 straight mins in the tube that my circ scar will hold lots of fluid aka the dreaded doughnut. I think if I keep going beyond that I would most likely blister. Also the times I’ve used suction type ADS/vac hangers I get to a similar point where I need to remove it so I don’t potentially blister.

I haven’t found anything that works reliably. Micropore tape and/or a silicone cap for the glans helps, but doesn’t eliminate the problem. Reducing pressure and time helps, but does not eliminate blisters either. I pay close attention to warning signs and back off. That helps, too, but doesn’t fix it.

Another thing that seems to help are firegoat rolls. If you do firegoat rolls on your glans, it restores circulation quickly, and redistributes fluid buildup.

I also think that some PE techniques have reduced risk of blisters. Hanging with a compression hanger has lower risk. Same goes for clamping and manual exercises. Pumping is higher risk, and vac hanging seems to be the highest risk of all.

So if I get a blister and don’t want to wait until it has healed 100%, I’ll do low-risk PE until it has healed.

Thanks for all the tips. I don’t think I’m at much risk of blistering from pumping, because I generally go relatively low pressure (3-5hg) and can’t quite pack a 1.5” (embarrassing).

However, I realized the source of my problem: after over 100-hours of wear, I still hadn’t properly sized the sluice and adhesion diaphragm on my PeniMaster Pro. I was using a sluice and adhesion diaphragm that were too large and therefore using too much vacuum. This, combined with long sets and short breaks, caused a number of issues:

- Irritated glans - slightly discolored with an uneven texture
- Inflamed meatus - inflammation extended approximately 1/2” down the underside of the glans along the frenulum
- Glans stretched around frenulum - this one is tough to describe. I’m circumcised, and my frenulum was mostly removed. However, there is still a very strong fiber (what’s left of the frenulum) which “splits” the underside of the glans. Inflating the glans in the PeniMaster Pro caused a good amount of irritation because the glans stretched a bit too much around the frenulum.

I took 14-days off from the PMP and 2-days off from pumping, so these issues are much better. If I hadn’t, I believe a blister would have been imminent. The inflamed meatus extending down the underside of the glans has not gone away. However, my wife doesn’t mind - in fact, she didn’t even notice until I asked her about it. At this point, I don’t think it’s going away any time soon. Since the PMP, autoxleeve, and pumping are all integral parts of my routine, I’m going to consider the inflamed meatus collateral damage and keep pressing forward.

I started the PMP again two days ago, and things are going much better.