Earlier this summer I had one of those moments when you wished you would have listened to your wife.  Walking back from the beach on a hot summers day I decided "not" to put on my flip-flops for the walk back to our house.  Instead, I ignored my wife's rather smart advice to put them on.

The sand and pavement didn't feel that hot at first.  Things quickly changed!  After about 100 feet of walking on the hot pavement the burning on my feet got rather intense.  At that time it was too late to put on sandals, the damage had been done.

I sat on the front steps to the house, my feet were swollen, red, and the start of blistering was apparent.  The pain was almost unbearable and I did what any sane person would do, ran cold water over my feet.

Little did I know the actions of that day would live on to haunt me for nearly 2 months.  I found very little help in regards to how I should treat my feet.  I looked on line, asked friends, and lastly called a doctor friend.  Below are the steps I took to relieve the pain.

So, if you burn the bottom of your feet try following these steps (no pun intended) to a short-term and long-term recovery.

Step #1: Run cool water over your feet continuously for at least 30 minutes.  Longer if needed to stop the swelling and burning sensation.

Step #2: Clean the burned area carefully with water and a small amount of hydrogen peroxide.  Rinse with plain cool water once you are done.

Step #3: Stay off your feet for the remainder of the day and keep them slightly elevated.

Note:  If blisters form DO NOT break them open.  Blisters are a natural defense mechanism and they will protect you from infection.  Allow them to break on their own over time.  The longer the better as you will give time for the skin underneath to mature.  Open blisters are hot beds for infection.  If you do break open a blister early make sure to keep it clean!

Step #4: The following day I suggest lightly covering the burns with medical pads and holding in place using a mesh medical tape.  Do not cover them tightly.  You should allow them to breath but protect your foot from the pressure of walking.

Step #5: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP AND CAN BE DONE BETWEEN STEP #2 & #3 IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE MEDICATION.  Call your doctor and inform him/her of what you have done.  Your Doctor will then most likely prescribe you a cream called, "Silver Sulfadiazine Cream," other wise known as SSD cream.  This cream should be applied twice daily and is used to protect against infection.

Most other creams and ointments will actually do your burns harm.  Especially if the blisters break open.  Other creams will actually keep in dirt and irritate or infect the wound.  SSD will stop this from happening.

Repeat cleaning, bandaging, and using the SSD Cream for as long as your wound is sensitive.  After which you can just apply the cream for a few weeks until the blisters break and your burns heal.

Friendly Disclaimer: Remember going to a doctor, or at a minimum speaking to one, is always the safest way to go.  I am not a doctor nor a medical professional.  This advice should be taken with the understanding that it may be wrong and may not actually help your feet.