 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-24 16:41
You'll get callouses rather than blisters from playing in general.
You'll probably get a callous on your right thumb from the thumbrest, and from the back 8ve touch if you roll your left thumb onto that.
String players get blisters if they overdo it - especially harp and bass players.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: D
Date: 2009-02-24 17:51
I have one of those rubber thumb cushions on my thumb rest, helps no end.
Have you tried washing your hands in a hypoallergenic hand wash frequently while playing? (not literally! just several times during practice) There is a chance you are sweating, where you touch the instrument it is rubbing and something in your sweat is making your skin sore. Can happen if you are really stressed about something. Unless you are allergic to your keys..........
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2009-02-24 19:49
you say 'hand' blisters rather than 'finger' blisters -- exactly where on the hands are these blisters? Yours? or somebody you know, perhaps playing on a brass instrument?
second D's idea to play instrument with freshly washed hands, most especially in sweaty playing conditions
the other thing is to clean the keys or metal in direct contact with skin, and do that daily during sweaty playing conditions, especially if skin tends to be a bit sensitive already
hot sweaty fingertips, or hands, put warm saline solution in direct contact with silver or brass, this causes a chemical reaction, minute deposits of salts are left behind and if the metal isn't cleaned often enough, these deposits become 'sticky' so that makes for a lot of skin friction which can readily produce blisters; also, over time may build up concentrated areas of chemical deposits which could cause blistering dermatitis
to clean the metal, use damp rag wrung out in dish-detergent (cuts the grease and dissolves water soluble salts), may need more than one pass, then air-dry, then pass lightly oiled rag (use fresh key oil) to smear all the metal surfaces, this helps protect the silver a little bit from saline sweat, and for the player this oil film makes skin-metal contact smooth and silky to the touch (no need to nose the pinkies for slides ...)
if the silver's tarnished, use one of those silver polishing cloths first, then the damp detergent rag, then the oil finish
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-24 21:08
While playing, keep a flannel or small towel draped over your leg so you can wipe your hands on it during bars rest - a beer towel is a good size, and it's best to get it in black so it won't be too conspicuous against your concert rig.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2009-02-25 02:58
Everyone made total sense out of what i am experiencing right now. I have a mock audition on Thrusday and the real BIG one comes on Sunday...have been practising 6-8 hours a day for the past 2 months, and last week i noticed blisters starting to develop in between my fingers and even in the middle of my palm, not a substantial amount perhaps but enough to indicate something suspicious. Indeed, my hands sweat a lot when i play! This has never occurred to me until now. Thankyou for the wonderful advise my friends!
Regards,
Howard
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2009-02-25 18:57
<<I have a mock audition on Thursday and the real BIG one comes on Sunday...have been practising 6-8 hours a day for the past 2 months, and last week i noticed blisters starting to develop in between my fingers and even in the middle of my palm>>
it's very unlikely that the skin between your fingers would be in direct contact with the instrument, although the palm is more likely. Is the skin between your fingers redder than usual with clusters of little blisters, and do they itch a lot? and do they 'ooze' clear fluid readily and then close over with rough and flaky skin? (maybe it's too soon to tell if they've just started in the last week)
if this description seems to fit, this suggests perhaps something other than contact dermatitis, it could be psoriasis -- caused by internal biochemical imbalances due to a prolonged 2 month period of intensive practice *stress* now coming to peak in the next few days -- cortisone cream may give temporary relief so your fingers feel reasonably comfortable for your auditions
i have experience with this condition myself, and offer this experience as a possible alternative explanation for the blistering you've got -- seek doc's advice, although over here i can get 0.5% (mild) strength cortisone cream directly from the drug store to get some temporary relief from the itching and reduce the inflammation a bit -- doc's prescription cream would be stronger, but unless the conditon's quite wide-spread and persistant, might not be worth the cost
zinc oxide ointment also gives temporary relief from the itching overnight, when i find the itching really gets intolerable, seems being just comfortably cosy in bed is much too hot for the condition
perhaps a one-a-day vitamin-mineral formula for your age and gender could also offer some additional nutritional support during this high stress time, always take vit-min supplements with a meal not by themselves
when i take my formula with dinner, i always sleep really well that particular night, that effect wears off in 2-3 days, so something in the supplement is definitely doing something to reduce my insomnia and nervous edginess, and if i take them regularly when i have an outbreak of psoriasis, it 'miraculously' disappears altogether in about a week, so something in them is definitely restoring biochemical balance, no idea exactly what
all the best and good vibrations for your auditions :-)
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2009-02-25 23:20
While I have never heard of an oboist suffering from such a thing, some research I did recently into a set of recorders in my possession led to the information that many people suffer from an allergy to a chemical in rosewood and cocobola. Another website included grenadilla in that list -- they are all in the same family.
Good luck on the audition, HautboisJJ, and let us know how it went for you.
Elizabeth
Post Edited (2009-02-26 13:46)
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2009-02-27 04:23
Sounds like eczema/psoriasis or something similar to me; and both are definitely made worse with stress!!
mary, RN
GoodWinds
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Author: Vallemar2
Date: 2009-02-27 14:53
And a high dose cortisone cream will help; usually inflammation on the palms requires a prescription strength cream as the skin is thicker than elsewhere.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-27 19:14
These blisters will clear up without the need for strong steroid creams which can do more harm than good.
Years back I had a load of these tiny blisters all over my palms, and they went away without any treatment.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2009-02-27 21:28
... yes, the condition does indeed clear up when the nervous & hormonal system *stress* factor is relieved, although i find in my case (not saying it's the same for everyone else) there's often a period of 'peak' outbreak right after the stress factor is relieved, and cortisone cream does help to manage that, hurries up the healing process to a few days (within a week) instead of many days by itself (1-2 weeks, or in the case of prolonged, heavy and persistant outbreaks, sometimes 3 weeks)
downside of using cortisone cream that long, skin gets thinner and more easily scratched or bruised by light brushes with harder objects like metal keys
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2009-02-28 03:55
Tomorrow is my big day.....
Vaseline has been a big help in covering up the wounds left from the broken blisters. Fortunately enough for me, they havent been enough troublesome to cause a major lack of concentration in my playing. A thorough and insightful thread! Thankyou fellow bboarders!
Howard
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Author: Vallemar2
Date: 2009-02-28 12:36
there's really no harm in short term use of steroid cream; I have been an internist for well over 20 years and so have some expertise in this area; if they clear without it fine but this is often a recurrent problem and there is no need to worry about need for medication short term
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2009-03-01 08:02
3 months of hard work ended with a 5 minute audition...and i can already feel my blisters going away! =D
Howard
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Author: D
Date: 2009-03-02 15:40
Well done for getting through it. I have an exam in the morning and fainting in a heap is looking like an attractive way out at the moment!
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