Causes of Blisters

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Blisters are usually the result of heat injury, such as sunburn, or from repeated friction, such as shoes that rub. Any rubbing of the skin, if continued long enough, can cause blistering. Very short periods of intense rubbing of the skin will also cause a blister.

Blisters are common on the hands and feet, as these areas of the body often rub against shoes or handheld equipment. Blisters form more easily on moist skin than on dry or soaked skin, and are more common in warm conditions.

Sometimes, the skin blisters when it comes in contact with chemical substances or cosmetics. This is known as contact dermatitis.

There are also a number of medical conditions that cause blisters to appear on different parts of the body. This type of blister is usually filled with pus rather than clear fluid. The most common causes of skin blistering that are unrelated to heat or friction are:

chickenpox,
herpes,
impetigo,
a form of eczema causing itchy palms or soles of the feet (pompholyx), and
hives (angioneurotic oedema).

Other much rarer conditions that cause blistering include:

Pemphigus (a serious skin disease in which blisters rise on slight pressure and rupture easily, leaving raw areas that easily become infected);
Bullous pemphigoid (a skin disease in older people that features large, tense blisters);
Dermatitis herpetiformis (an uncommon skin disease causing intensely itchy red spots found symmetrically on the back and elbows);
Chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood (a disease featuring blisters on the skin, mouth, vulva and linings of the eyelids).