Tinc benz brings back some horrible memories, It hurts like a barsteward but works. I once had a very sadistic army medic suck the fluid out of a big heel blister and inject the bloody stuff under the skin. Absolute pull me down off the ceiling pain for a bit then zinc oxide tape over the heel and soldier on.

Nowadays I'm a bit wiser and use a hydrocolloid dressing and zinc tape, pretty much the best way I've found in 20 odd years of playing soldiers.

Here's a couple of popular treatments:
Blist-O-Ban
and
GlacierGel

No first hand experience with these though.

Glacier-Gel is AWESOME.

I usually don't go for the "new" stuff, but this stuff is great.

New ice hockey skates and dance shoes for kids provide plenty of blister repair issues for me.

Well as luck would have it, I got a nice sized blister on my heel yesterday. Today I am going to buy some product and get back to the forum in a day or so.

Never went back again, self medication from then on. You only take that pain once. It must be the closest thing to childbirth a man can experience.

Never had anything stuck in a zipper yet huh?

I have found the second skin covered with Leukotape P the work the best for allowing existing blisters to heal.

For blister prevention I usually tape my heals and toes, where I usually blister, with Leukotape P which usually holds for a couple days of hiking. Duct tape never stays put very long with my sweaty feet.

I have also started using Engo blister pads which are teflon pads that you stick in your footwear rather than on your foot. These have been great and usually survive several weeks of hiking.

http://goengo.com/

If you are cheap I know a number of hikers who use bubble wrap and duct tape over the areas where they blister which seems to work well at reducing the friction.

This is not an exaggeration. I'm seriously amazed at how well it works.

Can you only do this if the skin flap is still intact?

You can use the tinc benz to disinfect and dry the blister and surrounding area as a prep for a second skin type dressing.