Stuck Boot: Help for Over an Hour of Struggling

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After a test ride, a user struggles to remove a tight boot, feeling embarrassed walking with one boot on. Suggestions include elevating the foot, using ice to reduce swelling, and even pouring talcum powder into the boot for easier removal. Concerns about potential injury and swelling are raised, with advice to avoid taking off the boot if injured. The conversation includes humorous remarks about the situation and various unconventional methods to alleviate the problem. Ultimately, the user is encouraged to find a solution that doesn't damage the boot while addressing the swelling.
  • #31
Ok, i feel a right dick head now, one booted foot in a bucket of iced water,
I don't have any pills, i never use them.
 
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  • #32
Hey, sorry I didn't think of this before. Pour a bunch of baby/talcum powder down into the boot. It won't hurt the boot like ice water would. In addition to elevating for a while, this will probably turn the trick. You have been elevating all this time, right?
 
  • #33
Moonbear said:
Well, if it's injured, the rule around the farm is you DON'T take the boot off until you get to the ER and have them remove it for you. The boot helps with compression.

But, if you just want the boot off, then along with the advice to elevate your foot, and drink lots of cold water (get your whole body temperature down if your feet are just swelling from heat, or if you are for some reason overly salty today :biggrin:), can you fit a slender stick down the side? Maybe you just swelled up enough with enough sweat to create a vacuum down near your toes somewhere that's keeping you from getting your foot out, and sliding a stick (or old coat hanger maybe) down would break the "seal."

Otherwise, I agree with the other suggestion to put the other boot back on so you at least solve the problem of looking silly walking around with just one boot. :biggrin:

I did stick a steel 24inch rule i have down an it looked quite bloody on the tip,
i think i have rubbed the skin off.
 
  • #34
berkeman said:
Hey, sorry I didn't think of this before. Pour a bunch of baby/talcum powder down into the boot. It won't hurt the boot like ice water would. In addition to elevating for a while, this will probably turn the trick. You have been elevating all this time, right?


No i have my boot in a bucket of iced water, i can not see how i can do both
at the same time.
 
  • #35
wolram said:
No i have my boot in a bucket of iced water, i can not see how i can do both
at the same time.

No, no, no. The bucket of ice water is shrinking the boot material, and not delivering enough cold to your skin to help. What material are these boots made of anyway? (sorry if you already covered that).

Cold water would help if it could go inside the boot, but outside I don't think it will help. My advice would be to pour in the talcum powder and elevate for 15 minutes, then try again.

Quiz question -- how many posters does it take to help woolie remove his boot? :blushing:
 
  • #36
berkeman said:
No, no, no. The bucket of ice water is shrinking the boot material, and not delivering enough cold to your skin to help. What material are these boots made of anyway? (sorry if you already covered that).

Cold water would help if it could go inside the boot, but outside I don't think it will help. My advice would be to pour in the talcum powder and elevate for 15 minutes, then try again.

Quiz question -- how many posters does it take to help woolie remove his boot? :blushing:

I agree with this, that the cold water is more likely to shrink the boot before it unswells your foot.

You stabbed yourself with the ruler? :rolleyes: That wasn't quite the advice I had in mind, but maybe the blood will make your foot more slippery. :biggrin:

Oh, and yes, talcum powder! Especially if your foot is all sweaty, it'll absorb moisture and add slipperiness. And, then you can just wipe it out later (or leave it in...won't hurt to have some powder inside the boot at all...might be good to sprinkle some in each time you wear them to avoid this in the future).
 
  • #37
Its not too late to try the scotch. I really don't see how making the boot wetter, colder and stiffer is going to help. Time to reverse course and apply heat.

Stop sticking things into das boot!
 
  • #38
chemisttree said:
Its not too late to try the scotch.

I have a feeling that this one piece of advice is the only thing woolie has followed so far! :smile:
 
  • #39
chemisttree said:
Its not too late to try the scotch.

:smile: I didn't see that suggestion. Yep, head to the local pub, take a few swigs of scotch, then ask the strongest looking fellows in the place to grab hold and pull until either the boot or your foot comes off. :biggrin: Don't forget to bring a different pair of shoes for the walk home, or you'll have to return again for them to pull the boots back off...:-p
 
  • #40
berkeman said:
No, no, no. The bucket of ice water is shrinking the boot material, and not delivering enough cold to your skin to help. What material are these boots made of anyway?
Most leathers will not shrink appreciably in the cold, while your feet certainly will if they are cold enough. I used to ski-race in HS and worked as a ski-patrol member on a VERY cold mountain in northern Maine (frequently -20 to -30 F when we got to work), back in the day when lace-up leather ski boots were the norm (OK, I'm old!) and on cold days, I'd have to re-tension the laces periodically to keep the boots snug and avoid injury. We didn't have electric boot warmers, then, but there were plenty of chairs around the huge double-hearth stone fireplace in the lodge.
 
  • #41
berkeman said:
Hey, sorry I didn't think of this before. Pour a bunch of baby/talcum powder down into the boot. It won't hurt the boot like ice water would. In addition to elevating for a while, this will probably turn the trick. You have been elevating all this time, right?

Thanks berkeman, i have some french chalk so i put some of that down my boot, and i am now on the fl ore with my leg in the air, typing is real difficult from this position.
 
  • #42
OK, we might have to dispatch a squad of the sisters to get you out of this fix. (Not Evo! You'd end up with lacerations, chemical burns, dislocations, and who knows what else!)
 
  • #43
turbo-1 said:
OK, we might have to dispatch a squad of the sisters to get you out of this fix. (Not Evo! You'd end up with lacerations, chemical burns, dislocations, and who knows what else!)

:smile: As soon as MIH gets out of her class with Mr. Perfume, and we call Tsu back in from all her yardwork, we'll get the supersonic RV revved up and on the way. We'll just tie that boot to the bumper of the RV. :biggrin: Or, maybe we can just attach it to the ceiling and hang him from the boot...eventually the swelling will go down and he'll just slide right out...right? :rolleyes:
 
  • #44
berkeman said:
I have a feeling that this one piece of advice is the only thing woolie has followed so far! :smile:


Not a drop has passed my lips for six weeks now :smile:

I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots :cry:
 
  • #45
Are you wearing thick woolen socks? If so, you should pull on them tightly while trying to take off the boot with your other foot (not barefoot). The sock could be bunching up down around your ankle.
 
  • #46
Moonbear said:
Or, maybe we can just attach it to the ceiling and hang him from the boot...eventually the swelling will go down and he'll just slide right out...right? :rolleyes:
Yeah! That's the ticket! (and much less messy than ripping a foot off.)
 
  • #47
wolram said:
I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots :cry:
Cutting your foot off is not a good idea.

Does your foot feel numb?

I still say leeches are the way to go.
 
  • #48
Evo said:
Cutting your foot off is not a good idea.

Does your foot feel numb?

I still say leeches are the way to go.


My foot feel like a million degrees wet and sticky.
 
  • #49
wolram said:
I have to go to bed soon, so the stanley knife may be my only solution, my poor £55 boots :cry:

If you might have to resort to destroying them anyway, if they're leather, give it a try soaking them in warm water first (not hot...don't want to add to the foot swelling problem). It just might help soften the leather and make it pliable enough to stretch and get them off...then dry them on a boot tree so they don't shrink back down. They'll be water-damaged, but that's not as bad as cutting them off.
 
  • #50
turbo-1 said:
Yeah! That's the ticket! (and much less messy than ripping a foot off.)
I could try tying a rope over the out house rafter and around my boot, trouble is i am knackered.
 
  • #51
wolram said:
That will ruin my boots, they are only a few months old, and £55 would pay for the new advance retard unit i need.

Well so forget about taking it off now! Take them off whenever you'd feel they worked enough regarded to the price. :smile:
 
  • #52
Lisa! said:
Well so forget about taking it off now! Take them off whenever you'd feel they worked enough regarded to the price. :smile:

Thanks Lisa, nice to hear from you by the way, however i do need to wash my feet some time, i just need to find a way to stop the permeabilization.
 
  • #53
Good lord, Wolly! What have you done? I guess there's no choice but to amputate. We have to save the boot.
 
  • #54
wolram said:
trouble is i am knackered.

I thought you just said you weren't drinking! Well which is it young feller?
 
  • #55
Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.
 
  • #56
wolram said:
Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.
When was your last tetanus shot?
 
  • #57
Woo-hoo! :biggrin:

Anybody got a running count on my quiz question, BTW? :rolleyes: :smile:
 
  • #58
wolram said:
Thanks for the help every one, i got my boot off by jambing it in a door, it looks like the pin has moved and puctured the skin, i did nearly pass out, what a baby, and now i have to find a way to clean the insides of my boot.

Well, that's your problem...you're not supposed to pin boots on. :biggrin:

Glad you finally got it off, sorry to hear you've damaged yourself in the process, but at least with the boot off, you can mend your wounds.

Um...if you have hydrogen peroxide around, that's good for cleaning up blood stains. First clean out what you can the usual way, then swab it out with the peroxide to remove any residue (it'll bubble up just like if you put it on a cut). Actually, if you have hydrogen peroxide around, you should see to treating your foot with it first, then only clean the boot with it if you have some left. Your foot is more important than the boot, even if this thread doesn't quite give that impression.
 
  • #59
berkeman said:
I thought you just said you weren't drinking! Well which is it young feller?

Try chasing your tail for some time, i guarantee you will get knackered :smile::smile:
 
  • #60
Evo said:
When was your last tetanus shot?

People like me do not get tetenus.
 

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