Treatment of skin injuries on your palms

In our last article, we talked about how you can tape flappers and today, we will talk about treating skin injuries on your palms. Climbing can also wreak havoc on your palms! You can tape a split callus on your palm using the method we describe below. This method is a little more elaborate than taping flappers on your fingers.

First things first

In order for the tape to hold well, you should, if possible, wash and dry your hands first. Be sure to clean the back of your hands and your wrists because this is where you will secure the tape.

You don’t need to cut off the loose skin. If you fold it back on top of the wound, it provides additional protection when climbing and can also prevent the deeper layers of the skin from drying out in the following days. For fresh flappers you should make a wound pad by tearing off a small, square piece of tape that you will use later. If the injury is already a few days old and almost healed, this step won’t be necessary.

Taping the flapper onto the palm of your hand

Once your hands are dry and clean, you can get started:

Tear off a strip of tape that is one and a half centimeters wide (or use tape that is already 1.5cm wide) and is the same length as the distance between your fingertip and your elbow. Take this strip in the middle and put it around the base joint of the finger, closest to the flapper. This creates a loop that pulls from the back of your finger to the palm of your hand. (1)

In the next step, you can place the wound pad in position (glue-free side towards the wound) and stick both strips over the flapper. (2) The two ends will continue diagonally across the palm in the direction of your wrist and on the outside of your forearm. There they should cross again. (3)

So that the bandage does not slip later, you can fix it at the end with a tape ring on the wrist. For this you tear off another piece of tape that is long enough to circle around your wrist twice. Wrap it around your wrist so that it covers the ends of the tape strips on your wrist and holds them in position. (4) The ring should be relatively loose so it doesn’t cut off circulation when your wrists get pumped.

Tape consumption that is worthwhile

If you are unlucky enough to have a flapper on the palm of your hand, this taping method should be your first choice. Even though it uses more tape than a simple tape ring around your palm, said tape rings quickly slip when climbing and are often pulled down your palm when you grab holds.

The method shown above is far more durable. Although the tape will come off your palm during climbing, it is pushed back into position when you grab a hold. Even if it loosens completely, usually only the tape ring on your wrist has to be redone. This can be the case, for example, if you sweat heavily on warm days. Otherwise, a bandage made of good tape will last through the whole day of climbing.

Our tip: KletterRetter tape of course!