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I ran across the Lifehacks question How do I get rid of feet blisters? and thought it was odd that it was closed. One reason given is there is simply nothing about this question that needs "thinking outside the box."

I disagree that this is not a "think outside the box" type question. It should be worth considering that maybe if no one immediately sees how a question can be handled by a "Life Hack" then they are the ones not thinking outside the box.

When I first heard the answer given by the OP (leave the thread in) from a soldier in the infantry in Afghanistan, I was amazed that I had never heard it before. This solution is exactly how the foot soldier keeps going, mile-after-mile, day-after-day, after having serious foot blisters. It was solved with the simplest of tools and no need for professional attention. It was described to be so effective that it was as if the blister was no longer there.

Who would not be interested in knowing something that simple but so contradictory to common understanding?

It's this non-obvious type of answer that seems to be the perfect response to a Lifehack type question as outlined in A Lifehacks Manifesto.

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The needle and thread is a good, hacky solution. However, reading from the manifesto:

[I]t is up to the author to clearly show why a problem needs an "outside the box" solution in the first place.

Your original question didn't do this.

The reason I voted to close this question is because it is an ill-advised medical question. This question is about an open wound. With bad advice -- or even good advice used incorrectly -- it could become infected and cause other medical problems. This also makes your question off-topic.

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    I understand your effort to create a close reason for ill-advised medical questions, but I see that that suggestion was tabled and it was recommended that the issue should be to "err towards discussing these issue with users asking for help instead of creating a lot of unnecessary 'rules'". It appears from the comments that you moved to close without offering to discuss. I would assume that someone in dire need of a life hack won't worry about putting a needle in a blister, but that's something to talk about in the comments rather than voting to close.
    – Jim
    Commented Feb 27, 2015 at 20:49
  • I have no issue discussing it. And it wasn't about "unnecessary rules"; it was about the rubber stamp effect. The bigger reason it was closed is because your question didn't show why it needs an "outside the box" solution. If you edited your question to say "I can't see a doctor right now because..." or similar, I'd vote to reopen it. I'd recommend you then post your answer as an answer and add a disclaimer about the possibility of infection, etc.
    – Mooseman
    Commented Feb 27, 2015 at 21:21
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    I'm not the OP, but I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't be assumed that a question is asking about "out of the box solutions", given that that is what Lifehacks is about. Fair enough that context is helpful and saying why an OOB solution is sought would be helpful. But in this case, the OP stated the purpose - he "(doesn't) want to skip training because..." I just arrived as an interested observer, and from what I've seen in Meta about the struggle on how to build Lifehacks, your suggestions would be helpful if given directly to the OP at his question.
    – Jim
    Commented Feb 27, 2015 at 22:06
  • @Mooseman Hi! I'm the OP! xD I'm also not a native english speaker (if that's even a good excuse these days...). Reading about types of blisters and things I discovered there are some very nasty ones. Mines weren't. And my feet are quite alright actually. To be fair, I never met anyone who went to the doctor because of a blister, so I think it was all a big misunderstanding (probably my fault) I edited it already, but, I'm more than willing to edit it further to make it a clearer, more proper question. Any concrete advices? :P
    – Alfro
    Commented Feb 28, 2015 at 1:46
  • Oh, also. I added a picture with a blister (not my feet, but something as close as I could find :P )
    – Alfro
    Commented Feb 28, 2015 at 1:47
  • @Jim It still doesn't say why the conventional solution doesn't work though.
    – Mooseman
    Commented Feb 28, 2015 at 12:04
  • @Al.R Anything that says why you can't go to the doctor would help. It is, however, in my opinion, still an ill-advised medical question. Also, I put the image in a spoiler quote box for the sake of the squeamish.
    – Mooseman
    Commented Feb 28, 2015 at 12:06
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    @Mooseman Ah, I didn't think about it, thanks for hiding the picture. About going to the doctor... well... In my case, I wouldn't go to the doctor for such a small thing. Blisters usually just dry in a couple of days (I'd feel it's like going to the doctor because of a pimple) Unless it's something very urgent, the appointments are only scheduled in the morning, and I'm working. I can't skip job each time I have a blister.
    – Alfro
    Commented Feb 28, 2015 at 15:49
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    First of all, as long as it doesn't pop, a blister is not an open wound. Secondly, I don't think it's unreasonable to allow questions about basic first aid, which, at the end of the day, is what blister care is.
    – Unionhawk
    Commented Mar 2, 2015 at 2:51
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Add: The blister question has the tag "personal care". Obviously, personal care will overlap with seemingly medical advice. Fixing a blister and what's the best way is superficial medicine, if anything, such as anything else skin related, and we are not going to put all skin questions out of scope, are we? Does how best to shave also represent medicine?

After reading this thread I definitely want to go find the original question and read what the answer is. Having common sense I can decide for myself whether any improper medical advise is represented. So I think the question should be returned to the inventory.

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