I am having a problem with BLOB fields in my MySQL database - when uploading files larger than approx 1MB I get an error Packets larger than max_allowed_packet are not
For anyone running MySQL on Amazon RDS service, this change is done via parameter groups. You need to create a new PG or use an existing one (other than the default, which is read-only).
You should search for the max_allowed_packet parameter, change its value, and then hit save.
Back in your MySQL instance, if you created a new PG, you should attach the PG to your instance (you may need a reboot). If you changed a PG that was already attached to your instance, changes will be applied without reboot, to all your instances that have that PG attached.