|
|
| *Home>>>Radiation Therapy |
Anyone have ideas on how to soothe a sore throat caused by radiation beam therapy to the neck? |
We tried sprays to numb the throat, but he can't open his mouth wide enough to get the spray into the throat. (also lozenges, but they only take the edge off) I am a Radiation Therapist, so I have a pretty good handle on this one. Extreme pain and dificulty swallowing ar ethe two most common (and awful) side effects of radiation therapy to the neck area. Lidocaine spays are sometimes effective but difficult once a patient reaches a certain level of pain. The most common treatment for this is often called "magic mouthwash". It can be made up at your local pharmacy but will require a prescription. It is a mixture of viscous lidocaine (to numb the throat), liquid benadryl (to lessen swelling) and liquid Maalox (to leave a soothing coating. The effect is temporary (about 2 hours) but will allow him to at least eat some soft foods. A second option is a painkiller lollipop (really) called Aqtiq. It is just narcotic in a sugar base but has shown some relief to local tissue. The third suggestion is to get access to a mouth wash with a benzydamine base. This has not been approved in the US but is available in Canada over the counter, so you may be able to order it from an online pharmacy. I worked on the clinical trial in the US and the benzydamine mouthwash helped to decrease the effect of radiation on the mucosal (inside the mouth and throat) tissue in patients being treated for head and neck cancer with radiation. may i suggest somme ice lollypops ,or ice cubes to suck on Over the counter mouth wash called "Biotene". A bit hard to find but worth checking for. Also there is a presciption product called "Stomatitus coctail". You swish it and spit it out-usually used for sores in the mouth. Ask your doctor or Pharmacist(I find them very helpful). Ask your oncologist for an RX for "magic mouthwash" which is a combination of prescription drugs designed just for sore throat caused by cancer treatments. OTC products probably won't help much. Sorry to hear that. Try milkshakes. Also give him something like ensure or boost to help replenish some nutrients. You could also try cold baby food, ice chips, and freeze pops. I hope that this will help. I'll be saying a prayer. Aloe Vera Juice. |
| Tags |
| Rape Radon Radiotherapy Radiosurgery Radionuclide Scans Radiography Radiation Therapy Radiation Exposure Rabies Quackery Q Fever Pyelonephritis |
| Related information |
All that and more on the following link; ...sure, but the correct answer depends of what type and stage of cancer. For some types of cancer only excision (surgery) is curative. Some types require both surgery and chemo. Others require a bone... Hello. Good question. The Chalk River problem really only affects the production of specific radio-isotopes which happen to be those used mostly in diagnostic tests, but less commonly in treatm... We have many patiets who have hips pinned or pathological fractures fixed after radiation therapy.The bone may be more brittle and the healing time a little longer but,from the patients I have seen... The American Society of Radiologic Technologists just did a fairly large salary survey, which included Radiation Therapists. You can see how much money a Radiation Therapist earned, in your state,... no, radiologists and oncologists look at other things besides cancer. growths can be cystic in nature (non-malignant) or radiologists can look at broken bones or pneumonia. lots of options for th... Are you kidding. The furnace burns up everything, even the gold rings on thier fingers. what is your problem with chemo. Do you drive a car or own a microwave or use a moble phone. All these thing... Never pay too much attention to prognosis percentages because they really do not matter because they are based on what happens to many, many other people. The only percentile that really matters is... |
Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |