mouth sores

[MJ]

hi everyone,

i was wondering if anyone else has experienced mouth sores while having wbr. my mom is almost done with her treatments, and she started to complain today about a dull pain in her mouth (i.e. under her tongue and parts of her gums). she says that it feels a bit swollen and painful. thanks for the info in advance.

God bless,

mj

[SJAS]

Hi MJ,

Steve didn't have mouth sores with WBR, but I checked a great book we have called The Cancer Survival Cookbook which has suggestions for all sorts of problems. It says: the mouth is very sensitive and you should try pureeing different things, eg. vegetables to add to soup, fruit to add to milk/yougurt, ice cubes with fruit for a slush, etc. Keep small fruit pieces frozen and suck on them to soothe sores. Try putting a wet tea bag on sores. Use a straw. Mouth rinse - 1 tsp baking soda in 1 cup warm water. Don't use mouthwash that have a lot of salt, alcohol or other irritants. There are more, let me know if you want them. Good luck.

[Justakid]

MJ -

Although my mouth sores are not from WBR, I can relate! They are some painful puppies and feel like they go down your throat too. I have my magic mouthwash, which really doesn;t do much. It coats for a little while. My mouth sores are from the chemo and they have gotten so bad that my tongue is bleeding.

Have your Mom get some magic mouthwash from the Dr. and swish, swish, swish!

Hang in there!

[Fay A.]

I didn't get mouth sores during chemo or radiation. I was told in advance of treatment to rinse my mouth out several times a day with warm water and baking soda, to be absolutely certain to brush my teeth several times a day regardless of whether or not I was able to eat, but especially after meals and before bed. I know that we are all different, but my counts dropped low enough during treatments to require injections to boost white cell production up to 2 and 3. By following the physician's orders re oral hygiene I was able to avoid some of the more common mouth problems. Also, I purchased some denture cleansing tablets and used that to clean my toothbrush after every use. Some folks may think this is going over the top. All I know is I did not have the ulcers in my mouth and on my lips that I have seen on many others going through the same treatments I went through.

Hope this helps....

[kimblanchard]

Is she on dexamethasone? Mouth sores during brain irradiation are usually due to thrush (yeast infection) due to being on steroids, can be easily treated if thats the cause.

Joe

[MJ]

thanks all for responding. and joe, yes she is on dexamethasone. she takes it once a day. we are going in to talk to her radiologist and oncologist later on today, so i'll mention that to them. thanks for the heads up (i knew that you're knowledge would be an asset to us! ).

God bless,

mj