Need recommendation to sooth the throat from Radiation

Hi Folks,

We are experiencing some sores in the mouth/throat area right now. Not excruciating pain, just uncomfortable.

Do not see doctor until tomorrow for some MAGIC MOUTHWASH, but wondering if you have any recommendations for now.... ie, lozenges (that aren't high alcohol based). He's using baking soda/salt water right now.
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Comments

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    Sores
    I would call the after hours number and have them call you a script for the magic mouthwash today otherwise no ideas but maybe someone else will have one.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    If there is a Health Food store open on Sunday....
    find some L-Glutamine. It is a powder you mix with water and use as a rinse the same as baking soda/salt mixture. It can also be swallowed for his throat...(side effect: It's good for digestion)....My Onc sells it right in his office. It doesn't sting, and it promotes healing of the sores.

    When you get to the Dr. tomorrow, also ask about Mugard....Mugard can help prevent sores and it worked wonders for me (I didn't get BAD sores till I was on 5FU the last three months of chemo...and Mugard couldn't keep up with those)...but it did a wonderful job of keeping me sore free during radiation. If your Dr. hasn't heard of it, you can order it online...and they'll make ya a good deal on it (we all found that out after comparing what one another paid for theirs....).

    p
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    Keep the rinses going
    Hey there,
    Mugard works wonderful for some...I used a equal mixture of benedryl, liquid lidocaine and maalox for the soreness. 2tbs each. But PLEASE call and ask first before you try anything ! The nurses that work with us are caring and more knowledgable then me. Also get the script for the liquid pain medication. Wish I could help more ! Keep us posted on what works, best wishes ! Katie
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    Just sticking with ...
    Just sticking with the baking soda/salt water rinse for now. Couldn't find an L-Glutimine around.

    Thanks for the responses.
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    Aloe
    I found great relief from the baking soda/salt/water mix as well as from a special Magic Mouthwash that my radiation oncologist invented. She also recommended that I rinse with, and drink one of the Aloe beverages available from health food stores. Some of them are 100% aloe, and don't contain much of anything else in the way of color or flavor. Look for the unadulterated ones. They need to be kept refrigerated, and the cold was also soothing.

    Deb
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    Too late tonight?
    cureitall66,

    Sorry I don’t have any good ideas other than over the counter lozenges or prescription pain meds (to make you sleepy). What I can tell you is I am one of the big proponents of Magic Mouth Wash, I loved the stuff and the relief it gave me. Don’t be afraid of it, chances are you won’t over dose (kidding here, no over dose). Take 2, 5 or 10 mls. at a time, swish it around to deaden your mouth and then sip swallow it a little at a time (to sooth and deaden the throat). It may taste funky at first, but with the disappearance of your taste buds you soon won’t notice. I use to take it to radiation treatments and would take a little sip just before walking in the door. The Magic Mouth Wash along with my Lorazapam was just the edge I needed to put up with the mask. I don’t care what you have to do to psych yourself up for this blasted journey (we are all different) do it.

    Funny thing is I blasted through a six-pack of Magic Mouth Wash and never questioned the taste, but I still have some and that stuff and the taste is less than desirable today. One time offer, if you are within 300 miles to where I live, I will bring you a fresh bottle tonight, and take a swig with you for old time sake.

    Best,

    Matt
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    CivilMatt said:

    Too late tonight?
    cureitall66,

    Sorry I don’t have any good ideas other than over the counter lozenges or prescription pain meds (to make you sleepy). What I can tell you is I am one of the big proponents of Magic Mouth Wash, I loved the stuff and the relief it gave me. Don’t be afraid of it, chances are you won’t over dose (kidding here, no over dose). Take 2, 5 or 10 mls. at a time, swish it around to deaden your mouth and then sip swallow it a little at a time (to sooth and deaden the throat). It may taste funky at first, but with the disappearance of your taste buds you soon won’t notice. I use to take it to radiation treatments and would take a little sip just before walking in the door. The Magic Mouth Wash along with my Lorazapam was just the edge I needed to put up with the mask. I don’t care what you have to do to psych yourself up for this blasted journey (we are all different) do it.

    Funny thing is I blasted through a six-pack of Magic Mouth Wash and never questioned the taste, but I still have some and that stuff and the taste is less than desirable today. One time offer, if you are within 300 miles to where I live, I will bring you a fresh bottle tonight, and take a swig with you for old time sake.

    Best,

    Matt

    Michigan might be a little to far for you....
    Thanks for the tips on the mouth wash. Should be getting some of that "Magic" stuff today. He can hardly wait!!! LOL.
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    D Lewis said:

    Aloe
    I found great relief from the baking soda/salt/water mix as well as from a special Magic Mouthwash that my radiation oncologist invented. She also recommended that I rinse with, and drink one of the Aloe beverages available from health food stores. Some of them are 100% aloe, and don't contain much of anything else in the way of color or flavor. Look for the unadulterated ones. They need to be kept refrigerated, and the cold was also soothing.

    Deb

    Deb,

    Did you drink one a day?
  • meaganb
    meaganb Member Posts: 244 Member

    Deb,

    Did you drink one a day?

    I don't have experience with
    I don't have experience with aloe, although it sounds like it would help. Just wanted to second what Phrannie said about L-Glutamine. You may have to go to a health food store like GNC to find it, but it really worked wonders for me.I used it as soon as mouth sores started popping up and continued until a month or so after treatment. Towards the end of treatment when I didn't want to eat at all( I didn't have a peg) I would get lazy and not swish with the L-Glutamine and the sores would start up again. Once I got back on my 3x a day routine they were gone. That stuff works wonders!
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    CivilMatt said:

    Too late tonight?
    cureitall66,

    Sorry I don’t have any good ideas other than over the counter lozenges or prescription pain meds (to make you sleepy). What I can tell you is I am one of the big proponents of Magic Mouth Wash, I loved the stuff and the relief it gave me. Don’t be afraid of it, chances are you won’t over dose (kidding here, no over dose). Take 2, 5 or 10 mls. at a time, swish it around to deaden your mouth and then sip swallow it a little at a time (to sooth and deaden the throat). It may taste funky at first, but with the disappearance of your taste buds you soon won’t notice. I use to take it to radiation treatments and would take a little sip just before walking in the door. The Magic Mouth Wash along with my Lorazapam was just the edge I needed to put up with the mask. I don’t care what you have to do to psych yourself up for this blasted journey (we are all different) do it.

    Funny thing is I blasted through a six-pack of Magic Mouth Wash and never questioned the taste, but I still have some and that stuff and the taste is less than desirable today. One time offer, if you are within 300 miles to where I live, I will bring you a fresh bottle tonight, and take a swig with you for old time sake.

    Best,

    Matt

    Gallon of Milk...
    Matt, can you pick up a gallon of milk for me swinging down by Florida on your way back home from Michigan...?

    I'll treat you to a day of fishing for your troubles...., LOL.

    Nice gester of you offering to help out my bud Cris.

    JG
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member

    Deb,

    Did you drink one a day?

    No - the stuff I bought came in a large bottle.
    Aloe sucks. It's bitter. And kind of phlegmy textured. Mostly I'd swish it around in my mouth and spit it out. It was so thick it gagged me. I could hardly look at it without gagging. All you really need to do is coat the inside of the mouth and leave it in there.

    Make sure you buy the pure Aloe drink, rather than the pure Aloe topical lotion.

    The other thing I would do with the drink (unsweetened, unflavored) was rub it on my neck and jaw where the skin was burned.

    Also - on the Magic Mouthwash; the longer you hold it in your mouth, the better. It takes the lidocaine a while to work. My Magic Mix had just a bit too much benadryl in it for me to be comfortable guzzling a lot of it. Again, I did a lot of holding this stuff in my mouth for a couple of minutes, then spitting out. I only sipped a tiny bit.

    Deb
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member

    Deb,

    Did you drink one a day?

    Sorry, double post
    Sip, swish, sit a while, and then spit.

    Deb
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    D Lewis said:

    No - the stuff I bought came in a large bottle.
    Aloe sucks. It's bitter. And kind of phlegmy textured. Mostly I'd swish it around in my mouth and spit it out. It was so thick it gagged me. I could hardly look at it without gagging. All you really need to do is coat the inside of the mouth and leave it in there.

    Make sure you buy the pure Aloe drink, rather than the pure Aloe topical lotion.

    The other thing I would do with the drink (unsweetened, unflavored) was rub it on my neck and jaw where the skin was burned.

    Also - on the Magic Mouthwash; the longer you hold it in your mouth, the better. It takes the lidocaine a while to work. My Magic Mix had just a bit too much benadryl in it for me to be comfortable guzzling a lot of it. Again, I did a lot of holding this stuff in my mouth for a couple of minutes, then spitting out. I only sipped a tiny bit.

    Deb

    The mix of MM ...
    They did not put lidocaine in his MM. I'm not sure exactly why. They do have benadryl in it. He says it's not doing a great deal of help to his tongue.

    Skiffin16 suggested dividing up his doses from 2 (allowed)into 4. We're going to try that tomorrow.

    I will also suggest he keep it in his mouth for a few more minutes, then spit it out. Thanks for the tip Deb.
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    meaganb said:

    I don't have experience with
    I don't have experience with aloe, although it sounds like it would help. Just wanted to second what Phrannie said about L-Glutamine. You may have to go to a health food store like GNC to find it, but it really worked wonders for me.I used it as soon as mouth sores started popping up and continued until a month or so after treatment. Towards the end of treatment when I didn't want to eat at all( I didn't have a peg) I would get lazy and not swish with the L-Glutamine and the sores would start up again. Once I got back on my 3x a day routine they were gone. That stuff works wonders!

    Wondering if ...
    We can do both Magic Mouthwash and this L-Glutamine. Of course at different times. But wonder if it's ok to alternate them since he is limited to how much MM he can have in a day. Should we ask his Dr?
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341

    The mix of MM ...
    They did not put lidocaine in his MM. I'm not sure exactly why. They do have benadryl in it. He says it's not doing a great deal of help to his tongue.

    Skiffin16 suggested dividing up his doses from 2 (allowed)into 4. We're going to try that tomorrow.

    I will also suggest he keep it in his mouth for a few more minutes, then spit it out. Thanks for the tip Deb.

    no lidocaine?
    what's the point? ;-)

    I've had two different MM recipes:
    first (thrush formula) was lidocaine, benadryl, and nystatin.
    second was lidocaine, benadryl, and maalox.
    sure, the lidocaine is only temp. relief...but even temporary helps at 2AM when you need to sleep.
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913

    no lidocaine?
    what's the point? ;-)

    I've had two different MM recipes:
    first (thrush formula) was lidocaine, benadryl, and nystatin.
    second was lidocaine, benadryl, and maalox.
    sure, the lidocaine is only temp. relief...but even temporary helps at 2AM when you need to sleep.

    Got me wondering....
    Guess I'm going to see why they don't have it in there...His tongue is driving him crazy right now. He does take some Morphine but still tough.
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member

    Wondering if ...
    We can do both Magic Mouthwash and this L-Glutamine. Of course at different times. But wonder if it's ok to alternate them since he is limited to how much MM he can have in a day. Should we ask his Dr?

    Here's an idea -
    Don't swallow the magic mouthwash; or if he's reached his maximum dosage, just hold the stuff in the mouth till the lidocaine causes mouth numbing. No help for the throat, but at least the mouth will be numb.

    L-glutamine works in an entirely different way. You can use both.

    Deb
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    one more word
    Cureitall66,

    My magic Mouth Wash must have been the “Gold Standard” because it worked great for me and I did swallow it and never over dosed on it. I never ever took more than the maximum 10 mls that little funnel would hold and usually got by on 2 to 5 mls at a time. It worked great for my delicate throat and sweet mouth. I agree, you can hold, swish and spit, but you don’t get the full throat relief without sip swallowing the juice. Maybe the other recipes used for Magic Mouth Wash were not as magic as mine was. It got me through a few bad weeks last February and March. It helped me sleep through the night and enabled me to drink at least one meal a day (the rest by PEG). If you are unfortunate as I was with similar cancer and you have some Magic Mouth Wash made with the same recipe as mine was you are ready to do battle with mouth and throat pain.

    Best,

    Matt
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    D Lewis said:

    Sorry, double post
    Sip, swish, sit a while, and then spit.

    Deb

    I'm surprised that they put no Lidocaine in the MM....
    that's the thing that numbs the mouth and throat! I think that every phramacy or Oncologist has their own recipie, tho (before I got my MM, I looked it up on the internet, and there were many recipies)...I'd ask why not. My Onc first gave me MM, then prescribed straight Lidocaine.

    p
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    CivilMatt said:

    one more word
    Cureitall66,

    My magic Mouth Wash must have been the “Gold Standard” because it worked great for me and I did swallow it and never over dosed on it. I never ever took more than the maximum 10 mls that little funnel would hold and usually got by on 2 to 5 mls at a time. It worked great for my delicate throat and sweet mouth. I agree, you can hold, swish and spit, but you don’t get the full throat relief without sip swallowing the juice. Maybe the other recipes used for Magic Mouth Wash were not as magic as mine was. It got me through a few bad weeks last February and March. It helped me sleep through the night and enabled me to drink at least one meal a day (the rest by PEG). If you are unfortunate as I was with similar cancer and you have some Magic Mouth Wash made with the same recipe as mine was you are ready to do battle with mouth and throat pain.

    Best,

    Matt

    I'm sold!
    you're not gonna

    I'm sold!
    you're not gonna hold out on us with that gold standard recipe, are you?