Radiation burn healing environment: Moist vs Dry

Melisande

I am suffering from some pretty bad radiation burn -- moist desquamation over a pretty large area. It is by far my worst side effect so far. I have two rounds of radiation left to go. 

I am considering requesting a referral to a wound care expert, because I am more and more convinced that my radiation oncologist is not recommending optimal burn care treatment. In her defense, I believe it isn't her personally. I have a hunch she is just following department "policy," but I am pretty sure this policy wrong. 

More specifically, she is recommending that I apply Silverdine 2x a day. But after it has been on for a while, I should take it off and let the wound "dry out" while being exposed to the air so it can "crust over."

What can I say? This is not just really painful, it is pretty clearly not optimal wound treatment. 

I have access to medical journals (via my husban's work) and have found many articles in Wound Care journals and in Radiation Oncology journals saying that it is important to maintain a moist environment for optimal healing. Let me be clear, it's not as if I am finding some articles saying dry is better and some saying moist is better. Every single one says moist is better. A moist environment provides more rapid healing of wounds, less scarring and better range of motion after healing. Some of the articles are discussing the benefits of not just a moist environment, but of going farther and having a superhydrated environemnt. 

Besides, this also jives with the use instructions that accompany the Silver Sulfadiazine. The instructions state that the Silver Sulfadiazine should be kept on at all times and reapplied if some comes off. 

I had a little discussion with a radiation tech today about the moist vs. dry thing. She said that she personally thinks moist is better, but that's not what all the radiation oncologists there say and she is not allowed to say anything different. (But ooops, I guess she did.) 

 

Anyway, I have been keeping the Silver Sulfadiazine on as much as possible. But yesterday, I tried to experiment and to it my radiation oncologist way and it was much worse. (I woke up with blood all over my pillow.)

 

So, for those of you who had moderate to severe radiation burn, did you keep the Silver Sulfadiazine (or other cream) on as much as possible? Or did you try to keep the wound exposed much of the time? Did you have a basically moist or dry healing environmen? 

 

FTR, I am being treated at a top ten cancer center. 

 

 

 

 

ERomanO

My radiation oncologist

My radiation oncologist recommended that I use Auquaphor and keep generously applied day and night, the only exception being while getting radiation treatment. Auquaphor is like a petroleum jelly which keeps the burned area very moist.  It will ruin clothing so I took a few tee shirts and cut about an inch ot two off the collars and that worked well.  But I was getting my treatments in thr spring, so I wasn't concerned about keeping warm.  

motorcycleguy

Silver warning

My girlfriend recommended a "silver" skin treatment, and when I asked my Radiation Oncologist about it, she said "no - that can mess with (scatter?) the Radiation, so don't use it".

I'm certainly not a Doctor, but I laid off the "silver" skin treatment my girlfriend recommended - until AFTER my Radiation was over.

Melisande

ERomanO said:

My radiation oncologist

My radiation oncologist recommended that I use Auquaphor and keep generously applied day and night, the only exception being while getting radiation treatment. Auquaphor is like a petroleum jelly which keeps the burned area very moist.  It will ruin clothing so I took a few tee shirts and cut about an inch ot two off the collars and that worked well.  But I was getting my treatments in thr spring, so I wasn't concerned about keeping warm.  

Thanks. Unfortunately, I am

Thanks. Unfortunately, I am long past the stage where Aquaphor is going to help.

Melisande

motorcycleguy said:

Silver warning

My girlfriend recommended a "silver" skin treatment, and when I asked my Radiation Oncologist about it, she said "no - that can mess with (scatter?) the Radiation, so don't use it".

I'm certainly not a Doctor, but I laid off the "silver" skin treatment my girlfriend recommended - until AFTER my Radiation was over.

Thanks. My radiation

Thanks. My radiation oncologist said Silvadine was OK as long as I washed it off before each treatmen.

motorcycleguy

Melisande said:

Thanks. My radiation

Thanks. My radiation oncologist said Silvadine was OK as long as I washed it off before each treatmen.

Melisande,

OK - it just rang an alarm bell in my head, remembering the warning I got. about Silver.

My GF made me apply lotion a couple times a day, and my skin healed up nicely.

I was told that Radiation "burn" tends to heal much faster than sunburn, because there isn't the UV damage to the skin. I would say a month after treatment, my "red neck" was barely noticeable anymore.

I wish you all the best in your treatment, your recovery and your life!

Logan51

motorcycleguy said:

Melisande,

OK - it just rang an alarm bell in my head, remembering the warning I got. about Silver.

My GF made me apply lotion a couple times a day, and my skin healed up nicely.

I was told that Radiation "burn" tends to heal much faster than sunburn, because there isn't the UV damage to the skin. I would say a month after treatment, my "red neck" was barely noticeable anymore.

I wish you all the best in your treatment, your recovery and your life!

Aquaphor

That is what I used. They even had 2 piles of the little tubes in wicker baskets to take whenever running out. Lower-back of neck burned pretty bad before I started using (I'm a geniase!). The stuff helped a lot. Have also learned it helps the healing of cuts and bruises.

Melisande

Thanks for the comment. I

Thanks for the comment. I fear that my burn is just a lot worse than everyone else's. I'm still not done with treatment and it is already scary bad. 

skidog

Silverdine

was a godsend for me. I had 6 weeks of proton rad treatments to right side of neck. Used Aquafor up until about week 4 but stopped using because it was way too sticky and greasy. My neck burns got much worse week 5 and 6 as well as the week after treatment. Silverdine was very soothing and dropped my neck pain level from 7 to 1. I applied it 2 to 3 times per day. when removing it, I would use qtips as they were soft and non abrasive on my very sensitive skin. Healing came about week 2 and 3 post treatment   seemd like forever though. My neck burns post treatment were by far the most annoying and painful pat of my entire rads treatment.Silverdine was instrumental in helping me cope and get rest/sleep. I used a hankercheif tied loosely around my neck all day and night. always kept it loosely covered.

Melisande

skidog said:

Silverdine

was a godsend for me. I had 6 weeks of proton rad treatments to right side of neck. Used Aquafor up until about week 4 but stopped using because it was way too sticky and greasy. My neck burns got much worse week 5 and 6 as well as the week after treatment. Silverdine was very soothing and dropped my neck pain level from 7 to 1. I applied it 2 to 3 times per day. when removing it, I would use qtips as they were soft and non abrasive on my very sensitive skin. Healing came about week 2 and 3 post treatment   seemd like forever though. My neck burns post treatment were by far the most annoying and painful pat of my entire rads treatment.Silverdine was instrumental in helping me cope and get rest/sleep. I used a hankercheif tied loosely around my neck all day and night. always kept it loosely covered.

Thanks skidog,

Thanks skidog,

Some great suggestions there. If sounds like my experience is exactly paralleling yours. I like the Q-tip idea. I'll have to try that. I also like the hanky idea, although I'm not sure where on my neck I would tie it at this point. Also I am afraid it would flop onto the burn part and either hurt or get gopped up with the Silvadine.

It's comforting to know I only have another week and a half of suffering before the healing begins.

 

i am trying not to feel resentful of my radiation oncologist. At the medical oncologist's I got like a 50 page booklet of information on treatment and self-care instruction. My radiation oncologist gave me precisely zero written information or tips. She told me not to worry about the radiation burn: "it will be like a sunburn." I'm sorry. This is not like any sunburn I've ever had. She only mentioned Aquaphor two weeks into treatment, when I was already starting to get an itchy rash. She did prescribe the Silvadine, but she seems to want me to use it sparingly and mainly let my wound remain dry and exposed. Aargh. Ouch! I just wrote an email asking for a dressing. Even if they think a dry environment is best for healing, do they really think it is OK to go outside with an open burn wound when it is windy and there is dust and debris floating around? Really, where are the care instructions? Also, the Silvadine is great, but it keeps falling off. This morning it actually fell off into the breakfast I was preparing. Strawberries and gopped up Silvadine, yummy!

skidog

I forgot to mention...

Before applying the Silverdine I would use a warm wash cloth and press it against my neck to remove some of the peeling skin and soothe the area. then I was given disposable antibacterial gauze pads that I would apply after the washcloth. Then let the area "air dry" (which stung a bit) and then I applied the Siverdine cream. good luck you got this.

Melisande

skidog said:

I forgot to mention...

Before applying the Silverdine I would use a warm wash cloth and press it against my neck to remove some of the peeling skin and soothe the area. then I was given disposable antibacterial gauze pads that I would apply after the washcloth. Then let the area "air dry" (which stung a bit) and then I applied the Siverdine cream. good luck you got this.

Hi skidog,

Hi skidog,

I am doing the warm washcloth part. It feels great! The antibacterial gauze pads sound interesting. Maybe I will ask about those. 

DarcyS

Moist

My husband used Neosporin on his neck with hydrogel pads kept on with gauze.  Today I would use clear plastic wrap to hold the pads in place. He was definitely told not to let it dry out.  Hope you find something that works for you.

Pclark21st

We had a trach and I refused

We had a trach and I refused to let his skin get bad on top of that healing so I did a ton of research and decided on Calendula oil and Aloe which was working good and then our visiting nurse told us to also use coconut oil.  She said that her get told her about coconut oil for her horse who had a bad burn and it cleared up in just a few days.  We added it to our regimen of 3 to 4 x day.  We ended up with no burns and this stuff is all natural products.  But always ask dr first.  Good luck

ricksmithgolfer

no burns at all

I believe Pclark21st gave me the same advise before I started my 35 rads for Tonsil cancer. I used the three items she mentioned from the very beginning and had no problems with my skin. It only turned a light brownish color like a mild tan. No pain or dryness at all. Thanks again for the advise Pclark21st. I'm sorry you did see her previous post about these items. It was awhile ago. Not sure if any of these products can help at this point. Sorry I can't be of more help. Take care.

Rick

Logan51

ricksmithgolfer said:

no burns at all

I believe Pclark21st gave me the same advise before I started my 35 rads for Tonsil cancer. I used the three items she mentioned from the very beginning and had no problems with my skin. It only turned a light brownish color like a mild tan. No pain or dryness at all. Thanks again for the advise Pclark21st. I'm sorry you did see her previous post about these items. It was awhile ago. Not sure if any of these products can help at this point. Sorry I can't be of more help. Take care.

Rick

Superthread

Sure wish I had known about your 3-ingredient burn remedy 10+ years ago.

Ask you to see if you can post it on the Superthread for others in or about to go thru the brutal Rads.

Alandon1

We were told not to use

We were told not to use silvidene unless it was moist. His skin is dry. What worked for dry skin pain?