Bleeding

when I was getting 5FU chemo.  I rinsed with the soda/salt solution.....and, I used L-glutamine powder mixed in water to swish with.  It's supposed to help the sores heal....I don't know how well it worked for the healing part, but it is soothing, and it doesn't sting.

p

NJShore said:

Some bleeding...

At the beginning or middle of week 5, Dan got a quite a bit of bleeding from his mouth and his throat. His need for spitting made the trash look pretty gruesome. He would also get bloody noses and sneezes. We told the doctors, and we got the grimace faces and told this could happen. The one thing that helped was we started using .9% saline solution (available in small pink bullet shapes) squirting the saline on the sore areas and using it like a water pick between his teeth, then holding his neck in a gargling position without gargling, then spitting it out, or using a suction machine, helped Dan immensely. It made him feel better, and the rinsing was soothing. He still does it, two weeks out of treatments.. It really helps loosening the mucous, and gives him more rest before he feels the need to cough up more. The little pink containers are portable (we carry them in pockets wherever we go) and are used for asthma patients for use with nebulizers if you try to get them at the drug store.. And i just ordered from amazon.

hope this helps... And if it is continuous or a great deal of blood, I'd call the docs... 

kari

Thanx NJShore, just starting to feel sores forming in my mouth 2 weeks into radiation, I will certainly try the 9% Saline.

Phrannie the Glutamine sounds good too, thank you.