Sore throat remedies/prevention

PJ47
PJ47 Member Posts: 376
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hey, just wondering about the sore throat what worked for this and did anyone have success preventing sore throat from rads?  Getting nervous about this. Help.

Still able to eat food and swallow today, tomorrow....

PJ 

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
    I don't think there is a preventative

    for the possible/probable sore throat from rads.....some have been lucky, and their throats simply didn't get sore (I was one of those)....as for those who did get a sore throat....Magic Mouthwash seems to be one of the go to meds.  It's compounded, and when I looked it up on the internet there were at least 50 different recipies.  Most people swish and swallow it, wait a few minutes and eat or drink their meal.  I tried it for mouth sores, and it numbed me up so much I couldn't swallow...LOL. 

    You keep staying in "the day".....ask your rad doc or Onc about having some MM on hand for the possible eventuality of the sore throat....if you never use it, oh well.....right? 

    p

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #3
    maybe your throat will be tame

    PJ,

    I agree with P51, I don’t know if you can prevent it.  I was a big magic mouth wash user, it helped relieve the mouth, tongue and throat discomfort just enough to help me get through rads, get to sleep and just general comfort.  I only took pain meds twice during treatments so, pain wasn’t my obstacle, it was mostly the discomfort.

    More than once my rad onc said after looking at my mouth, tongue and throat “it is ablaze, doesn’t it hurt”, thankfully it did not.

    Remember to stay hydrated and keep swallowing.  You may hit your first wall soon about drinking water and swallowing.  Some things you need to keep doing no matter how lousy you might feel.

    Keep working with what your body wants,

    Matt

  • lornal
    lornal Member Posts: 428
    #4
    sore throat

    Although I'm not having radiation now, I have had a sore throat from the radiation scars.  So bad, I was on vicodin a couple of times a day (had it around my work schedule, so I could still drive to and from).  Once I got the PEG though, and was hydrated again - it hasn't hurt so bad -now on Aleve.  So, even if you are still swallowing, you might try to push some extra water through that tube - just to keep from getting (further) dehydrated. 

  • mls351w
    mls351w Member Posts: 90
    #5
    lornal said:

    sore throat

    Although I'm not having radiation now, I have had a sore throat from the radiation scars.  So bad, I was on vicodin a couple of times a day (had it around my work schedule, so I could still drive to and from).  Once I got the PEG though, and was hydrated again - it hasn't hurt so bad -now on Aleve.  So, even if you are still swallowing, you might try to push some extra water through that tube - just to keep from getting (further) dehydrated. 

    just a suggestion

    My throat got really sore. So sore, I did not want to swallow anything. I had a peg put in before treatment started, so I went to it pretty quickly.

    A person I met at the college rec center had the same diagnosis as I, SSC base of tongue. She told me that her radiation nurse recommended gargeling?? with soy sause. She tried it and had no serious soreness.

    I mentioned this to a co-worker who had a friend with same issue, SSC BOT. Her friend used it before and during treatment and had no pain and did not have to have a peg inserted.

    Now maybe both people who tried the soy sause may have been one of the few who would not have had a sore throat anyway. I don't know.

    I am not recommending this, just letting you know that maybe it helps. I do know that my radiation onc recommended a salt water rinse.

    Phrannie is right, It is different for each person. We keep mentioning this to newcomers. "It affects everyone differently". Maybe we should abbreviate it to "IAED"!!

    Mark S.

  • Purplemountain
    Purplemountain Member Posts: 119
    #6
    Aloe drink

    I used aloe drink which is plain.  Sip only a little a day.  It suppose to help coat the throat. At first it burns then time goes by the burn become less and less.  I only did this after my treatment was done and not during.  So not sure how it works during treatment.

  • PJ47
    PJ47 Member Posts: 376
    #7
    CivilMatt said:

    maybe your throat will be tame

    PJ,

    I agree with P51, I don’t know if you can prevent it.  I was a big magic mouth wash user, it helped relieve the mouth, tongue and throat discomfort just enough to help me get through rads, get to sleep and just general comfort.  I only took pain meds twice during treatments so, pain wasn’t my obstacle, it was mostly the discomfort.

    More than once my rad onc said after looking at my mouth, tongue and throat “it is ablaze, doesn’t it hurt”, thankfully it did not.

    Remember to stay hydrated and keep swallowing.  You may hit your first wall soon about drinking water and swallowing.  Some things you need to keep doing no matter how lousy you might feel.

    Keep working with what your body wants,

    Matt

    Have Magic Mouthwash ready to go

    Have hit another snag since 2md g-tube was installed Monday.  Cannot eat as much or drink as much without it causing cramping and feeling full.  So again, the g-tube that is supposed to help me gain weight is making me loose it 4 lbs since Monday.  I lost 6 lbs after the last one and never gained it back so now having the tube has cost me 10 lbs so far.  I am going to try and eat smaller more frequent meals but honestly don't have an appetite, fell full all the time and it is uncomfortable to eat.  Still able to swallow and eating healthy.  Getting down 64 oz of water has become a problem since having the tube and when I flush it with 4 oz of water I get awful gas pains.

    Have mainly taken pain meds twice for the stomach pain from the 2 g- tube surgeries and of course the neck dissection and TORS surgery.  Perhaps I will skip the throat pain as I certainly do not need to experience any more pain.  My throat was ablaze also about 2 weeks ago when I also had the mouth ulcers.  Hoping it does not come back.

     

    PJ

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #8
    Purplemountain said:

    Aloe drink

    I used aloe drink which is plain.  Sip only a little a day.  It suppose to help coat the throat. At first it burns then time goes by the burn become less and less.  I only did this after my treatment was done and not during.  So not sure how it works during treatment.

    Didn't happen

    I dodged the sore throat bullet altogether. No rhyme or reason. Hope you do too! Wasn't so lucky when it came to painful sores on my lips.

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