Mouth and Throat Mucositis - What Fluids are Less Painful?

kyebean
kyebean Member Posts: 1
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

How can I make fluids less painful to drink. Swallowing lidocaine makes me vomit and doesn't seem very effective. Maybe adding glycerin to water? Pure water is more painful to swallow than anything else. Some kind of tea maybe? Thank you.

Comments

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626
    #2
    Plain water didn't work so well

    for my husband either. Two things were helpful...when the mucositis was at it's worst, water with L-glutamine powder dissolved in it helped. L-Glutamine is available in general nutrition stores and online. It is an amino acid. Now that the mucositis is resolved, he like to add a tablespoon or two of aloe juice to his water. He says it gives it a little bit of flavor and makes it less "hard". What he means by that I'm not sure, but he's the one drinking it, not me. It's aloe juice..not aloe gel...and you can find it on amazon. He likes the strawberry - kiwi flavor.

    Here is a link to the kind we use:

    http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Aloe-Strawberry-Kiwi-Juice/dp/B0013BHGES

    I hope you find something that works for you.

    Barbara

  • Rotorpilot
    Rotorpilot Member Posts: 4
    #3
    Just a suggestion

    I found that warm drinks were more soothing than cold. I made a concoction of coffee, cream with flavoring (such as hazelnut, or chocolate/vanilla) I even used eggnog. I found warm creamy flavored drinks to be quite beneficiCal during and after radiation.

  • donfoo
    donfoo Member Posts: 1,773 Member
    #4
    Less acid

    I never tested this theory myself but this link shows the pH of most common foods including aloe juice. It seems like less acid the better but it would be nice to get other feedback if the less acid foods in the chart were less harsh to swallow http://www.orientaldetox.com/ph-of-foods.html

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626
    #5
    donfoo said:

    Less acid

    I never tested this theory myself but this link shows the pH of most common foods including aloe juice. It seems like less acid the better but it would be nice to get other feedback if the less acid foods in the chart were less harsh to swallow http://www.orientaldetox.com/ph-of-foods.html

    Less acid is easier...

    at least that is what the dietitian told us.

    Barbara

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #6
    I got 5FU during the last

    half of treatment....and my mouth turned to hamburger....everything stung horribly, including plain water.  I used L-glutamine powder mixed with water, and amazingly it went down fine, I could even soak the sores with it before I swallowed.  So that's two votes for trying L-glutamine powder. 

    p

  • peggylulu
    peggylulu Member Posts: 375
    #7
    Fluids

    you also might try everything at room temperature . My oncologist told me in the very beginning that if I drink/ate everything at room temps i would have less pain . Hope this helps .

  • jakesaround
    jakesaround Member Posts: 34
    #8
    Orange vitamin water...

    hey kye,

    orange vitamin water worked best for me. It was hard to believe but like you said even regular water was hurting.

    hope this helps.

    Jake...

    btw, probably any flavor of vitamin water would work but I just preferred the orange flavor.

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626
    #9
    jakesaround said:

    Orange vitamin water...

    hey kye,

    orange vitamin water worked best for me. It was hard to believe but like you said even regular water was hurting.

    hope this helps.

    Jake...

    btw, probably any flavor of vitamin water would work but I just preferred the orange flavor.

    Jake!

    good to "see" you! I hope you have turned a corner and are feeling better post treatment.

    Barbara

  • swopoe
    swopoe Member Posts: 492
    #10
    My husband is only 2 weeks

    My husband is only 2 weeks out of treatment, but his favorite thing to drink is sweetened ice tea. that is primarily his only drink, since water still kind of hurts. Before treatment, he used to drink unsweetened ice tea, but now he is doing the sweetened for the calories. hope that helps!

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