SKIN CARE FOR ANAL RADIATION

Going through with a smile
Going through with a smile Member Posts: 1
in Anal Cancer #1

HELP! I am having radiation to the anal area and I need suggestion on how to care for the skin ... YEs Im in touch with my Dr , but wanted to hear your experinces

Comments

  • mxperry220
    mxperry220 Member Posts: 496 Member
    #2
    Aquaphor

    I found over the counter Aquaphor to be the most effective for me.  I tried several including prescription but Aquaphor seemed to work the best for me.  You can get it at Target or most any grocery store.

    Mike

  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #3
    lantaseptic

    md andersonn gave me lantaseptic.....but you have to get it all off before radiation tx.....now i use coconut oil but i am 6 years post tx.....sephie

  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
    #4
    Going through w...

    Hi,

    Radiation to this are is not comfortable, but know that once done, healing comes fairly quick. I used aquaphor as well but usually not until my last treatment on a Friday as it is very important to have no ointment left on the area when being radiated and I often worried it may not get washed off completely as my skin increasingly burned. (Figured the weekend break gave me more time) I also found "Dermoplast" spray to relieve pain and was easy to apply as it is a spray. It is also available over the counter. I had my husband install a hand held shower head at home to make washing a little easier as well as soothing. Many people use sitz baths also to relieve pain in between treatments.

    I will keep you in my thoughts for swift and successful treatment......please stay in touch.

    katheryn

  • Bellen
    Bellen Member Posts: 281 Member
    #5
    Skin care

    Hello - I used aquaphor as well and also an aloe vera plant - squeezed the gel out of the leaf.  It has no perfume or other irritating chemicals, as some products do. Wash everything off before treatment.  I was very burned in the groin area and healed well afterwards.  Also after bm's, a spray water bottle helps for cleaning.

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #6
    Skin Care

    I first used Aquaphor until I needed something more effective, at whic time my rad onc prescribed silver sulfadiazine.  The one caution with that is it MUST be completely removed before treatment.  If left on the skin, it will intensify the radiation burning.

  • 0626june
    0626june Member Posts: 73
    #7
    radiation damage to skin

    I found that aloe vera applied right after each radiation treatment helped. As Martha said, it must be completely removed before the next treatment. The areas I used it on didn't open up in open wouldns like it had prior to using the aloe vera. look for the kind with the least amount of other ingeedients, or an aloe vera plant would be the best. best wishes1  There is wonderful life after treatment!

  • Salsify
    Salsify Member Posts: 37 Member
    edited August 2016 #8
    radiation damage to skin

    I think I ended up using polysporin when my skin started with the blisters. If I had known then what I do now, I would definitely use aloe vera - plain, from my plants. Thing I wanted to recommend that was not mentioned to me before I was blistering is - get boy leg or boxer shorts underwear. Until asking the doctor how to deal with the mess along my unguinal folds, I was wearing panties with elastic at leg openings... not good when blistering and peeling there! Boxer briefs MUCH BETTER! My skin didn't start getting bad until over half way through. The week following my last teatment was probably the worst. Then - just a few weeks later, only strange tan marks where nobody sees them ;-) Finished treatment middle of December 2015. Now even the tan marks are very very faint. It does heal!

  • gctattoo
    gctattoo Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2016 #9
    Silvadene (silver

    Silvadene (silver sulfadiazine) was my best friend during radiation. I would slather it on several times a day. I didn't have any burns for the first 21 days or so of my 33 day treatment. But when I did, first my skin turned gray. Then the open wounds came. I also had weeping of blood through the skin. It was incredibly painful. Though I think my experience was worse than normal because they messed up and gave me chemo too early. I also had a lot of itching. For that, the doctor gave me triamcinolone acetonide cream. It did help.

  • ellend
    ellend Member Posts: 109 Member
    #10
    sitz baths & suppositories

    The radiology nurses also suggested using Domeboro. I soaked paper towels with the Domeboro solution and applied them to the tender areas. They also gave me a prescription for Lanacaine and mixed with Aquaphor.

    It got so painful the radiologist also wrote a prescription for suppositories containing cortisone. It was hard to keep them in, but they did seem to reduce the inflammation.

    It does get better with time, but not immediately after the treatments end.

  • danker
    danker Member Posts: 1,276 Member
    edited September 2016 #11
    bun burn

    Try Radiagel, available at Walmart.  It worked for me!

  • KathyKH
    KathyKH Member Posts: 3
    #12
    sitz baths really help

    sitz baths really help relieve the pain and keep the wounds clean.  There is also a burn cream they gave me silver?- somethng, by prescription was wonderful.  

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