Radiation burn healing environment: Moist vs Dry

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 long past the stage where Aquaphor is going to help.

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 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,

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 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,

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