Okay, I finished treatment a little over a month ago (radiation and chemo) and I feel like I have healed up and recovered extremely fast. But here's my problem : since I started eating by mouth again (about 3 weeks ago) I have been getting these water blisters that pop up as I am eating and they stick around for maybe 30 minutes after I'm done and then they are gone. The blasted things hurt like crazy when they pop up too. They are just little water blisters on the back of my soft palate and near my uvula and sometimes on my cheeks (so all the softer tissue in my mouth). I just assumed they were from being irritated by food because they only pop up when I am eating. I guess I'm just complaining and wanting to know if anyone else had this problem and how long they stuck around after treatment. Right now I just drink a lot of water or whatever when I am eating to try and keep stuff from sticking in my throat and irritating it.
Relax!
I had that too and it did freak me out as well. These are the little glands that are trying to work. Actually they are working but need new "plumbing" It should disappear soon as you continue to heal (1-2 weeks?) at least it did so in my case if I recall correctly.
M
Of course if this persists you should talk to your medical team anyway. It would be nice if one was warned about stuff like this beforehand.
Soft palate blisters...
If I have read your post correctly you have had radiation therapy that included your soft palate and uvula area either directly or indirectly via scatter radiation.
Radiation and Scatter radiation damages the outer layer of mucosa. Minor salivary glands mucous and serous are located in your soft palate forward of your uvula. These glands aid in lubricating things (food) you intend to chew and swallow and provide some enzymes to help break down food.
When minor salivary gland orifices are damaged they sometimes become covered by the overlying mucosa rather than the minor gland duct openings due to the fact that mucosa forms faster than gland duct tissue. When theses minor glands are stimulated they produce fluid and if the gland duct is blocked the fluid builds up underneath the mucosa and appears like a blister. These can be painful, until they break and there can be many or few.
The duration of this occurence depends on the area that was damaged and the amount of damage this area recieved. In most cases this situation will resolve itself.
Drinking plenty of fluids and chewing food very methodically can reduce the severity and length of the problem.
Cheers,
Mike
Thanks so much for the responses. I did have radiation in the area so I was almost certain that was what caused it. I do take a sip of water or tea or juice with every bite of food to keep the irritation to a minimum. I ate PF Changs for dinner tonight and it was the first meal in a few weeks that didn't make the blisters wage war against my mouth - those little buggers hurt! I guess with everything I'll just have to be patient and wait it all out! Thanks again!
You are doing so well Steph everyone is proud of you and you are such a trouper...It must feel like you mouth is made of bubble wrap...sorry about that if it was in bad taste but that's kinda what it reminded me of...I just hope it doesn't last too long for you dear.
Bubble wrap.... what an apt description. This is exactly what you want to do with it when you see it the first time!
... and it was not in bad taste ... because Stephanie probably does not have much taste yet.... (but she will)
Knowledge of a thing makes is much less frightening, especially if you know that is it benign and only temporary.
M
PF Changes is really really good Chinese food! And surprisingly I've always had really good taste throughout this whole ordeal. I only lost my ability to taste sweets, but it has come back and is almost back to normal. And yes, bubble wrap is a good description, except bubble wrap is way more fun (but luckily they only pop up in a few spots, not everywhere).
That's great re your taste. Must be cause you're sooooooooooo young!!
Ah, yes, so young! It has it's perks but I'm planning on living a really long time, which means I have a really long time to worry about a reoccurrence!
Not so. Time heals all wounds and shortly you will forget about that R word and will be concentrating on really important things.
Hello everybody, new to the forum, and activating an OOOOOLD post here, I know, but I came here looking for info about "clear blisters in the mucosa" and lo and behold I found this.
I had tonsillar carcinmoa of my right tonsil, with metastases to my right lymph gland (stage 3). I'm two months out of radiation (33 treatments over 7 weeks) with 3 chemotherapy sessions (Cisplatin) during that time.
Certain foods, particularly acidic foods like tomatoes and salad dressing, cause clear spherical blisters to form on the inside of my lower lip (sort of below my canine teeth), at the back of my jaw, and on the roof of the back of my mouth near my uvula. These are moderately painful (although they werren't at first), recur in the same spots and last for a few hours(?). Sometimes they burst, but other times they subside in a while.
I'm very excited at the notion that these are secondary salivary glands trying to pump saliva into my mouth, since the dry mouth I'm experiencing is very annoying. I also very much like the idea that as my mouth continues to heal, these may stop forming.
They will stop forming. They will pop spontaneously here and there even after radiation stops, but will be happening less and less often, and then stop.