My husband was diagnosed with Mucousitis today. They prescribed the Magic Mouthwash plus Pain Meds. He has had 10 RT (23 left to go) but he looks very bad. If you have any suggestions, advice on how to help him plese let me know.

Also tonight, he has bleeding from his nose when he blows his nose.

Try a humidifier while he sleeps to add moisture into the air to help with his sinuses. That could be the reason behind the bloody nose. As with any change, make sure to mention this to the nurses or doc on the next visit. You never know when something that seems small could be a problem.

Good nutrition and hydration will help him get thru the next few weeks. He must get a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water every single day or he will begin to feel awful. Next step would be hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition. Those can sneak up awfully quickly. It happened to me more times than I would like to admit to.

Several times per day try using a rinse to help maintain the ph balance in his mouth. Take 16 oz of warm water and add 2 tsp baking soda plus 2 tsp salt. Have your husband swish this and gargle for a few seconds. Repeat at least 5 times daily. Some members have found manuka honey from health food stores has worked wonders with the mouth sores. Check with Cheryl about the honey, she used it successfully. Hate to say it but this will get progressively worse as time goes on. It is a rough road but keep your eye on the prize, being cancer free.

If your husband isnt taking in enough fluids, ask the doc about getting him hydrated. The doc can easily write a prescription for your husband to go 3x a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) into the chemo lab to be given IV fluids. He will instantly feel much better.

Dont forget if your husband isnt taking in c=enough calories he can always get a nasal tube as a temporary measure. It will help him to get enough calories and water daily.

Best wishes with everything!!!

Stacey,

If you go to the home page, you will find very comprehensive info about mucositis and tips on what you can do to help reduce the pain (under "treatment"). Sorry your husband is going through this. My husband is just starting the fourth week of his treatment. I can relate to the anxiety you are feeling.

Thanks for the advice. He actually hasn't lost weight yet but he hardly eats anything plus he is nauseous. This past weekend with the mouth pain (fatigue) has hit him hard. There is an obvious huge decline in him physically.

Majority of patients get Mucocitis from radiation, and chemo. To add to what Christine B. said, eat non-irritating foods and beverages, avoid caffeine, hot foods, spiced, acid foods, and course textured...a bland diet basically.

A peroxide water rinse (1-4 ratio) cleans ulcers, but rinse mouth out with water afterwards to protect the teeth. Floss too, unless WBC or platelets are low. As mentioned on other threads a water-pic is good. If the baking soda rinse burns too much, cut out the salt.

Watch out for secondary infections from the Mucocitis like bacterial, fungal or viral infections, which require different type of medications. One comman fungal infection is oral thrush..candisis, which is basically a yeast type infection, and is treated by anti-fungals like the zole medications..fluconozole, clotromizole. Oral Thrush can go to the esophagus, and stomach, and elsewhere in the body, and if untreated, it can go into the bloodstream and becomes invasive or disseminated Candisis, which can be deadly around 40 percent of the time, I know, I had invasive candids, so oral care is very important, and tell your doctors of any changes in the mouth.

Radiation continues to work just as many weeks as radiation treatment was, so continued care is important. Good luck with Everything.

Thanks to all for the information. My husband was worse today and skipped radiation. I took him in and they diagnosed severe dehydration. He needs to go for IV treatments the next 5 days and continue with Radiation. He did not want to go but I called his parents on a 55 year old man. Parents can have a strong influence! :-)

Thanks again.

I thought he was probably dehydrated. Soooo important. Maybe when he gets some fluids in him he will realize how much better he feels. One thing our RO did was put Kevin on a preventative script of Diflucan. It seemed to keep any mouth infections at bay. He still had the sores and used a ton of the magic mouthwash, and rinsed constantly, but he didn't get infections as bad.
I'm so sorry you are having such a hard time with this. It's different for every patient. Try to be patient with him, but, good job calling in reinforcements!!
Kathy

So glad your husband has you as his caregiver!!!! He is one lucky guy!!! You are doing a great job of putting on the nurse hat from He** and doing what is necessary in the best interest of your patient. Thats what you have to do to get him thru this, pull out the big guns. Quitting is NOT an option and he will be thankful down the road when he is well again.

In so glad your husband has been hydrated. It will help him to feel much better. Dont forget to push those calories too. If he isnt getting at least 2500 daily, it may be necessary to speak to his doc about a feeding tube weather its surgically done thru his stomach or a nasal tube. Its just another tool to be used to get thru this.

His pain must be managed. It doesnt not help the patient one bit to be in pain. Ask his doc for pain meds. He may need the fentanyl patch. It gets changed every 72 hours and will take about 24 hours to kick in. Follow directions exactly! No long hot showers or baths, never cut, tear, fold or rip the patch. It starts at 12.5 mg and goes up to 100. He may need 50 to help manage his pain, dont worry if the patch goes up over 100. At my highest I was on 150mg but only for a short time before I was stepped back down. He will need to be stepped up and back down off of this medication. Its strong, the strongest one available but it does work. By having the pain under control he will better be able to eat and go about his daily routine. Encourage him to get out even if its to walk around the block, its a change of scenery which can help. Try to set small daily goals for him to accomplish.

Hang in there its going to be a long road. Take it day by day. You have us to lean on. Good luck.

My husband had the IV (no radiation) from yesterday. He had RT today and another IV fluids today. He is throwing up (hurting his throat even more), severe headache, can only drink small amounts and only eats a small amount. I just talked to the RO and he is amazed how early he has developed these symptoms. He is receiving 200 (not sure what the correct term is) but he said that he may have to lower it to 180. He has only had 11 RT's. They want to admit him to the hospital tonight and let them evaluate him from there.

Thanks for all of your support.

Is he taking pain meds. Constipation from them can cause vomiting, plus many other things, I did vomit from the Oxycodene, and Fentynal patch. I hope he feels better. Maybe the hospital is best to do all the diagnostic tests, rest, get nutrients, and hydrate. Take care.