Hi everyone, thank you for your help so far regarding post radiotherapy foods. Another problem that someone may be able to help us with is the question of saliva. My husband either has too much - usually thick and sticky - or a completely dry mouth. Is it something he is eating or even not eating. Any advice will be gratefully accepted.

As far as I understand, the saliva problem has nothing to do with food. The salivary glands in the cheeks are the ones are fried first after radiation, so the amount of saliva is reduced. Then, there are glands under the jaw that produce the mucous, these go later, but in the meantime, they cause the mucous to be really thick and ropey. These are the side effects of radiation. If the mucous is thick and ropey, get your husband to rinse with the baking soda mixture or flat club soda. These cut the mucous and make it easier for him to spit it out. For dry mouth, some people use Biotene mouthwash. (It may be available under another brand name in the UK.) We have also followed the advice we got on this forum and bought a Water Pik. Put a little mucositis mouthwash in the water tank. Use the tongue scraper attachment on a low setting. It will also clear out the ropey saliva.

Thank you for your help, will give your advice a try and let you know. Just trying the flat soda and will have a look in the Internet for the water pik. We have various mouthwashes given by the hospital which Dave uses everyday. I expect like everything else it will be a long process. At least it isn't what I'm making him eatI. Thank you again for replying.

Radiation destroys only thin saliva, which is what the parotid gland only produces. The others produce a mixture, of thin and thick saliva, but mostly thick, so that is why you have thick, ropey saliva, , which may have a yellow tinge. Sometimes the parotid gland is spared by IMRT treatment, reduced dosage, and damage depends on the total Gy. Permanent damage occurs when it's over 30Gy. Under this amount the parotid gland will slowly start producing saliva over time. Even if totally destroyed, the other glands may try and compensate by producing more. Also, some patients only have ipsilateral radiation, one side, not bilaterally, so their saliva production will be better. I had bilateral radiation.

Other things for thick, ropey mucus. In addition to the above:

Use a humidifier
Sleep on an incline
Robitussm
Mucinex
Rinsing with pineapple or papaya juice
Rinsing with the above juice with seltzer
Rinsing with meat tenderized mixed with water
Ginger tea
Using an aspirator machine, suction machine
Brushing, rinsing often
Pre moistened Sponge brushes on sticks to get in back area

I hope this helps.

Thank you, yes, very helpful. You have so much knowledge and I am learning all the time. Thanks again.

I'm still learning too, I didn't even know who an oncologist was three years ago, let alone an ENT hopefully your education is short, quick, and able to graduate to do other things of choice in life. Good luck.

Paul, you ARE truly knowledgeable. I have learned so much from your postings.

;o) I use a waterpik to clean up the guk as well. I loved it during treatment as it cleaned my mouth and got rid of the worst stuff. Fizzy stuff, and juices are often painful and burn, post radiation, but luke warm water, (you can add the baking soda mixture or flattened club soda instead of just water)in the water chamber, on the lowest setting, cleans, helps heal, and breaks up the mucous. It will take time to see if your hubby's glands kick in and start producing saliva. It depends on the path of the radiation and any surgeries. I am okay at this point. I am dry in the morning, but during the day I'm okay - it has taken a while to get to this point. When the guk goes away - which it will - and dry mouth sets in, Biotene toothpaste, and gel helps. There are also a few meds that apparently are hit or miss.

best of luck.

Hi Cheryl,

I too now use waterpik religiously couple times a day. Many folks get nasty build up on the tongue. My kit has this tongue scraping thing that directs the jet onto the tongue while you scrape. Have you heard how well this attachment works in our day to day lives?
don

I couldn't use the waterpik early on because my mouth was so sore. The mouth now four months since radiation is better but the thick mucous still persists. I use a soft toothbrush to get it off the tongue and the roof of my mouth. I have to so this many time during the day. If I talk alot the mucouc turns to a thick foamy mess. Being that I have also lost my swallowing function I have to have a place to spit. At night I dry out pretty much so I use a vaporizer and "breath rite" strips on my nose to allow better breathing thru my nostrils instead of my mouth.

Mr Mike