radiation sunburn

I am having great dryness and extreme itching where only a Percocet medication gives me relief along with Aquaphor cream .

I have tried many applications of the cream and protecting myself from the sun and it has just begun to clear somewhat. How long is it going to last and will my skin leave me with permanent roughness? How do you control the itching?

along with the oral yeast infection that is now under medication Diflucan I have very thick mucus that is coughed up frequently. Is there anything that will make the mucus thinner and how long will it last?

Nona,

My father who is about your age just finished treatments May 8th 2006 as well. He had a left neck dissection and is also unknown primary. He too as well took Erbitux along with his radiation. He is just now beginning to see a difference in his skin. He took the Amifostine shots every day except for the last three but still has the thick mucus problem. We were told by the Doc's that he should continue to improve if even only a little each day but it will be a long and slow process. I have found an enormous amount of information on this website to try and help with the side effects of radiation but everyone is different so keep that in mind. My father is extremely tired and is frustrated but we all think he is doing remarkably well for what he has been through. You should feel that way as well but I know it is hard. My father is using the Aquaphor and it seems to help. He had a rash all over and the itching so his MO gave him a shot of prednisone which seemed to help. He is on hydrocodene for pain and it seems to help as well. The Erbitux causes alot of acne rash and he struggled with that but it seems to have finally cleared up. Hang in there and keep your strength up by eating as well as you can.
Take Care
Kim

Kim I give my husband Robitussin expectorant or any no name brand gufenisin(sp?)syrup. Don't get any with a cough supressant in it. 4 tsp every 4 hours makes the mucous a little thinner.

Ask them about Biafine presctiption cream for the burn. My husband liked that as opposed to the Aquaphor and his skin has healed beautifully. It was recommended to me by someone on the forum. Its a prescription cream for burns and it has a nice coolimg effect that may help with the itch. Also don't use soap on that area as it will dry it out.

I second Kerry -- get some Biafine cream, it is great -- my husband used it after every rad treatment and also, before going to bed. I burned myself rather badly on the inside of my arm recently -- second degree burn -- and the Biafine not only soothed it, it healed quickly and no scar or blister. As for the itching, ask for a prescription-strength hydrocortisone cream which we were given to reduce chance of scratching breaking Barry's skin and causing infection.

If you can swallow tablets, get Mucinex -- it is a timed-release tablet with controls phlegm for about 12 hours. You can take 2 tabs at a time, but they are big pills and cannot be cut or ground up because of the time-release coating. Our doctor (after checking) said one tab every 6 hours is also OK and in fact, that worked better for my husband. If you can't handle these large tablets, use the guafenisin (sp? -- I can never spell this either...) syrup which is made by Robitussin and there are also "house" brands at Wal-Mart etc.. And as Kelly said, nothing with a decongestant in it.

The reason for the thick mucous is two-fold, I found out at a recent HNC conference. The sublingual salivary glands produce a thick ropy saliva. Usually these glands are not as badly affected by the radiation as are the large parotid glands, which produce a thin, serous saliva. The latter get "shut down" as treatment progresses -- more or less, depending on the radiation plan -- and the thick stuff starts to be the major salivary product. On top of this, there is mucous from throat irritation and also, phlegm from the chest due to post-nasal drip and other gunk getting down your respiratory passages. A real mess! Fortunately, for most people there is a gradual return of parotid function and (if there is any function left) this can be "boosted" with medications such as Evoxac, oral materials like Oral Balance gel or liquid, chewing XyliMax gum or using a new product, Numoisyn liquid or lozenges.

Some people have had some relief from thick mucous by use of a suction machine. Another tip is to drink a lot of water and use salt/soda rinses (or soda water) frequently as this also helps clear the gunk out.

Things should start to get better in a month or so, it takes about that long for the radiation to stop "working" so to speak. I know my husband (who ended treatment Sept. 29, 05) got a lot better by the end of November, and had a rather rapid recovery to an acceptable level by January , and then gradual return to current near-normalcy by April.

Best wishes, the hard part is behind you!
Gail

The Biafine cream worked wonders for my radiation burn but cannot be used on open wounds. The Aquaphor did ntohing for me. I still use Biafine for various purposes including wound healing, especially after last neck dissection.

When I went to refill my prescription last month, I was told that they no longer make it in a cream, just liquid. Anyone else hear this?

Eileen

I am going to jump on the soda water bandwagon. It worked wonders for me. I first used it to swish the gunk away and then gargled with it, finishing off by drinking some of it down. I used the small bottles to keep it from going flat on me.

As for the "sunburn", I tried Aquaphor and a few other things that did nothing at all. Finally I started using Walgreen's Maximum Strength Hydrocortisone cream with Aloe. It worked fantasticly.

It is all uphill now so keep that chin up!

Bill

My radiation nurse at Sloan recently prescribed me a new cream called Xclair Cream made by Align Pharmaceuticals. I have only had 10 treatments so don't think I'm far enough along to know if it works better than oher things. She really sung its praises and aid others likd it.