How To Avoid The Discomfort That Comes From Radiation Therapy

28 November 2016
 Categories: Health & Medical , Blog

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Radiation therapy can cause various side effects and can also be very exhausting to experience. Because of the challenges of radiation therapy, it is necessary to do whatever you can to take care of yourself. This will require some coordination with your doctor and will also involve many lifestyle changes that you will need to make in order to avoid the worst side effects.

Talk To Your Doctor About What You Are Experiencing

Your doctor will be able to help you feel better as long as you provide him or her with details regarding what you are experiencing. Tell your doctor about whether you are experiencing any mouth sores, gas, bloating, a lack of appetite, nausea or difficulty swallowing. These are side effects that can result from good cells in the body being destroyed. Your doctor may be able to recommend changes to your diet that will allow you to avoid many of these side effects. In general, you will want to eat a balanced, healthy diet if you are suffering from these symptoms.

Tell Your Doctor About Medications You Are Using

Make sure that your radiation therapy team knows all of the medications that you are currently taking. This can affect how these medications will interact with your treatments and whether there are any modifications to your treatments that will need to be made in order to avoid harmful side effects. Make sure to not only include prescriptions, but also medications that you only take under certain circumstances, such as medications that you must take to alleviate temporary symptoms.

Get Plenty Of Rest

Make sure to get plenty of rest when you undergo radiation therapy. Radiation therapy often leads to severe fatigue. You may experience severe tiredness for several weeks before you recover.

Take Steps To Avoid Skin Irritation

A common side effect of radiation therapy is to experience skin irritation. To avoid this, there are several tricks you can use, including:

  • Wearing loose-fitting clothing
  • Taking a shower using warm water rather than hot water
  • Don't rub your skin, but be gentle instead
  • Avoid using harsh soaps
  • Avoid skin-to-skin contact, which can cause redness and skin irritation
  • Both before and after the course of radiation treatment, use lotion to moisturize your skin to reduce friction and to smell fresh

Each of these forms of self-care can help you feel more comfortable and will make it easier to recover from radiation therapy. Talk to your radiation specialist for more suggestions.