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Saliva and dry mouth: Head and neck cancer and treatments
Many of us have this problem. Three years after RT and lots of talks by oncologists at our meetings and I'm still learning new details about this side effect. Some people have no saliva for life because their glands have been wrecked by the treatment, some recover some function as late as 2 years after (is that right?). Most people though have to manage a more or less dry mouth with constant to frequent sips of water or gels and sprays.
Even worse is what lack of saliva does to your teeth. I've learnt that normal saliva is continually building up the teeth and that without it we are in danger of rampant dental decay without extra fluoride treatment or heroic effects to keep out mouth acid neutral.
How do other manage this problem? What tips do you have?
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I have found some success with acupuncture, enough to get by without the gel in the evening before bed. So far, I brush with fluoride toothpaste three times a day and swish with fluoride mouthwash. For me, that is a big deal.
@norpel1313
Jack comes to the rescue again!
This is off topic but involves Jack. Years ago my wife and I were sleeping with the windows open when a skunk sprayed up wind of us, and as you can guess, we woke up, closed all the windows but were unable to sleep. At 3:00 am, the only thing I thought of was good old Jack to cut through the horrible taste in our mouths, it worked, we were able to sleep and went on to tell our story. Thanks for yours.
So my salivary glands are not working well but eyes and nose water when I eat. It's a weird observation. Does anyone else experience this?
@tkj68 chemo makes your eyes and mucus membranes dehydrate, so it’s compensating for the dryness. Consider working extra fluid infusions into your treatment plan. My husband has the same issue and now gets 1,000 mls of plain fluids weekly.
They also sell plain eye drops at the hospital pharmacies.
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2 Reactions@fightingbluehen69 thank you.
@tkj68 you’re welcome.
And if eyelashes are lost, then that adds to irritation
The nurse recommended warm compresses, or splashing warm water on face, as well as the natural eye drops.
Hope this helps too.