Mouth Ulcers
Posted: 12 Oct 2015 12:48
Hi All
Thought I would do a post on this vexed subject to share the benefit of my experience and, most importantly, some possible solutions!
Like many of us with low white cells, I have found that one of the real niggles of my particular type of MDS has been frequent and long- lasting mouth ulcers. It seems so pathetic to be moaning about them when others have far more challenging bothersome symptoms but they do get me down and really spoil my enjoyment of eating when the pain sends me through the roof! I had a huge blighter one year in holiday in Italy which really got me down! Fortunately, eating lots of Italian Gelato seemed to numb and freeze the pain!!
Anyway, the reason for posting is that I have found some things which have really helped which I wanted to share in case they can help others.
The first thing was finding a website all about mouth ulcers!! Do have a mooch around the site as it's very helpful.
Here it is!
http://www.mouthulcers.org/
There is a shop where you can buy products which help. Some of the products you can buy elsewhere over the counter.
http://www.mouthulcers.co.uk/mouth-ulce ... hucjfnF-lI
What I have found which has really helped me is this. Some toothpastes (most it seems!) contain quite harsh detergents - mainly sodium lauryl sulphate but there are others. If you are prone to ulcers this can either cause or aggravate ulcers. It is quite difficult to find toothpastes which do not contain some of these products. The site sells a toothpaste called Squigle. Since I started using this in June I have noted from my diary that I have had half the incidence of ulcers I had before and that the ulcers when they do appear last, on average,4-5 days less!! For me this is a huge result. I also use something called Gengigel (can get from Boots and other chemists) to put on on the ulcer at the very first sign - this is important before they become huge craters! And a paste called Kenacort which seems to be very effective if they do get big!
I hope that somebody finds this helpful as I know it's something that many of us get --particularly people on Azacitidine as well as those starting on chemo for stem cell transplant. As ever check with your clinicians before using.
Kind regards to all
Chris
Thought I would do a post on this vexed subject to share the benefit of my experience and, most importantly, some possible solutions!
Like many of us with low white cells, I have found that one of the real niggles of my particular type of MDS has been frequent and long- lasting mouth ulcers. It seems so pathetic to be moaning about them when others have far more challenging bothersome symptoms but they do get me down and really spoil my enjoyment of eating when the pain sends me through the roof! I had a huge blighter one year in holiday in Italy which really got me down! Fortunately, eating lots of Italian Gelato seemed to numb and freeze the pain!!
Anyway, the reason for posting is that I have found some things which have really helped which I wanted to share in case they can help others.
The first thing was finding a website all about mouth ulcers!! Do have a mooch around the site as it's very helpful.
Here it is!
http://www.mouthulcers.org/
There is a shop where you can buy products which help. Some of the products you can buy elsewhere over the counter.
http://www.mouthulcers.co.uk/mouth-ulce ... hucjfnF-lI
What I have found which has really helped me is this. Some toothpastes (most it seems!) contain quite harsh detergents - mainly sodium lauryl sulphate but there are others. If you are prone to ulcers this can either cause or aggravate ulcers. It is quite difficult to find toothpastes which do not contain some of these products. The site sells a toothpaste called Squigle. Since I started using this in June I have noted from my diary that I have had half the incidence of ulcers I had before and that the ulcers when they do appear last, on average,4-5 days less!! For me this is a huge result. I also use something called Gengigel (can get from Boots and other chemists) to put on on the ulcer at the very first sign - this is important before they become huge craters! And a paste called Kenacort which seems to be very effective if they do get big!
I hope that somebody finds this helpful as I know it's something that many of us get --particularly people on Azacitidine as well as those starting on chemo for stem cell transplant. As ever check with your clinicians before using.
Kind regards to all
Chris
