Oral mucositis is one of the toughest, most debilitating side effects of chemotherapy. Not only are the symptoms of this condition painful, but they can also lead to a host of expensive, even life-threatening complications if left unchecked. Patients can find treatments at their local drugstore or around their home, but two of the most popular and effective remedies for oral mucositis are mouthwashes and cryotherapy. Which of these treatments is more effective for helping with mouth sores caused by chemotherapy? The experts at Chemo Mouthpiece® will explain the differences between them below.
What Causes Mouth Sores After Chemotherapy?
Although it is undoubtedly effective for treating many types of cancer, chemotherapy has become almost as well-known for its negative side effects as for its healing powers – so much so that side effects such as hair loss have become an instantly recognizable sign of cancer treatments. One of the most debilitating of these side effects is the appearance of sores in the mouth, often accompanied by inflammation, bleeding, and pain. In fact, many patients label this condition – called oral mucositis – as the worst they experience while undergoing chemotherapy, placing it above nerve pain, nausea, and other unpleasant side effects.
Like many of the side effects that follow a chemo treatment, oral mucositis is the result of chemo drugs attacking healthy tissue even as they target diseased cells. By design, chemotherapy medications seek out and destroy rapidly growing tissues, which includes those in a tumor as well as normal cells in the body’s hair, nails, bone marrow, and mucous membranes. When these toxic chemicals reach the mouth, they break down the mucous membranes there, causing the formation of painful lesions.
Depending on the amount of the drug that reaches the area, the symptoms can vary in magnitude; those being treated for head, mouth, or throat cancers are more likely to experience the symptoms of oral mucositis. Studies have shown that as many as 40% of chemo patients will experience these symptoms, and up to 80% of those undergoing high-dose chemotherapy are vulnerable to mouth sores.
The Cost of Oral Mucositis
As painful and inconvenient as oral mucositis may seem, the reality is far worse than you might imagine. The appearance of mucositis symptoms in a cancer patient has been linked to a host of complications, some of which are life-threatening and almost all of which are expensive. A 2008 study of patients with oral mucositis found that an increase in its severity led to longer fevers, more than double the risk of a serious infection, additional days of narcotic painkillers, IV nutrition, extra days spent in the hospital, and a significant increase in patients’ 100-day mortality rate. All told, the financial burden of mucositis can be as much as $25,000 for a single patient, making it as damaging to the wallet as it is to a patient’s overall well-being.
Treatments for Oral Mucositis: Mouthwash vs. Cryotherapy
Mouthwashes are among the most readily available and easy-to-use treatments for oral mucositis, as well as part of a good oral care routine for chemo patients. Often, all it takes is a rinse and spit to make those mouth sores feel just a little bit better, so it’s understandable that many patients use this method to help relieve their pain and keep their mouth clean. On the other hand, cryotherapy – the use of freezing or near-freezing temperatures to treat the body – offering a way to reduce the severity of symptoms before they even appear. So, which is more effective?
As stated above, mouthwashes are both accessible and convenient for patients to use. Anyone can make a saltwater rinse at home by adding a bit of salt to a warm glass of water and using that to clean and moisturize their mouth; alternately, the same effect can be achieved with baking soda in addition to or instead of salt. This makes mouthwashes an inexpensive treatment as well, but do they have any downsides? For one thing, mouthwashes are only useful to patients who have already developed mucositis; in other words, you must be in pain to gain anything from their use. Another issue is the relative lack of potency common to these treatments, as mouthwashes tend to provide only minor and temporary relief from the pain and inflammation.
By comparison, cryotherapy – when properly employed – has demonstrated an ability to fight oral mucositis symptoms before they appear. Cryotherapy works by chilling the blood vessels of the mouth, causing them to shrink and reduces blood flow to the area during the infusion of chemo drugs. This limits the amount of the drugs that can reach the vulnerable mucous membranes, which in turn limits the severity of mucositis symptoms. It’s the reason nurses and doctors distribute ice chips to patients during treatments, though ice chips are a less-than-ideal method of using cryotherapy as they only reach a limited area.
The Chemo Mouthpiece® is a unique oral cryotherapy device for chemo patients designed specifically to combat oral mucositis symptoms. Simply freeze the mouthpiece at home ahead of your treatment, then bring it with you to cool your entire mouth during the infusion, wash and refreeze the devices at home for cooling relief after treatment.
Oral Cryotherapy Device for Helping with Chemo Mouth Sores
When using cryotherapy to prevent mucositis symptoms, go for the most effective method around. The Chemo Mouthpiece cools the entire oral cavity uniformly, from top to bottom and side to side, bringing the cooling power of cryotherapy to your entire mouth. To learn more about how the Chemo Mouthpiece can help you or a loved one who is undergoing chemotherapy, visit us online or call (866) 496-8858 today.