Common side effects of chemotherapy and how they can be managed
Published on May 19, 2022 05:01 PM IST
- Fatigue, hair loss, body ache, and appetite change are some of the common side effects of chemotherapy. Here's how one can manage them with medicines and natural remedies.
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Published on May 19, 2022 05:01 PM IST
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment to kill cancer cells and can be used as a solo treatment or in combination to treat many types of cancers. Considering these chemicals are very powerful, they are bound to cause side effects. Different chemotherapy drugs have different side effects. Fatigue, hair loss, body ache, and appetite change are some of them. Dr Pooja Babbar, Medical Oncologist, American Oncology Institute, Gurugram, lists common side effects of chemotherapy.(Pexels)
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Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea: Certain chemotherapy drugs can cause nausea, vomiting, oral mucositis, diarrhea, and constipation. These can be mitigated with the use of effective antiemetics or drugs that are effective against vomiting and nausea like NK1 receptor antagonist, 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, olanzapine, benzodiazepines, and cannabinoids. Chemotherapy-related diarrhea is also managed with oral hydration, dietary modification, and antidiarrheal therapy.(picture-alliance/dpa/O. Killig)
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Loss of taste: Chemotherapy treatment can cause oral side effects like altered taste sensation and salivary changes. Oral cryotherapy is effective as a preventive measure for swelling in your mouth due to a chemotherapy drug 5 FU bolus. Oral cryotherapy is basically the cooling of the mouth using ice, ice‐cold water, ice cream or ice lollies. Certain other supportive care measures are topical mucosal protectants, analgesics, adequate oral hydration, antibiotics, and coating agents.(Pexels)
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Several self-care measures related to dietary habits can mitigate oral toxicities like taste alteration by eating small frequent meals, avoiding heavy oral intake one to two hours before and after chemotherapy, using plastic utensils, chewing mint-flavoured gums, candy, and ice. Also, have ice-cold fruit smoothies and ice creams. Cooking food with strong herbs, spices, lemon, sugar, and barbecue, teriyaki and ketchup sauces can alter taste sensation.(Pixabay)
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Numbness, tingling, pain: Other side effects of chemotherapy include infection, anemia, and peripheral neuropathy; other nerve problems, such as numbness, tingling, and pain; fertility problem, change in libido and sexual function.(Pexels)
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Hair loss: It is also one of the most common symptoms of chemotherapy. It can cause hair loss as the treatment targets all rapidly dividing cells — healthy cells as well as cancer cells. Hair follicles, the structures in the skin from which hair grows are some of the fastest-growing cells in the body. Recent interventions like scalp cooling have been effective in the prevention of alopecia. Duloxetine is recommended for patients experiencing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.(Pixabay)
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Published on May 19, 2022 05:01 PM IST