What are the 5 common adverse reactions to tumor chemotherapy and how to deal with them?

While chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells in the body, they also cause some damage to normal cells in our body.

Nausea, vomiting, hair loss...what can be done to prevent or treat these common adverse reactions?

1. Nausea and vomiting

Nausea and vomiting are one of the most common reactions to chemotherapy, and controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting plays an important role in the treatment process.

There are two common ways of managing nausea and vomiting: pharmacologic prophylaxis and adjunctive extra-pharmacologic means.

If you are in a situation where you feel nauseous, but can't vomit, you can find a doctor for medication, preventive medication, and which medication to use depending on the situation by the doctor to make a decision.

In life, you can use some aids to reduce the symptoms:

- Diet should pay attention to the gastrointestinal tract stimulation of the food, to light diet is the main;

- drink flavored water (lemonade, etc.), eat fruit ;

- or smell some fresh-smelling fruits like oranges, tangerines, lemons, etc. .

If someone in the same room vomits during hospitalization, try to avoid it, increase the frequency of gargling, and pay more attention to mouth cleaning. Usually pay more attention to rest, avoid exertion; moderate amount of walking, breathing fresh air.

2. Constipation diarrhea

When diarrhea symptoms occur, it is necessary to promptly and the attending physician, the nurse to explain, the doctor will analyze whether it is due to the treatment of disease.

In daily life, you can also do some preventive measures:

- Dietary regulation : Eat more food rich in plant fiber, such as coarse grains and celery, etc.

Dietary regulation : Eat more food rich in plant fiber, such as coarse grains and celery.

- Hydration to prevent dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea.

-Participate in appropriate exercise to improve the body's immunity and help the gastrointestinal tract.

- You can also do abdominal massage , clockwise massage from right to left to increase bowel movements and increase the number of bowel movements.

3. Hair loss

Chemotherapy drugs in the body at the same time, our scalp active hair follicle cells are inevitably "affected".

Before chemotherapy, you can use an ice cap to prevent hair loss and reduce the frequency of combing, but this method has a limited effect. Anyone faced with a head of hair falling out will not be in a good mood. The good news is that hair grows back 1 to 3 months after chemotherapy, and the hair that grows back is soft and naturally beautiful.

Therefore, it is still recommended to cut your hair short before the start of treatment, and then buy your favorite hat or wig , wear a hat during chemotherapy, and then wear a wig after chemotherapy to get through the hair loss period.

4. Mouth ulcers

There are many types of chemotherapy drugs that can cause oral mucositis (mouth ulcers). Usually the presence of mouth ulcers also means that ulcers have developed in other digestive tracts (e.g. throat, esophagus and even anus).

Mouth ulcers can be treated like this:

- Rinse your mouth with saline multiple times a day, rinse your mouth (note: most of the mouthwashes available on the market contain high levels of alcohol, which can irritate the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, so don't try to use them!) .

- Keep your mouth and teeth clean; use a soft-bristled toothbrush or a sponge toothbrush after meals and before bedtime (to remove dentures), and preferably do not use fluoride toothpaste.

- Medications can be applied to localized areas with severe ulcers.

- Avoid harsh, coarse foods and drinks such as spicy, acidic, too cold, too hot foods.

5. Bone marrow suppression of white blood cells and platelets decrease

The decrease in white blood cells and platelets after the use of chemotherapeutic agents is the most common adverse reaction after chemotherapy.

1) Reduced white blood cells

White blood cells are the body's guardians, when white blood cells reduce the body's immunity is reduced, easy to infection. At this time, it is important to pay attention to don't come into contact with people who have a cold, avoid going to public **** occasions, pay attention to the body cleanliness and indoor environmental hygiene, reduce the number of guests and go out.

At the same time, you should decide whether to take a leucovorin injection according to the doctor's instructions, observe your body for fever, and communicate with your doctor at any time.

2) Reduced platelets

The main job of platelets is to coagulate blood, and when platelets fall, bleeding is likely to occur, so it is important to pay attention to reducing activities to prevent bleeding from injuries. Everyday, you should pay attention to eating soft food, not picking your nose, avoiding bumping, and eating foods that replenish blood. Observe the skin for bleeding spots and bleeding tendency at all times. Symptoms should be timely to find a doctor to deal with.

For adverse reactions, know in advance to understand first, more observation, active prevention, the most important follow the doctor's advice oh.

More: Cherun official website