Mucositis (also called stomatitis) is the presence of painful mouth sores that are a side effect of certain types of chemotherapy (chemo) drugs.
There are several things you can do to help alleviate the discomfort of mouth sores, including:
Keeping your body hydrated. Drink a lot of fluids.
Try sucking on ice chips to keep your mouth moist.
Chewing sugarless gum or sucking on hard candy
Eating moist foods instead of dry, scratchy foods. Moistening dry foods before chewing them may be helpful.
Avoiding very acidic foods, such as tomatoes, oranges, and grapefruits, which can exacerbate the sores. Try eating less acidic fruits (examples: apricots and pears) and less acidic vegetables (examples: beans, peas, and squash).
Avoiding very salty and spicy foods.
Rinsing your mouth every 3 to 4 hours with a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon baking soda or salt and 8 ounces of water.
Rinsing your mouth with alcohol-free mouthwash (such as Biotene or a chamomile mouthwash) every 2 hours. Chamomile mouthwash has a soothing effect on the mouth’s mucous membranes.
Keeping your lips moist with a nurturing balm.
Using a soft toothbrush. If using any toothbrush is too painful, use cotton swabs to brush your teeth.
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