I will take up your advice. Yes i think it’s Polymem, it’s a light pink colour foam padding with no sticky side to it. They said splash it with a bit of water and then put this on the sore peeling areas. The hospital nurses just changed my pain killers from paracetomal to co-codomal saying it’s stronger but that’s not doing much.
On some of the discussions here I read that Fucibet cream helps the burn areas. I have that cream at home so have applied a layer because I can’t wait until tomorrow, I need some relief today. Let’s hope it works. I’m hoping the stitching area is not infected because the skin under the peel area is bright pink, sore and bit of oozing.
I think I was allergic to the polymem dressing or it was just the healing process but they seemed to make everything worse. I noticed that under the very dry cracked layer there was pink skin and it was less painful. I socked in very hot water and rubbed the out layers off while in the bath, which is similar to what they do if you have burns (just not in a bath). I know they say no water but it was so painful until I had got that top layer off so I was willing to try anything. I also put dettol in the bath. All this was after I had finished rads so wasn’t seeing anyone. I read calendula has had good results and used a mixture of baby napiers cooling chickweed bottom balm and bepathen lanolin really thicky. I wore an old support vest that got very greasy but it was useful. Hope some of this is helpful.
Hi all, I thought I would update you. I got seen yesterday by radiographer team, senior team leader and oncologist. They were all shocked at how bad my skin had become in a few days, said it was all broken and looked really painful. They gave me Flamazine to apply twice a day plus gave me oramorph oral solution for the pain. This has helped loads already in one day, I was able to sleep as i was so drowsy with it
I’m also going to buy a cotton non padded and non underwired bra to help. So far had to go braless last few days due to the pain.
Good luck to you all experiencing this horrible side effect. Xx
Hi Chata3070, I had real trouble with burns under my arm and under my breast. They gave me some intrasite gel and some melipex dressings on the last day of treatment and a note to give to my gp to get some more. They told me it was better for the wounds to heal in a wet environment rather than letting them dry out. It took two full weeks for mine to heal with the gel being applied twice a day and a dressing change every day. At one stage my whole under boob area was raw. The skin is still very fragile but it has now healed over. I took co-codomol painkillers too as it was very sore. Can you have a word with your gp or BCN and see if they can give you something? I feel for you it is horrible. Good luck x
Hi all, I’m in Australia and wondering about the totally different advice - except for the last lady - about wet and dry. Here I was told that it is very important to keep it moist.
I had 20 sessions of raditiation and skin started to blister during the last week. The nurses at the radiation clinic started off treating the burn and when i finished a nurse visited me every day - we have a fantastic not for profit service here where nurses come to your home (for anyone not just cansurvivors) and they have continued the same treatment.
Which is - I have my shower before they come and then I soak the burn area in a solution of 1 litre boiling water and 1 teaspoon of salt (made earlier in the day and cooled) using large cleaning cloths (straight from the packet), soaking them in the water and then laying them over the burn area and leaving for 15 - 20 minutes - rewetting them if they get a bit dry. Used disposable gloves to protect from infextion. Then the nurse applies a thick layer of parrafin ointment (dermeze - I buy a tub of it from pharmacy) to the whole area and I get them to go over the edge onto the good skin too because I can always feel it pulling on these edges. they then put these squares of netting/gauze that are saturated in a thick parrafin ointment (called Jelonet in Australia) on the burn and then use non-stick pad dressings over the top of the whole area (including under the arm).
We then try various methods to tape the dressing so it doesn’t slip around (even tho the jelonet is very soft it still feels like its scraping if it moves around - the best method so far has been using a flexible tape that is called AsGuard flex or Fiso Fix ? and try to put it on skin that hasn’t been treated. To start with I also used a type of compression bandage over the padding, around the chest under the breast (only one in my case!) and then over the shoulder (I have an additional pad running vertically from collar bone down over the top of the other pad and this gives me extra protection esp for seat belts etc). This made me feel really secure. I stopped using the bandage once the burn on my thinner skin (under collar bone) had started to heal as this was the worst part esp with rubbing. Until this week I was wearing this the 24 hours until the nurse’s next visit. Over the top of that we would put a little light stretchy top made from - wait for it! - incontinence pants. The nurses at radiation unit showed me that trick - you just have to cut a couple of extra holes. very soft and helps hold it all together.
I really feel for all those women who had been told to keep it dry - just having a shower before the nurses visit, which had the effect of removing the ointment, it was instantly painful and would stay painful until the ointment was applied.
I was told that the radiation would continue to act for up to two weeks after the last treatment (in other words, the burn continues to develop) and it was quite miraculous how when that two weeks passed my burn suddenly started to get better.
The ointment is very messy though and you need to wear old t-shirts etc because it does stain.
Another idea is to ask for a referral to the burns unit of your hospital so you can get the best advice.
thanks Jill! that was my first post on any forums too.
i did want to add that I haven’t been comfortable using a petro chemical product but at the same time wanted to follow what I was told was best by the radiation unit. I saw (here) that someone else used a variety of creams that sounded good. I have seen a recipe today for a salve with beeswax which I’m guessing gives the salve a thickness/body that might work well - replicate the particular qualities of the parrafin ointment in moisturising and sealing moisture in?
Hope you are contubing to heal well ,I had horrible burns under my boobs that got infected -once it started to heal though it was quite quick. I reacted to E45 cream - it was the paraffin in it - I smelt like burning tyres !!
Hi I finished 25 radiation treatments 10 days ago and this is how I am helping myself get through it.
TREATMENT
I was told about a product called MooGoo which I used after my shower in the morning and in the evening and straight after the radiation treatment. When the burn started to show the doctors advised to use cortisone cream 1% to help with the itching. I used it for a day and stopped after I found out that it can thin the skin. This was the last thing I wanted to happen as I didnt want the skin to break and have more damage. The next thing I thought about was a trick I use when I get a little sunburn PawPaw ointment. I would put this on after I use the MooGoo at night (Its quite sticky and always wore things I was worried about disposing of) when the skin broke I started to use Intrasite Gel. The Gel on the broken skin and MooGoo everywhere else with Mepilex Lite bandages. The MepilexLite bandages stick to the skin with a type of suction caused by the foam and you dont have to use plaster; they also dont stick to your skin and peal away gently. The Sunday after I finished my treatments I had an enormous amount of pain under my arm and through the front of my chest where I had the Mastectomy. I took Panadol and when I visited the radiation clinic on the Tuesday they prescribed me with Endone. This was last Tuesday and since then the pain comes and goes but its normally always there and I am in bed or sitting on the couch not doing much. During the treatment the nurses were happy with my progression and said that my skin looked good and I saw others doing treatment that looked way worst than me (but cant say what stage the were at or how many treatment they had). I now use Intrasite Gel on the broken skin areas and MooGoo on all other areas. I then use Pawpaw Ointment over the MooGoo and then spread Sudocrem (a Zinc cream) over a gauze (Atraiman) and put this over badly affected areas. Using a thick cloth (chux cloth type) I cut this to size and place over the whole area and then use a stretchy singlet to keep it all in place.
My daily routine now is get out of bed drink a large glass of water. Shower using lots of Dove bodywash over the area that has the gels and creams on it. I don’t rub hard, just enough to remove the creams and then some physahex (antiseptic wash) pat dry and then go through the routine of putting all of the gel creams and ointments on again. I also take photos everyday of the radiation; this just lets me see the progression.
I repeat this at night before I go to bed.
NIUTRITION
I had read up about skin nutrition and made sure I was eating plenty of eggs (4 each day (2 for breakfast and 2 for lunch) and 1 avocado per day. I also take supliments vitamins C, Tumeric, Magnesium, L-lysine and an amino acid called L-proline. I make sure I eat heaps of vegie and fruit and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. I don’t drink any alcohol…this cannot be good for staying completely hydrated.
This post is an insite to what I have done to get me through the treatment. It may not be the best for others and make sure youre body is compatable and doesnt have any reactions to the items I have used above in the post.
