My GP recommended Diprobase to help with my eczema, looks like she knows what she’s talking about! It’s helped me reduce from using all sorts of nasty, powerful steroid creams to just using the Diprobase as a moisturiser. It’s very soothing, much more so than aqeous cream, and thanks to info from OAL, we now know why.
Sarah
I am quite concerned by this as I have been advised by my LD nurse to use it on my LD arm and have been doing this for the last 3 months!
I am seeing her tomorrow and will tackle her about this, but what do others use on their LD arm if not aqueous cream?
Thanks
DaisyGirl xx
Daisygirl,
Any good moisturising cream will keep you LD soft. I am using Dove supreme silk lotion.
OAL;
I read the trial you posted and found that it had been about rads dermatitis or toxicity and am not sure that these are the same as normal rads burning.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who has more knowledge of this.
E
Despite reading this i am still using the holland and barret gel to try and get some moisture into my skin before rads, the report said no better than other gels, that suggests its a good idea to have some sort of gel and the holland and barret is a nice one use.
when the bio oil arrives i will use that too.
I have now done lots of research into moisturisers,(i have never used them before except when sunbathing, even on my face) and it seems the skin has several layers. The ones we are all talking about here moisturise the upper layer, but to get the skin cells in the next layer down you need products with urea in ( so those myths about washing in your own urine had some basis) do you think its a good idea to get the next level down good and hydrated before rads?? I will ask the onc tomorrow
Hi Ladies well I used the 99.9 % aloe & can honestly say it stopped the itching in a second Im so pleased I used it with the aqueous, now ive finished im now moisturising with an organic Vit E cream … my boob looks real ODD where the dipple (pours) are they have gone real DARK brown ?? so my whole boob area looks like an over ripe strawberry IS THAT NORMAL ? I must say apart from the odd moment of wanting to scratch im NOT sore even where it looks sore YET last week (3rd week) I felt very tender but this morning its gone real dark red almost like an over tanned boob. using aloe from the plant is very good idea my MIL has one & used hers for lots of things, that is 100% natural snapping peice off & applying the gel from it that way SORRY I believe Aloe to be fantastic its from nature & used in its natural source its been used in healing for thousand of years… only thing that some rads teams umm & R it is it can be a bit drying on the skin BUT it is the BEST for healing any burns from anything else that has been mentioned I too had to buy my own Aqueous cream so if it was the case that its cheap the fact most hospitals DON’T supply it now would not make sense for them surgesting this as the best thing surely if they haven’t got to pay for it they would give you a list of other creams that you ‘COULD’ use ?
Mekalar,
Don’t stop using the Aloe for at least two weeks. Those nasty burns have a habit of coming out well after the rads are finished. Try using moisturiser in the morning and aloe at night.
OAL,
Do remember to ask about Bio, it is said to be good for scarring but you certainly don’t want it on your skin when you go for rads.
E
Hi
I used E45 cream all the way through rads and only had reddening of the skin, no breakout burns at all. I now also use the E45 on my LD and I understand from my LD nurse that it is available on prescription.
Andie
bumped for ladysue
Thanks for bumping this for me. I start my rads in a couple of weeks. I think I will use emu oil to prepare my skin and then aloe vera to cool it when necessary. I have thin skin already so wont use the aqueous cream. I have got some aqueous cream and found it useful for washing “down below” when I was very sore once. Diprobase helped with that problem too.Oh the fun of being a woman
may be a silly question but why can we not use suntan cream while having radio therapy to protect skin ?
Probably because of the perfume content
Hi microc,
Sunscreen stops the rays penetrating your skin so would stop the rads working. Best not to use anything on your skin for about 3 hours before the rads. I used H&B Aloe Vera gel immediately after the rads to stop any burning. I also used it another 3 times spaced out during the day. Don’t rub anything in, pat it on and whatever you use let it dry before you dress. Keep it up for a couple of weeks after you finish the rads.
E
I did my radiotherapy throughout november2010. Having read the forums I had in advance bought a large tub of the Holland and Barret aloe Vera.At my first appointment they gave me a tub of aqueous cream. I asked about the aloe Vera but was told not to use this but to stick to the cream. Luckily having had a horrible time with chemo I sailed through the rads with no problems. I have since been on a course where they said aqueous cream no longer recommended. It is all very confusing isnt it!
I had RT in April-May 2011 and was told ONLY aqueous cream. When I ‘burnt’ rather badly (the worst sun burn I’ve ever had!!) I was told to add a little H&B’s aloe vera gel to the aqueous but not to use aloe vera directly on the affected skin as it was drying… When it was at it’s worst (and I was going up the wall in discomfort) I also was given hydrocortisone cream to pat on very gently. Apparently rubbing anything into the affected skin can slow/hamper the healing, so whatever you use, use it very gently.
I also found taking Pyriton/Piriteeze/antihistamine tablets helped take the itch out.
And then paracetomol/ibuprofen together was useful in the last few days and into the first week after the RT had finished…
Now 4 months later I have a lovely suntan on half my chest…
Glad I got through it.
Hi Microc
"may be a silly question but why can we not use suntan cream while having radio therapy to protect skin ? "
Not a silly question at all - but quite technical. Basically it’s different sort of ‘rays’.
Sunscreen protects against UV radiation (ultraviolet rays) - Particularly UV-A and UV-B. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other effects of photoaging.
Radiotherapy uses X-rays - these are a form of electomagnetic radiation and have a longer wavelength.
So the sunscreen filters are the wrong ‘size’ to block them. Also as Embee says - you don’t want to block them - they need to do their job unhindered!
HTH
Dx
I finished radiotherapy around 8 weeks ago and was told only aqueous cream which I bought in the pound shop but after reading about the Aloe Vera gel on here I bought some from H&B’s.
At first I used the cream after showering but developed sores under breasts ,nipple and areola looked a bit burnt and brown. Tried the aloe vera but found it cooling but drying. Advised by BCN to use Aqueous as a shower gel for washing, which I did and continue to do so - no more problems and I find my skin much softer and moisturised.
Still have a full tube of Aloe Vera.If my skin feels dry I use some of the cream sparingly after showering as well.
Have decided to avoid all the expensive body moisturisers I have used in the past as well.
I wouldn’t advise anybody what to use but it worked for me,
Margaret
I’ve been told to use only aqueous or E45 cream.
Bio-oil: I read somewhere on this site that it contains oestrogen so I am not using it because my cancer is highly oestrogen receptive
Aloe Vera gel: I read others say that they were explicitly told not to use it
Aqueous cream: My son had eczema and I know that aqueous cream is not recommended for eczema but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a problem for us. It does contain the cleansing ingredient sodium lauryl sulphate (the main ingredient of any hand soap, shower gel or shampoo).
E45: I haven’t heard of any issue with that.
I am going to follow Margaret’s tip and use aqueous as a detergent and forget about expensive moisturisers. I will them follow with E45 twice a day and see. I have finished my 1st week and have 4 more to come to I hope I will be able to contain the side effects somewhat.
About radiotherapy, I was told that it’s not X-rays but gamma rays, one notch higher energy than X-rays. In fact it is the highest energy electro-magnetic radiation (I am a physicist). I also would think that suntan lotions would not stop gamma rays but also would not have any effect in preventing skin damage from gamma rays … but I would not try them because they contain minerals and things that might react under radiation.
my unit said I COULD use AV gel… which I did immediately after treatment, then used a baby moisturiser, which they also said was OK (happened to be an Arbonne one which felt cooling)… skin red/brown, but no problems whatsoever nearly a week after rads finished. Sometimes it’s a tad itchy/prickly, but AV sorts it…
Hi Barbwill
You defo outstrip my ‘A’ Level physics - and that was 30 years ago!
My unit only recommended aq cream, but I told them I was using AV and E45. They looked a bit pursed lipped, but think that was because I was being independent, but didn’t say that I couldn’t use them.
Re the AV gell - it must be a ‘pure’ one with as few additives as poss. That’s why the H&B 99.9% gets such a plug on here.
Re Bio-Oil - it contains a small amount of lavendar oil, which contains a small amount of oestrogens. I’m ER+ve too, but my reasoning was that I’m pre-menopausal and taking Tamoxifen. So the amount that I’m producing naturally will far out-weigh any in the Bio Oil, and that will get sorted by the Tamoxifen - also, since I’m rubbing it on my scars rather than drinking the stuff, the amount that’s likely to get absorbed into my system will be miniscule. Tried to find some research on it, but failed. Willing to be told that I’m a complete numpty by anyone who knows better!
Dx
DJ, what you say about bio oil makes a lot of sense to me. In fact my oncoplastic surgeon said to use it on my scars and when I told her that I heard that it contains oestrogen she obviously didn’t know and didn’t worry about it, only said that it seems to be what many people use but I think she also implied that it made little difference either way.
I didn’t know that lavender contains oestrogen, in fact I didn’t know plants contained oestrogen … interesting …