I love my bath, sometimes its the only way i can get warm. I have a big old bath from the turn of the last century and a good old soak (rather than a fat old soak like me) is one of my self indulgant pleasures.
but my rads nurse said no baths till a month after treatment. said hot baths can contribute to radiation fatigue and soaking in water can weaken the skin, even if you dont add anything to the water.
suddenly realised that on all the threads on radiation side effects no- one has mentioned this…so what did you radiation team tell you about baths??? Or do you all prefer showers anyway.
I had an occasional bath, but mainly kept the rads area out of the water. Hot showers can make the rads area go pink and sore, too, as I know from experience. It’s like the reaction you get if you burn your finger and then put your hand into hot water during the next 24 hours or so.
I found using aquaeous cream to wash with in the bath left me with a moisturised, or at least oiled, layer all over.
I wouldn’t recommend soaking in a really hot bath, but with care an occasional warm bath should be ok. (This is a lot easier in warm weather than in cold.)
During rads I had a bath sitting up with warm water and usual bubble bath. I made sure none of my radiated areas got wet, then I showered boob and shoulder area with luke warm water. A couple of weeks after rads resumed my normal bath. I had hardly any pinkness during or after rads and was fine. I decided that I had had so much to put up with I wasn’t being deprived even if it was sitting in a less deep bath than normal.
I had my normal nighttime bath all the way through rads. I just made sure that the water was not too hot, and also that the radiated area stayed out of the bath water and was showered afterwards in cool fresh water. Just in case of splashes I made sure that I only used ‘Simple’ bath products, as recommended previously following my surgery.
We havn’t got a bath, had it removed last year when we had a new bathroom fitted, we now have just a double size walk in shower. I just made sure it wasn’t too hot, used Simple shower gel on my body or my favourite L’loccitane shea butter shower and shampoo, its so, so gentle and moisturising and has been brilliant for me over the years.
"what is too hot? " - leaflet says no extremes of temperature… radiologist first day said “luke warm shower/bath” What??? Avoided extremes… and seem to be OK. I don’t soak in a bath for long, just sit, like the others… enjoy!
Lukewarm? Brrrr! Unless it’s hot weather or you can really heat the bathroom. Warm enough to be comfortable for the rest of you, keep the rads area out of the water as much as possible, and use lukewarm just to wash that area quickly.
And when things have settled down and the rads area doesn’t react to your normal temperature, treat yourself to that long, hot soak or long, hot shower. Think how much you’ll enjoy it!
WHAT??? Obviously not the WORST thing I’ve heard since diagnosis, but having my rads through winter and I LOVE scaldingly hot ease-yourself-in-very-gently, turn-your-skin-pink baths.
It’s a bit like if you have sunburn and then get hot water on it - ouch! The last thing you want to do is add more heat to a hot boob! I was told showers only and Simple soap, but the Simple soap turned out to be confusing since they do a range of stuff, some of which is perfumed and unsuitable.
sorry sitting in bath up to my waist is not going to do it for me. I will carry on with the shower and just leave the bath as a great big treat the day i declare myself clear of rads. I would think that will be October and getting wintery so it will be great,
and to celebrate i will also have a big glass of bubbly and some cherries.
I bathed as usual all the way through rads (twice a day) and I was never told not to bathe. I didn’t use very hot water although my baths were hot enough to be comfortable.
I was, however, told to use only Simple soap but nothing else even other things from the Simple range as they contain perfumes.