First chemo - hands red and dry

Ask our Nurses your questions
1

I had my first chemo (EC) on Thursday.

Thursday night i was ok but a little ‘’burpy’

Last night i woke at 2 and noticed the back of my hands were really red and dry (knuckles to fingers) and my face was really flushed.

I also felt I had indigestion that wouldn’t shift so I propped my self to sleep upright.

Temperature was ok!

Does anybody have any advice on best care for hands (and face) and also for the indegestion.

I had been taking pro-biotic water kefir and hadn’t had reflux or indigestion for over a year but I have been advised to stop during chemo as the chemo can turn the good bacteria bad.

Any help on reducing symptoms would be gratefully received

2

Hi there.

I also had indigestion soon after starting chemo. I was prescribed Lansoprazole which worked very quickly and effectively, and I stayed on it until I finished all my chemo. When I stopped I had no indigestion until I started on Abemaciclib, so now im back on the Lansoprazole.

I had redness and tenderness to my palms and soles of my feet - chemo hand/foot syndrome, and used Cetraben - you can buy it but should be able to get it prescribed - with a good result. Yours is on the backs of your hands so I’m not sure it’s that, but I think dry skin is common during chemo so Cetraben, MooGoo or something similar is worth trying.

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Hello, I had the same indigestion after my first round and Gaviscon definitely helped. The acid reflux got worse until I started using it so don’t delay getting it. Ive just had round 3 and it has cleared up now. I also ate greek yogurt with a tiny bit if honey which I thought helped.

I’m sorry about your dry red skin. I wonder if it could be the start of an allergic reaction? Ive read that some peoples eczema can really flare up during chemo. I know that @sam1204 has been managing some issues so she might have some good advice for you (hope you dont mind the tag Sam haha)

4

Hi @duffer565656 and no problem with the tag @foxgem - anything I can do to help!

I’m on paclitaxel and have had a gradual build up on allergic reaction to it with my skin, mainly face but I do have dry hands, head, well all over really! So two things - ask for a strong antihistamine (I’m now on max dose fenofaxadine) as this has helped my skin enormously, it’s non-drowsy and no side effects. Second one is moisturising - I use a combo of La Roche Posay efeclar duo, Aveeno calm and restore and Moogoo. I think there’s a bit of trial and error to find which works best for you and on which part of your body. The only cream I’ve had prescribed is steroid cream which I’ve not used as I’m not keen and I seem to be managing it with the various creams and antihistamines.

I hope that helps - definitely tell your team about it and see if you can get something prescribed. Save you some money!

1 Like
5

Hi duffer565656,

Thanks for posting explaining your side effects from the first course of EC chemo you had on Thursday.

As @foxgem and @pat say you can get indigestion with chemotherapy. Also, as @sam1204 and @pat say it’s also possible to get a skin reaction and different creams might help as the ones suggested.

It’s important to let your treatment team know about these side effects. As @sam1204 explain she developed an allergic reaction to treatment. Allergies or hypersensitivity can occur as well. You probably have been given a number that you can contact 24 hours a day to report symptoms and side effects so do give it a call. The team can assess and advise on the cause and how best to manage them.

As well as this Ask Our Nurses section of the forums we have a monthly chemotherapy thread that might be of interest. And here are the details of all our services.

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