Aqueous cream even Boots agree

[Bunny3]

Fluffie, I have also started itching after 5 rads wonder if it is the aqueous, think I might need to change to something different. I have also been using it to wash.

Need to shop for something different I think
Thank you everyone

Donna x

[popcorn]

I too now just use the aqueous for washing. I got rather itchy skin after 8 rads using aqueous. Then I used Penny Brohn Radiance skin gel (brill, but £ve) and dr.organic aloe vera gel (sold at H&B) generously every hour or so after my treatments, and my skin is no longer so itchy!

Had 15 rads so far and feel comfortable. The gels take away the heat, swelling, redness and itching. Even the radiotherapy nurse said they were ok.

The reason why they can't advocate anything other than aqueous or E45 is that there have been no clinical trails done on other products. Plus some people might not buy pure 99% aloe vera gel by mistake. So it is safer for them to recommend the aqueous and E45.

[Guest user]

Donna, I know how you feel! If it wasn't for my sister I wouldn't have questioned the aqueous cream. My sisters colleagues who are all BCN's also recommended aloe Vera. I suppose there's nothing to lose from using both which is what I did! Xx

[Bunny3]

Arghh!!! I've been using aqueous cream cause that's what the radiologists recommended??
Confused now??

Donna xx

[Guest user]

This thread is really interesting, i should start rads in a few weeks so it'll be handy to know exactly what i should be using & what not to use etc. With Diprobase could we not get that on prescription? My mum gets it on prescription due to her age but would that be the same as cancer pt's get free prescriptions as well. Just thinking every little helps where the pennies are concerned. x

[Guest user]

My sis told me to put the aloe on in the morning and straight after rads and also I put it on before bed. I used the 99% stuff and they were selling it in a large pump action tub in H&B. I've got really sensitive skin and apart from an itchy bit under the boob which I also smothered in gel, my skin stayed intact. I trusted my sister's years of experience in plastic surgery before she became a BCN, I hate to admit that she's usually right about these things!! I did fine the aqueous good for washing so used it for the purpose it's recommended for in the formulary x

[oldandlumpy]

to be quite honest, i dont know. Everybody seems to do different things. Actually it might be interesting to see what the help line say. I will ring them up tomorrw morning. and start a new thread with what they tell me

[Guest user]

please excuse my ignorance , but should the aloe vera only be used if skin starts to burn ? or can it be and should it be used prior to rads ? i am putting on the 50 - 50 2 - 3 x daily at the min but i know its real early days as only on day 2 of rads x

[oldandlumpy]

if there are no other ingreadients in your boots cream then that should be fine. That will help protect you. the alo vera also has soothing and healing properties which are said to be good for burns.

personally after reading all the people who's radiologists said the 99.9 percent stuff is fine, i would use it if you were starting to burn.

[Guest user]

looks like everyone is advocating the h & b aloe vera , radioligist said that the small amount of chemicals in it are enough to cause reaction ? i just dont know what to do for the best , the cream i got from boots is 50% white soft paraffin and 50% liquid paraffin , i really dont know what to put on , i have extremely sensitive and dry skin and will try to avoid break out if i can . xxx

[CheshireCheese]

The physio I've been seeing for post-rads stiffness recommended Diprobase and I've found that excellent, even though I do get eczema. It doesn't contain lanolin (I've just checked the ingredients list on my tub of the stuff) and whilst it's not as cheap as aqueous cream, it's still fairly cheap. I paid £12 for a 500g (and yes I do mean half a Kilo) tub in Tesco and a similar price in Boots.
It's recommended "to treat red, inflamed, damaged, dry or chapped skin and to protect raw skin areas". That seems to cover most of us doing rads!
I found the radiographers all insisted on aqueous cream and simple soap without considering anything else. I saw the senior radiographer and she agreed that they need to update their ideas.
Sarah x

[oldandlumpy]

i dont have a holland a barret near me, but on line they are doing buy one get one half price on the 500 pump jars. so I sent of for those.

my daughter likes this stuff so when i have finnished with the after effects i will let her have any left over.

[ragamuffin]

I was treated at the Royal Marsden Fulham and they said it was OK to use the H & B Aloe Vera Gel. I have gone through about 8x 200 ml tubes of the stuff. I had 50 grays over 25 days then another 13+ grays of boosters over 5 days. Small burn on the collar bone which has now healed. Last treatment was on 6th July. Thank you AV Gel.

[Guest user]

Yeah funny you say that the bit under the boob im not sore thank goodness but that bit is SO dark darker than anywhere else surprising how much that part gets YES the gel I found marvelous for the itch, I started getting an itch during the second week & was adviced by rad nurse to see her if it got worse I found the aloe gell fab for this id put it on & let it dry in the air before putting top back on & it stopped the itch straight away Im sure without this I would be very sore

[Guest user]

It is odd that there doesn't seem to be any agreement over what to use. I'm sure there's a reason why the RT people recommend aqueous. I was just glad of that nice icy cold aloe vera which I kept in the fridge! If you're having booster doses then I would really slap on the gel. I was surprised that underneath my boob was sorer than where they were aiming the rads so keep an eye on the fold! X

[Guest user]

Thanks for that Lou Im pleased someone has posted about the E45 & the lanolin in it .. that was the posts I see before I started my rads & was alarmed that some were using it. Im just a bit annoyed about the aqueous cream I used now ive read up on this but I only had 3 weeks HOPEFULLY it hasn't made things worse but ive read alot about what you stated here that its just for washing & not even a moisturiser so trusted in the team who adviced this one.

Mekala x

[Guest user]

My sister who's a BCN but with experience in plastic surgery advised me to use aloe Vera gel. She said the aqueous cream is actually a product for washing skin, it doesn't help with radiotherapy. She banned me from using E45 as well because of lanolin. I did 5 weeks of rads and my skin stayed intact throughout. I used the aqueous before showering x

[oldandlumpy]

hi, it is so strange that every radiologist is different. We are recommended to use the holland a barratt alo vera but it has to be the 99.9% one.

Trish, the problem with aquous cream is that after only 4 weeks of using it for 10 minutes twice a day it things the sking by 10% . The ingrediant that does this is sodium lauryl sulphate, (SLS) so if your half and half has that it might be a problem.

here is a link, it talks about excema but the tests were done on normal skin.

http://www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/news/20101018/commonly-used-moisturis...

[Guest user]

hiya ladies , had my 2nd rads today , showed the radiologist the holland and barrat 99.9 % aloe vera - NO cant use that , Boots aqueous cream otherwise known as half and half she said was fine , i actually spoke to the pharmacist who herself had bc 7 years ago and was her that recommended the aqueous , i`ve come in on the tail end of the discussion so can someone advise me on why i shouldn`t be using it , thank you xx i`m 49 by the way if that makes difference x

[hope4444]

Does anybody know if the Radiance Gel is ok for hormone positive folk or does it contain oestrogen? I'm wondering if it does because it seems have a lot of similar ingredients to Bio Oil

[Guest user]

Hi I start rads on monday and have been using aqueous cream for a couple of weeks to get my skin in good condition. However after reading the link on the Boots site I think I'll start using something else. When I asked at my planning session about the H&B aloe vera gel, I was told not to use that and just the aqueous. Also not to put it in the fridge. I bought the radiance gel from penny brohn on the recommendation of a lady on here, so I think I'll use that. Only thing is should I ok it with my rads team first or just go ahead? Looking at the ingredients though, everything is natural so can't think that it will do any harm.
Phil xx

[Guest user]

flippin noras 😞 the time scale is what I had it on my skin for but for 3 weeks only as im now using other cream with the aloe since I finished rads YEAH shame the radiology haven't been wised up to these facts & still bit cross thats what we are told to use too late for me & 1000's of women before me who used it 😞

[oldandlumpy]

i am going to ask skin nurse about the lanolin, its hypoalergenic lanolin so perhaps its ok. The e45 itch cream does not have lanolin, but it has urea, so i dont know what they think of that. I have lashed out on the diprobase cream, its one that they recommended and the alo vero gel, but it has to be holland and barrat.

the aqueous cream is a good moisturiser, but it thins your skin. The excema side of the NHS know this now, but it does not seem to have filtered through to the radiology side. Someone said it is on the agenda of their next annual conference.

[Ninja]

I've used Body Shop Vit E hand cream (yes, really) on my dry head. It just seems to be the ideal solution and causes no irritation whatsoever. It's the only thing I've tried that actually stops ALL flaking.

[Guest user]

Sorry, chemo brain!?
Is it good to use? I've been lathering the stuff all over my dry face and head for months,

[Ninja]

Crikey, thanks for that. I had a huuuge tub of it at home. One member of the family was given it for mild eczema ages ago - couldn't possibly use it all before BB date so it got chucked in the end. The tub was enormous due to the cheapness but surely if you cannot use it all in time, it's costing the NHS money to dole out so much anyway?
We can't use E45 either due to the lanolin. I guess I'll need to get some of the expensive Aloe cream when I have rads.

[oldandlumpy]

OK, we do not have excema, but other studies say aqueous cream is bad on normal skin if left on for ten minutes twice a day for four weeks.

might be ok for younger women with thicker skin, but my skin is already thining with age.

look what the boots website says

http://www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/news/20101018/commonly-used-moisturis...