mouth sores, any suggestions?

I am going on my 5th wk of treatment and just started to have a few mouth sores on the inside of my lips.  I know a few people have had this.  Any suggestions on how to treat this so it will heal and hopefully not get too much worse?

[Bill1954]

You might ask your doctor for an Rx for ‘magic mouthwash’ if it persists; this is an rx concoction of lidocaine, benadryl and Maalox; sometimes they mix Nystatin in it as well. It numbs on contact, but only lasts a little while. A prescription typically says to ‘swish and swallow’ up to five times daily with it. This stuff is prescribed to cancer chemo patients routinely, so your doctor should be familiar with it. Have them call it in to the pharmacy; it needs to be mixed before hand.

Other things you might consider are non-alcohol mouth rinses; ‘Biotene’ makes a good one, along with a very gentle toothpaste you can try as well. Some people say eating yogurt helps; although this might be a little optimistic. Can’t hurt, though :o).

Sometimes we develop a fungal-type infection that leaves us with mild oral ulcers; I developed a thrush-type of hard, non removable plaque while on treatment. I did use Nystatin, to little avail; it eventually self resolved.

In any event, be sure to mention it to the doc; there might well be something they can offer to help.

Good luck—

Bill

[fashion345]

Thanks so much Bill, and Happy New Year!

[nygirl7]

The magic mouthwash never helped me but I have one good news for you - a week or two after you stop the interferon they will be gone for good.  That is something to look forward to for sure - I HATED those ulcers!

[Geno3A]

I'm doing a second treatment currently, and both times I developed a condition known as
angular cheilitis.  It involves open sores on the corners of my lips.

My Doctor prescribed Ketoconazole cream and it keeps it in check for the most part.   I notice when I sleep for long periods the fungus grows quickly.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_cheilitis

[fashion345]

Thank you all.  Will check with my doc on this and thanks again for the suggestions

[cb867]

I tried the magic mouth wash. It did not work. I tried biotene for dry mouth, didn't help much.If you get the sores in the corners of your mouth use monistat. I was shocked when my dentist asked me if I had any. I said that end is fine. LOL He said you get a yeast infection in the corners of your mouth. It helped.Any time I ate any thing spicey or even pizza my mouth burned bad. Dentist said it is burning mouth syndrome. What next??????? None of my sx including this didn't start til; 10 wks. Your gums might be sore also. Shall I give you some more good news???? LOL Around the time for another shot it seemed to get somewhat better. Then here we go again. my lips stayed chapped all the time also. If you have periodontal disease this can make it come back, so be sure to get checked. This is all the bad news I will tell you now. I was supposed to tx 24 wks but only made it 23. I was UND at 4 wks and the mouth pain got so bad I was having to take Lortab, so my Dr sais quit. I quit a month ago and still UND!!!!!!!!! YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!