What to do if you can't swallow food due to tongue cancer

The most painful thing about having tongue cancer is that you can't swallow food even if you are very hungry. No matter how nutritious and anti-cancer food is, it is a matter of concern for patients with tongue cancer to be unable to swallow it. How can you maintain life if you can't swallow food, and how can you fight against tongue cancer? In order to help family members solve this problem, we will focus on what we should do if tongue cancer patients can't swallow food.

Patients with tongue cancer can apply 5% to 10% silver nitrate or 1% iodine glycerol locally to relieve symptoms; they can also strengthen intravenous nutrition in treatment to maintain the patient's life needs. Family members can also prepare some liquid or semi-liquid food, such as milk, milk powder, etc., so that patients can gradually transition to ordinary meals. They can also eat more dairy products and soy products, lotus root powder, fresh fruits, fish, eggs, beef, etc., to supplement fat, protein and vitamins, promote nutrition, strengthen physical fitness and improve immunity.

During the treatment, it is best to assist with Chinese medicine. Using ginsenoside Rh2 with a content of more than 16% can replenish vitality, regulate the body, inhibit the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, and improve the success rate of surgery. At the same time, it is very helpful to increase the appetite of cancer patients and can effectively improve symptoms such as bloating, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. At the same time, you can also choose foods that have the effect of softening and dispersing nodules: jellyfish, laver, mussels, sea cucumber, abalone, cuttlefish, kelp, turtle, red bean, radish, shepherd's purse, water chestnut, shiitake mushrooms, etc. However, these foods are greasy and easy to hurt the spleen and stomach. Eat less when you have poor appetite or fever.

In addition to the above methods, we can also use decoctions to relieve the patient's pain and help swallow food. Prescription: Sijunzi Decoction combined with Danggui Buxue Decoction. 10g each of Atractylodes macrocephala, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, and raw licorice, 12g of Danggui, 15g each of Sophora flavescens, Codonopsis pilosula, Poria cocos, and Scrophularia ningpoensis, 20g of Rehmannia glutinosa, 30g each of Astragalus, Herba Agrimoniae, and Scutellaria barbata. For those with severe swelling and pain in the neck and submandibular area, add 30g of Prunella vulgaris and 15g of Sargassum to strengthen the ability to disperse the knots; if the symptoms are yin deficiency and internal fire, add 10g each of Adenophora scabra, Asparagus cochinchinensis, and Dendrobium officinale, or Zhibai Dihuang Wan as the main prescription. Treatment: Nourish blood and replenish qi, detoxify and disperse knots.

To sum up, when tongue cancer patients are unable to swallow food, they should not only be treated with medication and food, but also be asked to sit for a while after meals or take slow walks every day.