How to care after chemotherapy for melanoma

Malignant melanoma patients will experience many side effects after chemotherapy, such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, infection, and a series of other symptoms. Patients usually choose traditional medicine to recuperate and reduce the digestive tract and mucosal reactions, bone marrow suppression, and local exudative inflammatory changes during chemotherapy. At this time, not only the medical recuperation work should be done well, but also the nursing work in life is very important.

What aspects should be paid attention to during melanoma care:

1. Eat light, warm and moderate meals. Excessively sweet or fatty foods as well as hot foods can easily cause vomiting.

2. Acidic fruits, hard candies and sour pickles can relieve nausea

3. Avoid strong sunlight, noisy noises, and strong smells (such as perfume or vomitus of other patients).

4. Watching TV, listening to music, talking about topics that interest the patient, or even playing chess can help distract the patient and reduce nausea and vomiting.

5. During the intervals between treatments, patients are encouraged to take a walk outdoors, breathe fresh air, and do appropriate exercises, such as qigong.

6. When talking with patients, do not exaggerate the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, so as not to increase the psychological burden.

7. When the patient has nausea and vomiting, he should take a short rest. When the vomiting is severe, he should not eat temporarily. After each vomiting, rinse the mouth with liquid that the patient likes. After the vomiting stops, he should gradually resume eating, starting with soup.

8. Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy drugs can also be prevented and treated with medication.

9. Since the scalp is very sensitive after hair loss, you should not use irritating soaps and shampoos during chemotherapy, cut your hair short, do not dye or perm your hair, and do not use a hair dryer with a high temperature. Hair loss is only a temporary phenomenon. After the treatment, the hair will grow back and may grow thicker and denser than before chemotherapy.

10. Keep your mouth clean and develop the habit of brushing your teeth in the morning and evening and rinsing your mouth after meals. During treatment, use a soft toothbrush, do not use toothpicks to pick your teeth, do not eat hot, rough, prickly or irritating foods, and avoid causing minor injuries to your oral cavity.

11. Do not eat food that is too hot, as high-temperature food accelerates intestinal peristalsis and worsens diarrhea. Eat less sweets and fiber-rich foods to avoid excessive gas production and abdominal pain and bloating. Drink more water, usually boiled water or light tea, and avoid coffee, strong tea, and alcohol. At the same time, eat more potassium-rich foods, such as potatoes, oranges, peaches, apricots, etc.

12. Patients should cooperate to avoid changing the needle position and causing drug leakage. During intravenous chemotherapy and after needle removal, local hot compress is prohibited to prevent drug extravasation and local tissue necrosis. For elderly patients with poor vascular elasticity, the needle hole should close more slowly after venous puncture, and the compression time should be longer after the needle is removed to reduce the chance of drug extravasation. Once it is found that the drug has leaked out of the blood vessel, or pain or burning sensation occurs, medical staff should be asked to handle it immediately: stop injecting the drug immediately, apply ice packs to the local area or seal it to prevent drug diffusion.

Warm reminder: Cancer patients will always experience some side effects during chemotherapy, so post-chemotherapy care is very important and can help patients relieve a lot of pain.