Overcoming Dry Mouth Caused By Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is often the only method for treating the disease known as cancer. The introduction of radiation into the body, however, can have a brutal effect on it. One of the odd, yet difficult to deal with side effects, is extreme dry mouth.
Extreme dry mouth causes by radiation treatments for cancer is known as Xerostomia. It may sound like an inconsequential thing, but it is not. Xerostomia is actually a huge problem because of a simple fact. A person with dry mouth rarely eats. Why? They can’t get the food down. The lack of food then leads to a nutrient deficiency and the body suffers more because it can’t recover and often dehydrates.
Let’s try a quick test so you can understand the problem. Go to your kitchen and find one piece of bread. Yes, just one. Don’t put anything on it. Now try to eat it. Don’t wad it up or any such thing. Just try chewing and don’t drink anything! Can you get it down? Probably, but just barely!
Saliva is a huge part of the eating process. Without it, people don’t eat. Even chewing gum or drinking fluids provides only momentary relief. Doctors have long tried to find a solution to this problem. They’ve now found one in an odd place – Eastern Medicine.
Researchers at the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center conducted a number of studies dealing with the problem of Xerostomia. They found one technique that seems to work – acupuncture. A cancer patient suffering from Xerostomia that received acupuncture treatments twice a week was found to have marked physical improvement as well as quality of life. Dry mouth was improved and the patients reported increased quality of life.
The study consisted of a relatively small group of 19 patients. Still, the results were encouraging. The researchers are now undertaking studies on larger numbers of patients. They are also looking to see if acupuncture can not only help with Xerostomia after chemotherapy, but help prevent it by undergoing treatments before the chemo is done.
Chemotherapy is effective at killing off cancer, but it comes with a high price tag. Acupuncture appears to be one way to lower that price tag, at least as it relates the extreme dry mouth that can occur with radiation treatments.
Thomas Ajava writes for AlternativeHealthCompanies.com – where you can read more acupuncture articles packed with information.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/overcoming-dry-mouth-caused-by-chemotherapy-1100519.html
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