Managing Oral Mucositis
New treatments for managing oral mucositis (OM) are on the horizon. Today,
however, treatment options mainly are limited to excellent oral care and managing
pain with medical and nonmedical strategies.1,2
Maintaining good oral care before and during cancer therapy is very important
to helping manage OM. Besides the things you can do at home to take good care
of your mouth, your health care team will follow treatment guidelines to
help keep your mouth healthy.1 These guidelines may include:
- Checking your mouth’s status frequently during your cancer therapy
to address OM right away if it occurs3
- Prescribing appropriate medications to help ease OM discomfort3
- Recommending nonmedical strategies, like meditation or relaxation exercises,
for coping with OM pain3
Learn more about what you and your health care team can do to manage OM by
visiting the following pages in this section:
References
- Schubert M. Oral Mucositis in Cancer Patients. Oncology Special Edition 2004;
7:51-5.
- Peterson DE, Cariello A. Mucosal damage: a major risk factor for severe
complications after cytotoxic therapy. Semin Oncol 2004; 31:35-44.
- Epstein JB, Schubert MM. Managing pain in mucositis. Semin Oncol Nurs 2004;
20:30-7.
