When patients develop oral inflammation from chemotherapy, most experts turn to cryotherapy. However, ice cream might be an easier, more pleasant solution for patients.
And although chemotherapy drugs are effective at thwarting cancer, they’re not always a precise tool. Chemotherapy can also damage healthy tissues, causing a myriad of unpleasant side effects. One of which, is oral inflammation. And researchers are looking into solving this uncomfortable problem with a simple, sweet solution.Cells in the mouth and the digestive track are particularly vulnerable to chemotherapy-induced oral inflammation.
One way to battle oral inflammation is through cryotherapy. In this process, doctors apply extreme cold to a patient’s mouth during chemotherapy sessions. While cryotherapy can relieve the inflammation, it comes with its own problems and can be just as uncomfortable as oral inflammation. That’s why researchers and oncologists have been on the hunt for alternatives.
“The protocol used in our study is simple, easy to implement, cost-efficient, and less burdensome for the patients,” the authors conclude in the study.