During radiation therapy, it is possible to shower if the skin is not broken. However, care should be taken not to wash the radiotherapy marker lines off the body, resulting in misalignment and affecting the smooth delivery of radiotherapy.
In addition, the following things need to be taken into account:
- For radiotherapy, you should choose cotton soft underwear, avoid rubbing by rough clothes, and keep your clothes loose, comfortable, warm, and easy to put on and take off.
- The skin in the radiotherapy area should be kept clean to prevent colds and flu, keep the skin dry, and not use items such as cool oil.
- If itchy and uncomfortable skin in the radiation field occurs, do not scratch and rub with your hands, as this will only aggravate the skin reaction.
- When bathing, use only warm water, which should not be too hot, avoid using alkaline detergents (such as soap, shower gel, etc.) as much as possible, and let the water gently rinse the radiotherapy site without rubbing.
- Acute radioactive skin reactions generally occur after 3 weeks of radiation therapy and should be avoided at this time.
- Do not put hot or cold objects (such as hot towels or ice packs) on the skin that is being treated with radiation.
- Do not rub anything on the radiotherapy site that is not approved by your doctor during and for 1 month after treatment, and avoid exposing the radiotherapy site to sunlight for 1 year.