Cancer chemotherapy patients’ life care No. 20: Sore throat when eating

  1.Patients feel the inconvenience of “food obstructed from swallowing”, “sore throat when swallowing”, etc.  2.Cause When patients receive radiotherapy to the head, neck and chest, it causes mucositis in the esophagus, and at this time, if external stimuli appear, it causes sore throat.  The incidence of esophagitis increases with the number of radiotherapy sessions, and gradually heals in about 2~4 weeks after radiotherapy.  Before eating, take a mucosal protector. In case of severe pain, taking painkillers will reduce the pain when swallowing.  3.Living care 1) Avoid hard food and choose soft and gentle food instead.  To avoid irritating the mucosal inflammation area, try to choose some soft and gentle foods such as rice and porridge.  When cooking, find a way to cut hard vegetables or meat smaller and cook them more.  ”Easy-to-swallow meals” include steamed tea bowls, egg custard, eggs, frozen tofu, miso soup, corn soup, pumpkin soup, etc.  ”When your symptoms worsen and you can’t eat, try compressed jelly or liquid nutrition.  2) Eat less spices, too acidic or too salty foods.  Spices or seasonings may cause the pain to worsen, so eat lighter.