Dry mouth and painful lips. (2025)

Zoffiel Member Posts: 3,374 ✭

Liquid coconut oil can help. It's expensive and a bit gross but if you roll a teaspoon full around your mouth and spit it out that might help. Or you can swallow it, it's good for you. Soda water was my drink of choice and makes a good mouthwash as the bubbles help fizz all the crud off your tongue. Mxx

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Finch Member Posts: 302 ✭

Anything ginger ... Ginger tea, ginger gummy bears, crystallised ginger.
I ate vegemite with everything . I loved the saltiness .
Good luck ! It's what I remember most of all about chemo. The desperate nastiness of my mouth . Xx

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I used the artificial gel saliva, and kept it in my handbag, it worked temporarily, but the dry mouth was one ofthe most awful side-effect from chemo, I hated it.....

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kmakm Member Posts: 7,974 ✭

Get fresh pineapple, cut it up and portion it out. Freeze it. Only thing that really helped my mouth during chemo. Something to do with the enzymes. K xox

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kezmusc Member Posts: 1,553 ✭

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Thank you ladies !!! Just sitting making loads of notes on recommendations/suggestions. I found if I slowly suck on jelly snakes it eases the mouth pain, but I think I've already eaten body weight of them and ohh the sugar overload!! And of course its only temporary....as soon as it disappears the little drying team makes a dash around my teeth and gums!! My toothpaste does nothing so may change direction there. I will speak with Oncology team - I am a victim of cold sores so it is an avenue to consider. I truly thank you all xxx

@scorpio101 - have you tried the biotene spray and mouthwash? My dentist also gave me this gel for dry mouth that you can only get from dentists.

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Mouth wise when I finally followed the advice of my nurse to use bicarb rinses/gargle the metallic taste went. Lip balm I’m between pawpaw ointment and another new one my 17 yo swears by that I bought at Mecca

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Sister Member Posts: 4,961 ✭

Lemon in mineral water, crown mints... Some things started off okay but I list the taste for them as time went on. By the end all I could really taste was the basic sweet, bitter or salty - no actual flavour . My favourite meal during chemo was fettucine with lightly sauteed chopped cherry tomatoes and black olives in oil and garlic, topped with basil pesto. The pasta satisfied my need for carbs, and the other flavours were strong enough to override the chemo mouth for most of treatment. I did use Biotene mouthwash the whole time. I got oral thrush once and it caused more problems with taste. Check your tongue - if you're developing a thick white coating it's probably thrush which can be easily treated.

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Hi @Scorpio101 - I hear you loud and clear! I’m half way through chemo and my mouth is where the majority of my side effects are having their little party. At first I ate everything I could get my hands on - I was craving flavour. Vegemite toast was excellent as was orange juice - but I simply couldn’t keep eating so much. I switched from juice to oranges and still find fruit to be really helpful. Tap water is also an issue and although I hate the thought of buying bottled water, to stay hydrated I’ve had to compromise my bit for the environment. Right now I’m finding that flavoured mineral water helps a bit.
I tried biotene but couldn’t stand the taste. Others swear by it though, so definitely give it a try. Xxx

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Hi there @Eastmum ...tap water for me was also blerrrggghhh...however very cold tap water with a dash of Bickford's Lime Cordial made all the difference. The sourness and cold made it actually quite pleasant for me. For my lips I used good old Vaseline.xoxo

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@AllyJay - OMG how could I forget?? (Well, quite easily as I’m on chemo LOL). Up until about 2 weeks ago I was GUZZLING iced water with Bickford’s lime cordial - actually I combined a dash of the lime with a dash of the lemon barley. Then I realised that the ‘dash’ was turning into quite a bit more and I found myself going through a bottle of each in just over a week! I’ve gone back to the dash because of all the sugar, but it’s so delicious!

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I like the Bickfords Range of cordials, just havent bought them for a while....on my shopping list! Nurses suggested Biotene and its pleasant enough for me to try it. On tank water and hate town water, so that not an issue but Ive never been a fan of ice cold fluids....throw a bit of ice in room temperature I can cope with but straight from the fridge it sits to get rid of the chill. Strange I know. Tried the vegemite but unfortunately despite the ads we cant live on it...:) Thanks again for suggestions and advice..I will overcome!!!! And best of luck to you all...hugs