Oral Thrush treatment

Hi, My husband is partway through his chemotherapy plan (on Docetaxel).  He has had several bouts of unpleasant oral thrush, for which he uses Nystan.  I gather this is quite common with chemotherapy generally.  We’ve found several mentions of the beneficial effects of a salt, bicarb or diluted lemon water rinse after meals to complement the Nystan in medical sites on the internet and are wondering whether there would be anything against him trying them.  Kind regards.

  • Hello and thanks for your enquiry,

    I am sorry to hear of this mouth issue. Some people are more prone to developing oral thrush during cancer treatment.

    Do speak with the hospital team. There is usually specific mouthwashes that they recommend to use such as corsodyl mouthwash for example.

    We do have a website section on mouth problems and mouth care which may be useful to read.

    I hope that you get more help with this soon,

    Best wishes,

    Vanda

  • Hi Vanda, thank you for your reply and link to mouthcare information.  Unfortunately his chemo team hasn’t been all that helpful as regards the thrush.  Their only answer seems to be Nystan, which doesn’t seem to be helping much.  They’re reluctant to prescribe any more Fluconazole due to side effects, and are very much against use of the Corsodyl mouthwash for some unknown reason.  However, he’s just seen his dentist, who also recommended a salt/bicarb mouthwash so has started trying that.

    Best wishes, Hazel