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August, 2007 ~ Summer
Fun:
Skincare Tips for Kids with Cancer
Since its summer, everyone is outside a lot more than when school is
in, which means more time in the sun, which means sunburn and
chemotherapy is notorious for making people’s skin freak out on its
own.
Throughout
my treatment my skin did everything from peeled, to turned red and
bumpy, to got blisters. It got to the point where I would wake up
thinking, “Hmmmm. Wonder what my skin’s going to look like today?”
Since I didn’t have the greatest experience with my skin, I found
tons of things that worked, and unfortunately, even more things that
didn’t work at all. The most common forms of skin problems are
Itchiness, changes in skin tones (the wonderful colors of tan,
yellow and red come to mind), peeling like a sunburn, dryness,
increased oiliness, sensitivity to some skin products, sensitivity
to sunlight, and bruising.
Fun stuff, right? Your skin is an organ just like your lungs or
heart, there’s a purpose for it. Your skin is a barrier for a lot of
bacteria and other stuff that makes you sick outside of your body.
Since you don’t have a normal immune system when you’re on chemo,
you don’t have the defense against getting sick that most people
have; your skin becomes one of your biggest defenses against
illness. One of the easiest things to do is to clean regularly;
whether it means taking a bath/shower, or just cleaning yourself
with a washcloth- do whatever you have to do to stay clean. Staying
clean is important because a lot of bacteria, like staph (an
infection that is notorious for infecting lines), lives on the skin;
by washing, you can actually reduce your chance of an infection. I
know no one likes to wash when they’re on chemo because it actually
becomes a chore to get up from your bed. Some of the biggest fights
my mom and I had were over taking showers when I was on chemo,
because every time I got up, I would vomit, my blood pressure would
drop, and I would just feel horrible. I had a whole lot of trouble
standing up in the shower because of how weak I was, so my parents
got me a shower chair, which helped A LOT. Apparently this is a
pretty common problem, so ask your parents to get you a shower chair
for the shower so you can sit down and bathe. Even though it’s
sometimes a huge struggle, you have to admit that you feel a whole
lot better after you take that shower though.
Most of the infections you’re going to get aren’t going to be
preventable, but if you get an infection that’s from not taking a
shower, like that staph infection, you’re going to be kicking
yourself. I’ve found that Aveeno ® Active Naturals Skin Relief Body
Wash is awesome, not only is it going to moisturize your skin and
exfoliate it, its going to clean it really good. For guys, they
really only make scented body washes for you, not exfoliating ones,
so in your case I would recommend something that’s not too strong
smelling, because FRAGRANCE IS GOING TO IRRITATE YOUR SKIN. Stay
away from fragrance as best you can, because it’s just going to make
you itch and possibly cause an even worse reaction.
Another thing that’s really important is protecting yourself from
the sun because the chemo makes you really sensitive to UV light. If
you get a sun burn while you’re on chemo, it’s not going to be a
regular sun burn, its going to be 1000 times worse. The sun is
brightest between 10am and 2pm everyday, so try to avoid sun
exposure during that time of the day. One time I got a sunburn on my
arms on the third layer of skin while I was on Septra- an antibiotic
they use A LOT. The sun didn’t do anything to the top two layers of
skin, but severely burned the third layer. Wanna talk about “OUCH?”
Not only did it take about a month for the skin on my arms to get
back to normal, but I wasn’t even outside when it happened. I was
riding back from Duke University in the car, while it was overcast
outside at about 4pm. The UV rays from the sun, that wasn’t even
out, were enough to come through the windshield and burn me; imagine
what it would have been like if I had been outside on a sunny day.
That’s still not the worst part about it though; my doctors at Duke
weren’t sure if it was a drug reaction or a reaction to going down
on the steroids for my bone marrow transplant, so they had to assume
it was from the bone marrow transplant and go back up on the
steroids, further delaying my treatment. It’s so simple to put on
sunscreen before you go outside, that it’s crazy NOT to do it and
save yourself from a REALLY bad sunburn. Now, I hate sunscreen- its
oily and it smells bad most of the time- but its 2007- there’s a lot
of sunscreens out there that are for daily use and aren’t oily that
you put on like lotion. Neutrogena ® Ultra Sheer Dry- Touch sun
block is great for everyday use; its not oily, its SPF 45 so even
the most fair people wont burn, it doesn’t go on really thick, and
it doesn’t have a smell to it so you don’t get nauseated. For boys,
Skin Effects ® Sunscreen Lotion SPF 45 is a great one for you; it
has no smell, isn’t greasy, and doesn’t come in a frou-frou bottle
or anything. Those are just tips for general prevention of skin
problems.
Now, how to treat the problems themselves. Itchiness- Oh My Gosh,
itching is possibly the most annoying feeling ever; when I was on
chemo I would actually scratch my skin raw because I itched so much.
Constantly put on lotion, most of your itchiness is going to be due
to dry skin, lotion should make it better for whatever kind of
itching it is; keep some Benadryl ® with you, Benadryl is going to
help get rid of most of that itching, be careful though, because
Benadryl DOES make some people really sleepy; and rub dry corn
starch onto the areas that are itching, you might feel pretty
stupid, but who cares if you’re not itching anymore?
For the changes in skin tone I would recommend taking Benadryl for
the redness; be weary if you’re skin is looking really yellow, that
might mean that you’re jaundice (jaundice comes around when your
liver isn’t working properly) and you need to call your doctor so
they can run some tests- tons of the meds you’re on and the chemo,
which remember, IS A POISON, can mess with your liver. For peeling,
putting on lotion is going to be best; you’re going to have to sit
back and wait for it to finish peeling, and I promise it will
eventually quit.
Dryness is again, going to take lots of lotion and scrubbing off the
dead skin in the shower with a loufa or a washcloth and body wash is
going to help too; just don’t scrub too hard because that’s going to
irritate your skin more. From always applying lotion and sunscreen
you’re going to feel pretty oily, so washing is going to help that.
Like I said earlier, you don’t want something with a lot of
fragrance in it because fragrance = chemicals. And the fewer
chemicals you expose yourself to, the better your skin is going to
take it. I know us girls like to go to Bath and Body Works and raid
the store of every product they sell in our favorite scent, but
you’re going to want to refrain from that during chemo because its
more than likely going to make your skin worse. Same goes for guys,
we KNOW ya’ll like Axe because you usually spray entirely too much
and suffocate everyone in the room…don’t do that while you’re on
chemo, or your skin’s going to make you pay.
I hope my tips help you keep your skin in check while you’re on
chemo, and believe me, doing any little bit for your skin helps it
lot. You don’t only have to be on chemo to use these tips though;
you’ll more than likely experience almost everyone of these skin
problems years after your cancer is long gone, I still use these
tips to help my skin. Of course it’s going to be a pain in the butt,
but look at it this way- you’re going to have great skin when you’re
old now!
In next month’s issue: Back to School tips
Email Kristin at:
CCKristensKorner@yahoo.com |
