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Dryness Solutions for Cancer, Radiation, Chemo


Dehydration has many causes and resulting symptoms. 

Managing proper hydration is essential when going through chemo, radiation and cancer in general. Drinking water is one of the most important tools to help soothe nausea and body and skin irritations. Nevertheless, given, fatigue, taste changes, 'metal mouth', staying hydrated can be an uphill battle. These products were repeatedly recommended by patients to soothe the many side-effects of dryness and avoid it in the first place.

PUR Xylitol Mints

The Benefits of Xylitol are many. Essentially, It's a simple and effective superhero for the mouth.

Where to start... Xylitol is a natural sugar-alcohol (diabetics can have these mints). It is a great sugar substitute that is not artificial. 

Xylitol acts like a Trojan horse for oral bacteria which confuses it for its regular food, sugar. Happily, bacteria is not able to digest this type of sugar. So when it is eaten, bacteria starves and is killed off. This brings the pH (the acidity level) of the mouth to a more neutral environment helping to prevent cavities (which are caused by acidity). 

Xylitol also increases saliva flow which helps with dry-mouth. Saliva exposes teeth to healing minerals helping the mouth to naturally prevent and re-calcify current potential cavities. You will notice that your teeth feel smoother after enjoying a mint. Xylitol is recommended by Hygienists and Dentists. 

Peppermint, in addition, naturally slows digestion down which can soothe the stomach when upset, calms nausea and cools the body internally.

*Note: Xylitol is a naturally mild diarrhetic in higher doses, so experiment and start off slow.

20 mints, 22g, .8oz.

Un-scented Lotion

Skin dries during chemo and radiation. An un-scented cream like TRUE was surprisingly hard to find in travel sized packaging. It took a while to find a basic, great value cream that absorbs well, is not oily feeling, lasts on the skin and does not trigger nausea due to scent-sensitivity. The TRUE line is sold by a fellow Canadian, Calgary based company that we are happy to work with. Also paraban-free.

30ml, 1oz.

Cuticle Oil

Nails and cuticles can be severely damaged by chemo treatments. Adding frequent hand washing to prevent cross-contamination makes it worse. The 'Solar' nail oil we chose comes highly recommended and is easily transportable and dispensable with a mini applicator brush included in the little bottle. Keep your nails stronger and healthier with this portable cuticle oil. *Note: We could not find an un-scented cuticle oil. 

3.7ml, .26oz.

Lip Balm

The Nivea lip balm we chose is not unscented but is less scented than the 10 other brands we tried. We are sourcing an unscented version. For now, this product does a great job not feeling oily and keeping lips hydrated. 4.8g.

Organic European Peppermint Tea

Peppermint is widely used for nausea management. "Some people find that peppermint helps with sickness. It is thought that it helps to slow down the gut". cancerresearchuk.org 

Peppermint has long been used to calm upset stomach and vomiting. The peppermint is also said to cool the body from the inside-out.

Buddha Teas are the brand we chose because of the Organic tea and the non-bleached bags. They use European Peppermint which boasts the mintiest peppermint that Buddha Teas could find. 

Organic Chamomile Tea

Natural sleeping aids are great to experiment with. If they work, great! Chamomile is one of those plant-of-many-tricks that is considered safe by medical professionals. From calming nerves and stomach, it has been used for centuries. Specifically, chamomile is a non-caffeinated, stress-relieving plant. It is also recommended to be used as a mouth rinse to swish with - helping relieve mouth sores. "By using the highest quality herbs, there is no need to include any artificial or natural flavoring. Enjoy your tea the way nature intended". Buddha Teas wrote this on the tea bags. Makes sense. The bags are unbleached as well which was something we went out of the way to find, cuz drinking chlorine sucks. 

Epsom - Bath Salt

Bath salts are essentially a combination of minerals (magnesium and sulfate mostly). The skin is our largest (external) organ and is very absorbent. Taking a bath in general is great for calming and may be enhanced by using epsom salts to help relaxation, reduce stress and inflammation. It has been used for treating aches and pains for generations. Soothe your irritated skin, calm the nerves and ready yourself for a good nights rest with these bath salts.  

46g. 1.2oz.

Flexible Straws

Most have travel water bottles so we chose not to include them in our chemo packages. Flexible straws are a convenient way to encourage sipping when you have difficulty moving. We prefer reusable versions but those require special and imperfect cleaning process (which is risky when the immune system is compromised). Disposable straws are a good temporary solution when the need specifically calls for something as critical as staying hydrated when mobility and cross-contamination are an issue. We are working on sourcing a compostable flexible neck alternative. Please write us if you see any.

Chemo Product How-To Guide


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