Rads burn peeling and seeping yellow/greenish snot looking stuff

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buccaneersdj
buccaneersdj Member Posts: 241
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I too had white spots near incision line a couple of days ago, I had hopes that the 3 day weekend would help. But since Thursday I woke up to peeling which is now raw skin. The rad tech had me stop with the Biofine and start on Silvadene. I was told to put it on thick and leave open to the air, yea right. Short of walking around Christmas weekend with no top on while we great all of our holiday visitors I find this impossible., I have very large breast and the lumpectomy incision is on the side upper breast near armpit and unless I walk around with my arm above my head it gets little air. Even when I lay down on my back; they only possition I can lay in anymore, my boob rolls under arm and lets no air in.  I have completed 23 rads with 14 more to go and have no idea how I can possibly hold up. I leave yellowish greenish slime on everything, my DH says he thinks it is the Silvadene mixed with old skin, I think it almost looks like an infection. Does anyone else have this? And how am I supposed to get this Silvadene off for rads, no way can I directly wash this area, rinsing is bad enough but it has the consistancy of lard! I am so disapointed I really thought that rads would be so easy, but I am in so much pain and no matter what I do to improve my skin it is just getting worse.

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  • Alyad
    Alyad Member Posts: 817
    edited December 2009

    I am sorry you are in so much pain! my skin turned black and grey and sloughed off slowly after rads in addition to the weeping oozing. I found silvadene not to be all that helpful. I got some vitamin E /emu oil mixture- I'm not sure it was very helpful but it was less gross than the silvadene cream for me. Your rads onc might prescribe a break in your rads to let you heal some before proceeding- my skin didn't really start to break down until the last week so this wasn't an issue for me- I'm not sure if I would want to do this or not (take a break)- I'd want to just get it over with. Good luck.

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  • lexislove
    lexislove Member Posts: 2,645
    edited December 2009

    It sounds like you may have a bit of an infection. Green/yellow snot color stuff....

    I would let your rad onc know and they may decide on a little break. I did not have an infection, but the week after I finished rads I was peeling a raw. I tried creams they didnt soothe at all. The only thing that helped was cold tea bags....believe it or not.

    I would soak about 4-6 bags and place them on the areas that were worse. Took the burn feeling away.

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  • leslie43
    leslie43 Member Posts: 29
    edited February 2010

    i peeled under boob - went a bit manky. showered twice daily and put split aloe leaf there for as long as i could (hour max). stopped putting doc-advised thick bandages there as and instead put thin gauze changing every hour to 5 hours as healed. wore loose cotton tops, nothing at night. had i kept doing what was told am sure i would still be in pain - my way was gone in just over a week (from worsening condition). didnt use any of the crap docs gave me after the silicone stuff only made it worse...

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited February 2010

    This will be gross.  Take some of the yellow green snot on a Qtip and pour Hydrogen Peroxide on the Qtip.  If it bubbles you have an infection.  You need to check with your PCP if it bubbles. 

    I got a post operative infection and the surgeon flushed my boob with Hydrogen Peroxide.  It killed almost all the bacteria but I still had to take IV antibiotics for four days. 

    I hope it is just nasty old skin.

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  • MarieKelly
    MarieKelly Member Posts: 591
    edited February 2010

    notself,

    Hydrogen peroxide will bubble when poured on a wound or drainage from a wound whether or not there is an infection present. The chemical reaction that makes it bubble has nothing at all to do with an infection. It will bubble up on a slice of potatoe too as well as numerous other things that aren't even body tissue and aren't infected with anything... Try it, you'll see.

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited February 2010

    Hang i there Marie..Betsy from Sept. 09 rads and CC baby from Sept. 09 rads I believe have had this..Betsy has had about every SE there is..they will be on here soon..

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  • echosalvaje
    echosalvaje Member Posts: 191
    edited February 2010

    MarieKelly is right, hydrogen peroxide will bubble on ANYTHING. I had bi-lat mast so there was no breast hanging around getting in the way but the whole area that was radiated did start bubbling off into a seeping mess. And yes, it was terribly painful.

    Do you have any vicoden or percoset hanging around from surgery? My rads onc told me to use that for pain. Laying in a position so that air can get to it really does help. I would walk around the house all day without a shirt with my arm up in the air, ( would have been considered BIDDING at an auction house ).  I would also spend a fair amount of time in the shower letting warm water run over the tissue to flush out the dead skin. Debriding (dead skin removal) is how burn victims are treated. That's why it's such a long and painful process. The silvadene did work for me when I put it on after the shower and patting dry. Airing out before the silvadene is key.

    I can tell you that after about two weeks from the end of my rads, you could hardly tell that the area had been such a mess. I am sorry you are having to go thru this misery.  It just doesn't seem fair, eh? But, after all we've been through you will come out the other side wiser and stronger than you ever thought. Hang in there girl.

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited February 2010

    There is a difference between bubbling on potatoes and on infection.  The bubbles on infective bacteria are smaller and more closely pact.  Hydrogen Peroxide bubbles on tissue and on blood but the bubbles are larger. 

    Peroxide does not bubble on all infectious bacteria, just on those that are hydrolase positive.  If the bacteria is staff or pseudomonas, the bubbles will be very dense and small.

    Back in the dark ages when I was a microbiology major in college, hydrogen peroxide was used as an initial differentiation between unknown bacteria.  It is still an easy way to spot an invection.

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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited March 2010

    Hi-- I finished radiation Aug 14, 2009, and my skin was red, raw, peeling faster than healing, and it will do that as you're getting sunburned basically at a higher level.   I had to get a break from radiation because of this, and had AQUAPHOR put on----this is a vaseline based ointment to promote healing on the raw skin.  My new skin was coming in faster than the old skin could keep up, but the green snotty stuff sounds like infection--call your radiation oncologist and see what they have to say.  I wouldn't play around with it as your immune system will be down for about a year after diagnosis--at least that's my doctors told me.  You can't afford an infection now with a compromised immune system.,  Take care and keep us posted

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