Flamazine

Hi Claire

I've not started my treatment yet so I will leave the others to answer your question about Flamazine.

BUT ... Congratulations on completing your treatment! I'm sure it will be 100% effective.

Congratulations on finishing treatment!

I used Flamazine with no dressing on top however it was a little too strong for me.   My local District Nurses came to visit after treatment and advised me to mix Flamazine with a moisturiser called FiftyFifty available from Lloyds Pharmacy and this worked well for me.

Hope you have good success, I'm 2 years post treatment!

Hi,

Firstly huge congratulations on completing your treatment, did you get the chance to ring the bell on the way out of your last session? 

I was prescribed flamazine when I completed my treatment but never had the need for dressings so I just slathered it on at every opportunity, after the loo, bath & bedtime etc., it was put on repeat prescription for me with the letter the hospital give you for your GP so I ordered plenty! I suppose it depends on how badly your skin is broken regarding the dressings, mine didn’t break down until the 2 weeks following treatment but even then it wasn’t terrible just a bit stingy. 

Hope this helps a little & congratulations again. 

Nicola x

Hi Nicola

Im into my first week post treatment now. 

Ive actually never used the creams properly as I always found they would sting when applied.

I too have the skin around the groin breaking down now with some skin loss.  Is it of great benefit to use the creams?

I have E45 , an intrasite gel and Flamigel.

Cheers 

Ian x

Cream it and leave it, I found it gave excellent relief, well done for getting through treatment

Hi Ian,

I was always encouraged by my radiotherapy team to use the creams throughout, which I did & although I was sore & had some broken skin after treatment had finished it wasn’t until then that my skin began breaking down & to be honest I wasn’t too bad compared to some plus my treatment was 5 sessions shorter than the standard! I used the flamazine after treatment had finished but found it quite harsh to begin with & it stung a bit so was advised to mix it with a little aqueous cream which did the trick. I still use aqueous cream to wash with now 12 months on from the end of treatment it keeps the new skin soft & anything else tends to sting a little. The best thing for me once my skin was broken was Epsom Salt baths I found these really soothing.

Hope that helps a little.

Nicola 

Hi Nicola

I tried the Epsom salts but they stung like crazy.

I guess E45 cream is the equivalent of aqueous cream yeah?

I have tried a branded gel called "Flamigel" today. It stings to begin with but seems to settle and help a little. 

Biggest issue for me is the original wound still weeps like crazy. I was told it's quite common.  It's complicates things alot though. Hard to keep the area clean and dry and creamed. 

Ian x

Hi Ian,

Yeah I think the aqueous is a similar kind of thing to E45 although a lot, lot cheaper because it’s not branded I presume. Have you tried washing with the aqueous/E45? I found doing this kept the burnt skin moisturised as it leaves like a film behind when used instead of a soap which can be quite drying but it also helped when new skin was forming as it kept everything soft & well moisturised. As you’ll have found out washing & drying the area becomes an art form towards the end & just after treatment has finished, I was having around 3 salt baths a day, if you can’t withstand the salt then oat baths are supposed to be very soothing! Just fill an old sock/tights with oats & tie around the tap while running the bath so that the water runs through the oats. As far as drying is concerned I wasn’t so badly effected that patting dry was too painful but if it is I’ve heard suggestion that drying with a hair dryer on a cool setting is more comfortable. The things we have to do eh? haha… without a good dose of humour I’m not sure how I’d have got through these last 18 months! 

I found like you that the burns creams stung a bit but it soon passed & if they help with the healing so be it.

Nicola