Nose Bleeds for the past 2 weeks - 1260544

hain
Posts:113

Hello everyone,

My mom was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma NSCLC back in July 2013. Her mutation test came back EGFR positive and she was started on Gefitinib. Follow up scans showed that my mom's cancer was significantly reduced since starting Gefitinib. However, she has bone metastasis and the cancer in her T-spine/rib has remained stable.

For the past couple of weeks my mom has been experiencing nose bleeds. It is not runny, but only comes out when she blows her nose. Then there is dried up material (boogers) that remains inside her nose - picking it causes nose to bleed (but not actively runny, just blood comes out and stops). I'm not sure if it is because of the Gefitinib's side effect (I understand the product monograph indicated there is a 4% or so chance of getting nose bleeds). I just wanted to obtain some suggestions on what my mom could do or if there is really anything to be done on this matter. I tried contacting the hospital nurses but they don't work on weekends.

Here is what she is taking:
1. Gefitinib, 250mg
2. Vitamin D, 4000IU
3. Fish oil, 2g/day
4. Melatonin, 20mg/day
5. Juicing on Cruciferous veggies, carrots, beets, and apple, 500mL/day

Any advice would be extremely appreciated.
Kind regards,
William Nguyen

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Reply # - November 16, 2013, 02:14 PM

catdander
Posts:

It's always good to check with the doctors' and team. Rinsing the nasal passages may be helpful.

In discussing allergies Mayo Clinic suggests, "Rinsing your nasal passages with distilled, sterile saline solution (nasal irrigation) is a quick, inexpensive and very effective way to relieve nasal congestion. Rinsing directly flushes out mucus and allergens from your nose. Look for a squeeze bottle or a neti pot — a small container with a spout designed for nasal rinsing — at your pharmacy or health food store. Use water that's distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to make up the saline irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with similarly distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered water and leave open to air-dry." http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-allergies/AA00060/NSECTIONGRO…

Janine

Reply # - November 16, 2013, 05:22 PM

Dr West
Posts: 4735

Nasal irritation is pretty common on EGFR inhibitors. Keeping the inside off the nose moist is probably the most important factor, but many people just manage this as a chronic issue.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

Reply # - November 17, 2013, 06:45 AM

amd5
Posts: 16

Your mom might want to try using "Ayr Saline Nasal Gel," which was recommended to me by my Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. A 0.5 ounce tube retails OTC for about $3 and lasts for several months. If you check out the reviews for this product on Amazon.com, it rates 4.5/5.0.

For me, the Ayr nasal gel helps to significantly alleviate my symptoms but I still have problems (probably due to taking Avastin, which is well known to cause nose bleeds).

Reply # - November 17, 2013, 08:04 AM

hain
Posts: 113

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your replies. I'm glad to hear that this issue is not concerning and is simply a chronic problem often associated with using an EGFR inhibitor. We will look into obtaining the Ayr Saline Nasal Gel and hopefully that would help. My mom has already tried Salinex, which is a saline nose spray and found some help, however, she explains that using vasaline inside her nose was more helpful. It sounds like the Ayr Saline Nasal Gel is a combination of vasaline and saline nose spray so hopefully that would prove to be more beneficial.

Kind regards,
William

Reply # - November 17, 2013, 01:12 PM

hain
Posts: 113

Hello amd5,

Good call and thank you for your suggestion! I've told my mom to stop using vasaline in her nose and will look into the product you recommended.

Kind regards,
William

Reply # - November 18, 2013, 08:00 AM

sherrys
Posts: 212

My dad had quite a few problems with his nose being dry, etc. His oncologist recommended KY Gel. We bought him the store brand (mainly because he was convinced the store brand wouldn't be used for the "other" reason KY is used lol) and it worked well for him.

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