Magic mouthwash reduces pain of mouth sore due to radiation therapy: JAMA

Magic mouthwash, a combination of thee medicines significantly reduces the pain of mouth sore due to radiation therapy, finds a Clinical Trial.

Radiation can cause mouth sores because it kills rapidly growing cells and damages cells in the mouth leading to sores and infections. Moreover, radiation can impair the immune system of the body as a result of which virus, bacteria and fungi can more easily infect the mouth, causing mouth sores or making mouth sores worse.

According to a multi-institution, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III clinical trial, "Magic mouthwash," an oral rinse containing diphenhydramine, lidocaine, and antacids, significantly reduces pain from oral mucositis, mouth sores, in patients receiving radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck when compared to placebo. These findings of the trial have been published in JAMA.

"Our group published a study in 2012 showing that an oral rinse of doxepin reduced oral mucositis-related pain, compared to placebo," says Dr. Miller. "However, there were no large randomized controlled trials studying the potential benefits of magic mouthwash."

Dr. Miller and his colleagues studied 275 patients between November 2014 and May 2016. They found that pain related to oral mucositis was significantly less following both doxepin and magic mouthwash rinses versus placebo. They also found that both doxepin and magic mouthwash rinses were well-tolerated by patients.

"Radiation therapy may cause mouth sores because it is designed to kill rapidly growing cells, such as cancer cells," says co-author, Terence Sio, M.D., a Mayo Clinic radiation oncologist in Arizona. "Unfortunately, healthy cells in your mouth also divide and grow rapidly, and may be damaged during radiation therapy, which can cause discomfort. We're glad to have identified a proven method to help treat the discomfort of this side effect."