Tips to Prepare Your Home for Chemotherapy Patients

Dr.Parveen Jain, 3 mins read

Chemotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for cancer patients. It eases your symptoms by killing cancerous cells. However, these drugs also affect healthy red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, and white blood cells (WBCs), which help us fight infections and diseases. This weakens your immune system, making you vulnerable to getting sick.

Chemotherapy also affects healthy cells found in the skin, hair follicles, mouth, stomach, intestines, reproductive organs, kidneys, and bladder. This damage can cause side effects like hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, weakness, dry/itchy skin or diarrhoea/constipation.

Your immune system will improve after you finish the treatment. In the meantime, be more cautious about your health by keeping your home and surroundings clean. Here, we will discuss tips to prepare your home while undergoing chemotherapy.

Ensure personal hygiene

Wash your hands: The first and foremost step is to wash your hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds. Use regular soap and running water. A sanitiser with 60% alcohol is the next best option, especially while travelling. Ask other people around you to follow the same.

Bathe regularly: Use soap and water to bathe regularly. Brush your teeth twice a day.

Stay away from sick people: As you are more prone to getting sick, avoid getting within 6 feet of an ill individual. If anyone is sick in your home, ask them to separate their room and basic hygiene-related items like a bathroom.

Prepare your home: Keep a face mask handy
Wear a face mask when someone in your home is sick and when you go out. If you have a visitor, ask them to wear a mask.

Disinfect frequently touched areas: Hire a maid or get help from a family member to disinfect the frequently touched areas and objects with disinfecting agents. These may include your phone, countertops, tables, refrigerator, toilets, etc. Also, keep sanitising wipes handy whenever you go in public areas. If you are cleaning on your own, use gloves.

You might be sensitive to the strong odour of cleaning agents while on chemotherapy. So, open doors and windows while cleaning.

Note: Remember some pointers for the first 2-3 days of a chemotherapy session. For example, flush the toilet twice after use, clean the toilet seat if you pee on it using a glove and disinfect the area if you vomit. This is because chemo drugs can come out of your body, which can bother your or someone’s skin.

Be cautious about pets: It’s good to have a company of pets, especially when you need emotional support during chemotherapy. But talk to your doctors to take a few measures. For example, your healthcare provider may ask you to avoid playing with pets that scratch or bite. Also, don’t allow them to lick you. Additionally, ensure their hygiene by keeping them inside and trimming their nails periodically.

Try to avoid any injury: Injuries like cuts, scraps and burns can get infected. You can make some changes to this. For example, remove slippery rugs from home, put a non-slip bath mat and use an electric shaver instead of a razor.