[Popular Science] Tips on Nasopharyngeal Cancer Prevention

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is not easy to be discovered in its early stage, and it is easy to be misdiagnosed even if you go to the hospital. The reason is that the primary site of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is hidden, the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are not fixed, the manifestations of patients vary greatly, and the lesions often invade the nasal cavity, sinuses, ears and skull base. Many patients often show symptoms similar to those of exudative otitis media, epistaxis, cervical lymph node tuberculosis, sinusitis, neuralgic headache, cervical lymphadenitis, orbital pseudoalgesia, trigeminal neuralgia, pulmonary tuberculosis, oculomotor nerve palsy, temporomandibular arthritis, parotid gland enlargement, glaucoma and other diseases, causing these nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients to visit neurology, cranial internal medicine, ophthalmology, etc., resulting in misdiagnosis of the disease.

So how to identify early nasopharyngeal carcinoma by characteristics:

1. Migraine

Migraines are often thought to be caused by cervical spondylosis, and they are usually intermittent pains. Patients often take some medicine and “fight it” and it goes away. They will not go to the hospital for examination until they have persistent and severe headaches, and then they have missed the best treatment period. Therefore, timely examinations are very important. When intermittent headaches occur, you can go to the hospital for a thorough cranial radiograph or CT scan.

2. Nosebleed

Generally speaking, nosebleeds caused by "getting angry" will not last too long. However, bleeding caused by nasopharyngeal cancer is continuous and recurrent, and it becomes more and more serious. If tinnitus, hearing loss and other conditions occur at this time, it is necessary to go to the hospital for a nasopharyngeal endoscopy examination, so as not to delay the best time for treatment.

3. Neck lumps

If we touch the neck at this time, we will find a lump, which is swollen lymph nodes in the neck. The reason is that the internal structure of the nose is very complicated, and the lymphatic vessels in the nose are everywhere, which will cause cancer cells to move to the place near the earlobe, thus forming a lump in the neck.

Through the above three points, we can effectively detect early nasopharyngeal cancer, so how to prevent nasopharyngeal cancer?

Nasopharyngeal cancer patients must do 5 things

Prevention of radiation-induced dental caries: Teeth should be cleaned regularly and dental caries should be removed before radiotherapy. During radiotherapy, mouthwash should be continued after meals and teeth should be brushed with fluoride-containing toothpaste. Patients can first apply toothpaste on their teeth and then brush their teeth after 2 to 3 minutes to increase the contact time between fluoride and teeth.

Protect the skin in the radiation area: The skin area receiving radiation therapy is prohibited from scratching, scrubbing with soap or other irritating liquids, and exposure to the sun. Patients are advised to wear loose cotton clothes. The lines of the radiation area should be clearly drawn, and ask the doctor to help add them if necessary.

Nasal irrigation: The patient sits down, leans forward slightly, and rinses with warm saline to keep the nasal cavity clean, reduce infection, and increase radiation sensitivity. Do not use too much force when rinsing, and observe the color of the rinsing solution. If there is a headache or bloody rinsing, stop rinsing immediately.

Functional exercise: Regularly perform neck rotation, teeth tapping, cheek puffing, smiling, mouth opening, etc. Patients with dry mouth can use pear slices in their mouths to relieve discomfort; patients with radiation pharyngitis can gargle with oral pharyngitis mixture before meals and before bedtime.

Strengthen selenium supplementation: The diet of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients should be light, nutritious, and easy to digest. They should eat small meals frequently and increase their intake of elemental selenium. It is best to maintain an intake of 300 micrograms a day. Selenium supplementation can enhance the patient's immunity, improve physical fitness, and improve the quality of life. At the same time, selenium supplementation can also activate the patient's immune system, effectively induce tumor apoptosis, inhibit tumor proliferation, and help patients strengthen control of tumors and avoid recurrence in the later stages.

Selenium can be supplemented through food, but the high temperature of cooking will cause most of the selenium in food to be lost. Therefore, food supplementation is not recommended. In addition to food supplements, patients can also choose some selenium supplements to strengthen the supplement. The selenium supplements on the market mainly include malt selenium and yeast selenium. For patients, malt selenium with relatively high conversion rate and utilization rate is more suitable. For selenium supplements that supplement malt selenium, it is recommended to choose the selenium supplement from Hengjian Selenium Weikan, which has the blue hat certification of the Food and Drug Administration, which will be more secure.

For nasopharyngeal cancer patients, attention should be paid to improving the working environment, washing hands and bathing frequently, changing clothes frequently, and wearing masks and other protective equipment when working. Also, attention should be paid to physical exercise, a proper diet, and improving one's resistance.