Radiation enteropathy; Radiation-induced small bowel injury; Post-radiation enteritis

Starting a low-fiber diet on the first day of radiation treatment can be helpful.

Avoiding the following foods may help with symptoms:

• Alcohol and tobacco
• Almost all milk products
• Coffee, tea, chocolate, and soda drinks with caffeine
• Foods containing whole bran
• Fresh and dried fruits
• Fried, greasy, or fatty foods
• Nuts and seeds
• Popcorn, potato chips, and pretzels
• Raw vegetables
• Rich pastries and baked goods
• Some fruit juices
• Strong spices

Foods and drinks that are better choices include:

• Apple or grape juice
• Applesauce, peeled apples, and bananas
• Eggs, buttermilk, and yogurt
• Fish, poultry, and meat that has been broiled or roasted
• Mild, cooked vegetables such as asparagus tips, green or black beans, carrots, spinach, and squash
• Potatoes that have been baked, boiled, or mashed
• Processed cheeses, such as American cheese
• Smooth peanut butter
• White bread, macaroni, or noodles

Other ways to control the symptoms of radiation enteritis include:

• Eat foods at room temperature
• Eat small meals more often

Your doctor may suggest or prescribe certain medications:

• Drugs that help decrease diarrhea, such as loperamide
• Pain medications
• Steroid foam that coats the lining of the rectum
• Special enzymes to replace enzymes from the pancreas

Drink plenty of fluids (up to 12 8-ounce glasses) every day when you have diarrhea. Some people need fluids given through a vein (intravenous fluids).

Your health care provider may choose to stop or reduce the dosage of radiation for a short period of time.

There often are no good treatments for chronic radiation enteritis. Your doctor may discuss surgery to either remove or go around (bypass) a section of damaged intestine.

When the abdomen receives radiation, there is always some nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In most cases, the symptoms get better 2 - 3 weeks after treatment ends.

However, when this condition develops, symptoms may last for a long period of time. Long-term (chronic) enteritis is rarely curable.

• Bleeding and anemia
• Dehydration
• Malabsorption
• Malnutrition
• Weight loss

Call your health care provider if you are undergoing radiation therapy or have had radiation in the past and are experiencing a lot of diarrhea or stomach pain and cramping.

Images

Digestive system organs

Review Date: 07/22/2010
Reviewed By: Jennifer K. Mannheim, ARNP, Medical Staff, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Seattle Children's Hospital; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)