I've heard that "magic mouthwash" might help with mouth sores from chemotherapy. What is it?

Answer From Karthik Giridhar, M.D.

Magic mouthwash is the term given to a solution used to treat mouth sores caused by some forms of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Mouth sores (oral mucositis) can be extremely painful and can result in an inability to eat, speak or swallow.

Magic mouthwash doesn't have a standard formula, but it usually contains at least three of these basic ingredients:

  • An antihistamine or anticholinergic agent, which may help relieve pain
  • A local anesthetic to reduce pain and discomfort
  • An antacid that helps ensure the other ingredients adequately coat the inside of your mouth
  • An antifungal to reduce fungal growth
  • A corticosteroid to treat inflammation
  • An antibiotic to kill bacteria around the sore

Most formulations of magic mouthwash are intended to be used every four to six hours, and to be held in your mouth for one to two minutes before being either spit out or swallowed. It's recommended that you don't eat or drink for 30 minutes after using magic mouthwash so that the medicine has time to produce an effect.

Side effects of magic mouthwash may include problems with taste, a burning or tingling sensation in the mouth, drowsiness, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea.

Magic mouthwash may provide some relief, but it's unclear how effective it is. Studies of magic mouthwash have had conflicting results. Some have found no benefit. One recent study found that it was better at relieving pain than was a flavored water mouthwash for mouth sores in people receiving radiation to the head and neck.

Since there isn't a standard formula for the solution, it's hard to draw conclusions across the studies. Some medical organizations don't recommend magic mouthwash because there isn't enough evidence that it works.

There are several versions of magic mouthwash. Some are available in pre-measured kits that can be mixed together by pharmacists, while others are prepared to order by a pharmacist. If it's determined that magic mouthwash might be helpful, your doctor will write a prescription.

Talk with your doctor about your specific cancer treatments and which solutions for coping with mouth sores might be best for you.

With

Karthik Giridhar, M.D.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Nov. 18, 2023 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia
  2. Acute myelogenous leukemia
  3. Adjuvant therapy for cancer
  4. Anal cancer
  5. Atypical cells: Are they cancer?
  6. Beating Ovarian Cancer
  7. Biliary tract cancer: Should I get a second opinion?
  8. Biopsy procedures
  9. Bladder cancer
  10. Bladder Cancer
  11. What is bladder cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  12. Bladder cancer FAQs
  13. Bladder cancer treatment options
  14. Blood Cancers and Disorders
  15. Bone cancer
  16. Bone metastasis
  17. Brain tumor
  18. Brain Tumor
  19. What is a brain tumor? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  20. Brain tumor FAQs
  21. Breast cancer
  22. Breast Cancer
  23. Breast cancer chemoprevention
  24. Breast Cancer Education Tool
  25. Common questions about breast cancer treatment
  26. Infographic: Breast Cancer Risk
  27. Breast cancer staging
  28. Breast cancer types
  29. Dr. Wallace Video
  30. Dr. Mark Truty (surgery, MN) better outcomes with chemo
  31. CA 125 test: A screening test for ovarian cancer?
  32. Cancer
  33. Cancer
  34. Cancer blood tests
  35. Myths about cancer causes
  36. Infographic: Cancer Clinical Trials Offer Many Benefits
  37. Cancer diagnosis: 11 tips for coping
  38. Cancer-related fatigue
  39. Cancer pain: Relief is possible
  40. Cancer risk: What the numbers mean
  41. Cancer surgery
  42. Cancer survival rate
  43. Cancer survivors: Care for your body after treatment
  44. Cancer survivors: Late effects of cancer treatment
  45. Cancer survivors: Managing your emotions after cancer treatment
  46. Cancer treatment myths
  47. Carcinoid syndrome
  48. Castleman disease
  49. Cervical cancer
  50. What is cervical cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  51. Cervical cancer FAQs
  52. Cervical dysplasia: Is it cancer?
  53. Chemo targets
  54. Chemotherapy
  55. Chemotherapy and hair loss: What to expect during treatment
  56. Chemotherapy and sex: Is sexual activity OK during treatment?
  57. Chemotherapy nausea and vomiting: Prevention is best defense
  58. Chemotherapy side effects: A cause of heart disease?
  59. Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer)
  60. Choroid plexus carcinoma
  61. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
  62. Chronic myelogenous leukemia
  63. Collecting Pennies Through the Pain
  64. Colon cancer
  65. Colon Cancer Family Registry
  66. Colon cancer screening: At what age can you stop?
  67. Colon cancer screening
  68. Colorectal Cancer
  69. Curcumin: Can it slow cancer growth?
  70. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
  71. Cancer-related diarrhea
  72. Dragon Boats and Breast Cancer
  73. Eating during cancer treatment: Tips to make food tastier
  74. Embryonal tumors
  75. Endometrial cancer
  76. Ependymoma
  77. Esophageal Cancer
  78. Esophageal cancer
  79. Ewing sarcoma
  80. Fertility preservation
  81. Floor of the mouth cancer
  82. Frequent sex: Does it protect against prostate cancer?
  83. Gallbladder cancer
  84. Gallbladder polyps: Can they be cancerous?
  85. Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer
  86. Genetic testing for breast cancer: Psychological and social impact
  87. GI Stents
  88. Glioblastoma
  89. Glowing Cancer Surgery
  90. Gynecologic Cancers
  91. Hairy cell leukemia
  92. Head and Neck Cancer
  93. Head and Neck Cancer Transoral Surgery
  94. Head and neck cancers
  95. Heart cancer: Is there such a thing?
  96. HER2-positive breast cancer: What is it?
  97. High-dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells?
  98. Hodgkin lymphoma (Hodgkin disease)
  99. Hodgkin's vs. non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: What's the difference?
  100. Inflammatory breast cancer
  101. Invasive lobular carcinoma
  102. Is a clinical trial for biliary tract cancer right for me?
  103. Leukemia
  104. Liver cancer
  105. Liver Cancer
  106. What is liver cancer? An expert explains
  107. Liver cancer FAQs
  108. Living with biliary tract cancer
  109. Living with Brain Tumors
  110. Long Term Brain Cancer Survivor
  111. Low blood counts
  112. Lung cancer
  113. Infographic: Lung Cancer
  114. Lung Cancer
  115. Lung nodules: Can they be cancerous?
  116. Male breast cancer
  117. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors
  118. What is breast cancer? An expert explains
  119. Measles Virus as a Cancer Fighter
  120. Melanoma
  121. Melanoma pictures to help identify skin cancer
  122. Merkel cell carcinoma
  123. Mesothelioma
  124. Monoclonal antibody drugs
  125. Mort Crim and Cancer
  126. Mouth cancer
  127. What is mouth cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  128. Mouth cancer FAQs
  129. Mouth sores caused by cancer treatment: How to cope
  130. Multiple myeloma
  131. Infographic: Multiple Myeloma
  132. Myelofibrosis
  133. Myelofibrosis
  134. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
  135. Neuroblastoma
  136. Neuroendocrine tumors
  137. Neuroendocrine Tumors NETs
  138. New immunotherapy approved for metastatic bladder cancer
  139. No appetite? How to get nutrition during cancer treatment
  140. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
  141. Oligodendroglioma
  142. Osteosarcoma
  143. Living with an ostomy
  144. Ovarian cancer
  145. Ovarian cancer: Still possible after hysterectomy?
  146. Paget's disease of the breast
  147. Palliative care for biliary tract cancer
  148. Pancreatic cancer
  149. Pancreatic Cancer
  150. What is pancreatic cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  151. Infographic: Pancreatic Cancer: Minimally Invasive Surgery
  152. Pancreatic Cancer Survivor
  153. Infographic: Pancreatic Cancers-Whipple
  154. Pap test: Can it detect ovarian cancer?
  155. Paulas story A team approach to battling breast cancer
  156. Peripheral nerve tumors
  157. Pheochromocytoma
  158. Pineoblastoma
  159. Pink Sisters
  160. Precision medicine: A new way to treat biliary cancers
  161. Prostate Cancer
  162. Prostate cancer
  163. Prostate cancer: Does PSA level affect prognosis?
  164. What is prostate cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  165. Prostate cancer metastasis: Where does prostate cancer spread?
  166. Prostate cancer prevention
  167. Prostate cancer FAQs
  168. Punk Guitarist Survives Brain Tumor
  169. Rectal cancer
  170. Recurrent breast cancer
  171. Retinoblastoma
  172. Robotic bladder surgery
  173. Salivary gland tumors
  174. Schwannomatosis
  175. Scientists propose a breast cancer drug for some bladder cancer patients
  176. Scrotal masses
  177. Self-Image During Cancer
  178. Skin cancer
  179. Infographic: Skin Cancer
  180. Skin Cancer Reconstruction
  181. Small cell, large cell cancer: What this means
  182. Soft tissue sarcoma
  183. Spinal cord tumor
  184. Spinal tumor
  185. Stage 4 prostate cancer
  186. Stomach cancer
  187. What is stomach cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  188. Stomach cancer FAQs
  189. Super Survivor Conquers Cancer
  190. Testicular cancer
  191. Testicular microlithiasis
  192. The Long Race Beating Cancer
  193. Throat cancer
  194. Thyroid cancer
  195. Thyroid Cancer
  196. What is thyroid cancer? A Mayo Clinic expert explains
  197. Thyroid cancer FAQs
  198. Treatment options for biliary tract cancer
  199. Tumor vs. cyst: What's the difference?
  200. Vaginal cancer
  201. Vertebral tumor
  202. Melanoma — Early stage and advanced melanoma
  203. How cancer spreads
  204. PICC line placement
  205. Skin cancer — How skin cancer develops
  206. Vulvar cancer
  207. Weight Loss After Breast Cancer
  208. What is biliary tract cancer?
  209. When cancer returns: How to cope with cancer recurrence
  210. Wilms tumor
  211. Zollinger-Ellison syndrome