|  | As if your body hasn’t taken enough of a battering from your treatment, you are also more likely to get infections. This is because chemotherapy can cause neutropenia, which is a lack of infection-fighting white blood cells. This condition leads to a reduced immune protection, especially against bacteria and fungi. For this reason, diet and food preparation are very important. You may need to have special menus or a ‘clean diet’ to help minimise the risk of infection. Speak to the hospital dietician or your specialist for more advice.
If you are neutropaenic you must let your doctor or nurses know if you:
 | Have a temperature of 38C or higher |
| Feel generally unwell |
| Have a sore throat or a cough |
| Have diarrhoea |
| Have unusual vaginal discharge or itching |
| Are uncertain or worried about anything |
You might think these precautions seem rather extreme, but an infection that would make someone with a healthy blood count feel a little off-colour can be life threatening for a neutropaenic patient. Your care team will advise you about how to avoid infections. You should take precautions such as regular hand washing and avoiding friends or relatives who have an infection.
Some drug therapies can be given to reduce the severity of infection but it is very important that you are sensible about monitoring your temperature as these drugs cannot prevent infections.
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| | "Once when I was neutropaenic and had a high temperature I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want to go back to hospital"
"At a hospital check-up I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling too well so they admitted me on the spot!"
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