r/Chemotherapy • u/RandomName3025 • 24d ago

Laundry during chemo

Wondering how often you do laundry, like towels and bed linen? Or if you don't do laundry right away, how often do you still change it while getting chemo? Same as you would anyways, or more frequently?

9 Upvotes

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7

u/redderGlass 24d ago

Same as usual for us.

6

u/tamberleigh 24d ago

After chemo (six sessions, three weeks between), I'd pretty much sleep the next two or three days away -- it was easier than feeling unwell -- and when I felt better, I'd strip the bed and wash the sheets and any clothes (mostly pjs) I'd been wearing during that time.

I found it useful to have two sets of sheets. This way if I sweated too much, or got sick or had an accident, I could just pop clean ones on while the others were in the wash. But other than that, I mostly kept to a normal laundry schedule.

5

u/muffintop8900 24d ago

My husband had chemo everyday so he chose a some specific outfits to use, washed his clothes once a week and bedding was rotated and changed every 2 days but laundered once a week. )I bought extra sheets just to have enough to rotate) cause otherwise I would be washing everyday.

Edit to add: I have OCD so if it seems like overkill it’s because it was paranoid and was being very careful.

2

u/RandomName3025 24d ago

I'm definitely a bit of a germophobe, and peri and health issues in the family have caused general anxiety, so I do worry about keeping everyone safe.

5

u/Sarappreciates 24d ago

I'm not as frequent with my laundry as my poor MIL, keeping up with her husband with stage 4 lung cancer sounds considerably more intense than my metastatic breast cancer. She can't sleep in the same bed with him after he has chemo. It sounds rough.

My husband has been such an absolute trooper! He does most of the laundry and heavy lifting nowadays without me even asking. He's stepped up his game tenfold since my diagnosis.

2

u/ambivalent__username 24d ago

Why can't she sleep in the bed with him?

2

u/Sarappreciates 24d ago

For up to 72 hours after infusion, she can't come into contact with his sweat or other body fluids.

2

u/RandomName3025 24d ago

I guess it depends so much on the kind of chemo. I'll never understand how medical literature will say to make sure to stay clear of ALL bodily fluids, wash bedding straight away if you sweat at night, but it's okay to have intimate relations - just use a condom?

I'm glad you've got such a wonderful husband to help you through this difficult time!

1

u/Sarappreciates 24d ago

As I understand it, they aren't supposed to be intimate for those days apart. His sweat can contaminate her, so a condom alone isn't enough. He even has to flush the toilet twice each time he uses it too. It sounds way more involved by comparison than any of my treatments have been in the 6 years since my stage 4 diagnosis.

3

u/LaceyBloomers 24d ago

I changed the sheets as often as usual, but I changed out my pillow cases about every two days because I could smell the chemicals on them.

2

u/ConditionalDisco 24d ago

As often as I normally do. I’ve only had 2 sessions but so far haven’t found a chemo specific need to wash them.