Patients with a transplant

Avoid skin cancer
Because of the immunosuppressant drugs they need to take, transplant patients are three times more likely than other people to get skin cancers. If detected early, skin cancer is relatively easy to treat. It's best, of course, to avoid it.

Tips to prevent skin cancer:

  • Protect your skin with suitable clothing. Clothing offers the advantages of even protection that you don't have to remember to reapply. Note that many summer-weight fabrics don't give enough protection. Fibers like cotton offer even less protection when wet. Buy protective clothing. Ask your pharmacist for information.
  • Wear a wide-brimmed hat. This will protect your eyes, ears, face and the back of your neck.
  • Wear sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of UV radiation. Check the label.
  • Avoid the midday sun, when ultraviolet radiation is strongest. Remember that the sun's rays reflect off snow, sand, water, and even concrete.
  • Use sunblock or sunscreen. The effectiveness of a sunblock is rated by an SPF (sun-protective-factor) number. The number indicates how long you can stay in the sun before your skin burns. For example, if your skin normally burns after 10 minutes out in the sun, you can stay in the sun 15 times longer—that is, for 150 minutes—if you wear an SPF-15 sunblock. Because some transplant medication makes the skin extra sensitive to the sun, all transplant patients are advised to use a sunblock with SPF factor of 25 or higher. Note that you cannot add SPF numbers. If an SPF-25 sunblock will protect you for 2 hours and you want to stay out longer you need to apply a stronger sunblock, not just more of the SPF 25.
  • Avoid using sun lamps.
  • Examine your skin regularly. If you find any unusual blemishes, moles, or other marks on the skin, especially one that changes in size, shape, or color, see your doctor.

Avoid infections
Transplant immunosuppressant drugs also reduce a patient's ability to fight infections.

Simple precautions to prevent an infection include:

  • avoiding contact with people who have a cold, flu or an infectious disease such as chickenpox
  • making sure you have received the proper vaccinations
  • avoiding traveling to countries where the risk of catching an infection is high

Vaccinations
Transplant patients should never be given 'live' vaccines. Ask your doctor for advice on live vaccines.

May 1, 2006