It is important to drink plenty of fluids if you do have diarrhoea. These can often be eased by taking mild painkillers, which your doctor can prescribe. Swelling of the face and around eyes. This is fairly common and is not harmful although it can be upsetting. Drinking plenty of fluids can help.
Many people gain weight due to the swelling and retention of fluid.
This may be relieved with anti-histamine tablets and skin lotion if the skin becomes dry. Altered bone marrow function. This can result in anaemia, risk of bruising and bleeding and infection. Your blood count will be checked regularly to see how well your bone marrow is working. Often the dose of STI571 needs to be lowered, or very rarely stopped, if a person's bone marrow is not able to function at a safe level during treatment.