Some patients find that small sips of ginger ale or a cola drink may help to relieve nausea. Small portions of bananas, applesauce, moistened graham crackers or soda crackers may be helpful prior to taking medications. You may wish to avoid acidic products such as orange juice.
The first day after your tonsillectomy, drink cool liquids, such as water, frozen juice bars, sports drinks, or soda. Gradually return to your regular diet after about a week. Be sure to chew your food well to avoid irritating your throat.
Drinking fluids is the key to a fast recovery
Try cool fluids first such as water, cordial, ice blocks, and non-acidic fruit juices (ie apple juice) and soft drinks (let them stand to de-fizz first).
Suggested liquids: Apple juice, grape juice, Hi-C, Gator Aid, sodas (you may want to let the "fizz" out first), popsicles, sherbet, apple sauce, Jell-O, pudding. Not Recommended: Solids, orange juice (any citric drink), spicy foods. These are only guides. The important thing is to have your child swallow liquids.
Chew Ice Constantly
Ice is one of the best things to have during a tonsillectomy recovery. Ice keeps the incision site moist during recovery and this is very important for speedy healing. The cold temperature of ice also helps to numb pain and reduce swelling.
Tissue injury, whether accidental or intentional (e.g. surgery), is followed by localized swelling. After surgery, swelling increases progressively, reaching its peak by the third day. It is generally worse when you first arise in the morning and decreases throughout the day.
The pain may be the worst for 3-4 days after surgery. One to two weeks after surgery, pain may worsen because the scabs are falling off. It is important to control your child's pain after surgery. This helps your child drink and eat.
Suggested liquids: Apple juice, grape juice, Hi-C, Gator Aid, sodas (you may want to let the “fizz” out first), popsicles, sherbet, apple sauce, Jell-O, pudding. Not Recommended: Solids, orange juice (any citric drink), spicy foods.
Within 1-2 days, add cold and soothing foods (ices, ice-cream, frozen yogurt, Jell-O). As you feel better, add soft bland items that are easy to chew and swallow (pasta, puddings, mashed potatoes, tuna or chicken salad, macaroni and cheese). Avoid foods that are sharp, hot, or spicy.
Carbonated drinks cause inflammation, so avoid the fizzy stuff while you have a sore throat. Similar to fried foods, drinks with a high sugar content weaken your immune system. The best course of action is to drink plenty of water instead.
Start with a clear liquid diet (Water; Juices-apple and grape, not orange, grapefruit, or lemonade; Sports Drinks – 10-K, Gatorade, Powerade; 7-UP or Sprite; Popsicles, or Jell-O) to prevent nausea and/or vomiting. All drinks and foods should be lukewarm or cool, not hot.
The pain was evaluated using visual analogue scale (VAS) on a scale of 0–10, with 0 representing no pain at all and 10 worst possible pain. Postoperative pain was consider mild if EVA ranges between 0.00 and 2.99; moderate when ranges between 3.00 and 6.99, and severe pain when it was greater than 7.00.
Most scabs only last 5-10 days. Then, they naturally flake off. Tonsillectomy scabs may last longer on larger wounds created when large tonsils are removed. Also, people who have poor nutrition may heal slower than people who maintain a healthy diet.
Soft foods such as creamed potatoes, milk toast, eggs, cooked cereals, such as Cream of Wheat and oatmeal, grits, marshmallows, applesauce, bananas, Jello, and soft vegetables may be taken the day after surgery. Melons and peaches in season are fine.
A tonsillectomy results in the formation of thick, yellow-white scabs. These scabs are a normal part of the healing process. They typically fall off between 5 and 10 days after surgery. The scabs usually fall off in small pieces.
Ongoing cough for several days post-op may occur due to swelling in the surgical site and post-nasal drip due to increase secretions. Before starting any over-the-counter cough remedies, please contact our Nurse Line at 412-692-5460 option 4. How much should my child eat or drink after his or her tonsillectomy?
Turning on a humidifier at bedtime may lessen throat dryness caused by mouth breathing. Avoid over-the-counter mouthwashes (Cepacol, Scope, Listerine, etc.), as they tend to dry the throat and cause discomfort. There should be NO bleeding from the nose or mouth.
THROAT PAIN is normal for 21 days after the surgery. The pain is usually tolerable in the first 3 days and then worsens to a crescendo around day 6 to 9 after the operation. Once this peak is reached then the pain gradually decreases daily until you can comfortably eat around day 14 after the operation.
Pain and discomfort will usually then ease until the seventh or ninth day after surgery when some of the scab covering the tonsillectomy site falls off. After this there is a steady reduction in pain.
The amount of discomfort usually lessens, then may increase again around day 7-9 after surgery, as some of the whitish tissue covering the tonsillectomy site falls off. After this, there is generally steady improvement with less discomfort.
Another common side effect of a tonsillectomy is feeling like something is stuck in your throat. This feeling can occur because of the expected inflammation and the scabs in your throat after surgery, but nothing besides your own tissue is really there.
Adults also report experiencing more pain than children after a tonsillectomy. This could be related to adults have more scar tissue on their tonsils, making them more difficult to remove. Scar tissue builds on the tonsils with each infection, and adults have had more time to accumulate scar tissue.
This is NOT infection, but a fibrinous exudate coating the raw tissue. It is analogous to the black scab forming over skin abrasions. The white slough will fall off returning to pink ~7-10 days post op. Tonsil bed bacterial infection is happily rare.