Grain and Bland Foods Grains are important foods to eat after tonsillectomy because they increase the amount of fiber in your body. Grains are a good source of energy and can help relieve constipation caused by pain medication. Take well-cooked rice, soft bread without the crust and well-cooked pasta.
After tonsillectomy: The day after the surgery, a soft diet can be started and given as tolerated. Examples of a soft diet include: soggy cereal, oatmeal, porridge, pancakes, a sandwich, fish, eggs, cheese, pasta, rice, milkshake, well cooked vegetables, soft fruits, ice-cream, pudding, soup, etc.
A few days, to a week, after your surgery, you'll notice that your throat is starting to feel less sore. When you start introducing 'solids', a great place to start is by cooking up some plain rice or pasta.
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.
Yogurt and pudding: These can be great options because they are cold and usually are more filling. Soup: Warm dishes are also good to eat and comfortable. Soup can be a heartier option to soothe hunger pains. Oatmeal or other cooked grains: Adding peanut butter or milk can increase the caloric content.
Sorbet, popsicles, gelatin, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, and bananas are just a few common recommendations for what to eat after a tonsillectomy. These and other soft and cooling foods can not only make you more comfortable during recovery, but help you heal faster.
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.
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.
You should avoid vigorous activity for 14 days after surgery. Throat and ear pain can be severe after a tonsillectomy. Take regular doses of pain medicine as prescribed. Tylenol or the prescribed narcotic pain medicine should be taken as instructed.
3 Days To 1 Week After Surgery
After a week, you will be able to eat more solid foods, but you should still avoid very tough and crunchy foods. You can eat things like pasta and rice. You can also start brushing the extraction sites very gently after a week.
Rice is another one of those versatile foods you can prepare so that it's soft enough to eat after oral surgery. Eat it plain, add some sauces, chop some veggies up to make fried rice, or add rice to a chicken broth and call it a day.
DAYS 4-6: ▪ Continue Tylenol or prescription pain medication, if needed. Continue to keep diet soft, you may introduce new foods such as hamburger, fish, and chicken. However, continue significant cool fluid intake.
Eating rice is one of them, as well choosing cereals for breakfast. However, please remember to choose whole grains and not the refined variety (white rice, white flour, etc.) Below are the best examples of whole grain products to include in your post-surgery diet: Oatmeal.
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.
For 2 weeks, choose soft foods like pudding, yogurt, canned or cooked fruit, scrambled eggs, and mashed potatoes. Avoid eating hard or scratchy foods like chips or raw vegetables. You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Tonsillectomy Throat Scabs
About 5 to 10 days after your surgery the scab will come off. Some people notice when their scab comes off and others do not. If you notice your scab coming off it may alarm you. Please know that there is nothing wrong when this happens and it is not cause for alarm.
You may advance the diet to soft foods for the first 2 weeks, then solid foods after the follow up appointment. Avoid sharp or scratchy foods like chips as they may increase pain and cause bleeding. Salty foods such as soups, broths, and French fries may help relieve discomfort and promote healing.
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.