After surgery, you may snore or breathe through your mouth at night. This usually gets better 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. Mouth breathing can make your mouth and throat dry or sore. Place a humidifier by your bed when you sleep.
Sleeping with the head elevated 30 to 45 degrees or in a recliner for 3-4 days will reduce the swelling in the throat. The uvula (the thing that hangs down from the palate) may be swollen for the first few days and touch the tongue, occasionally causing a gagging sensation.
You may usually return to school or work within a week but avoid strenuous activity and sports for two weeks. Sleep with your head elevated on 2-3 pillows for 3-4 days to help decrease swelling. Due to tissue swelling and throat discomfort, you may have little desire to drink for several days.
Hydrate: the cooler the better.
The more cold liquids your child drinks after surgery, the better their throat will feel and the more they will stay hydrated. We recommend milk, juice, water, or Gatorade until their throat is fully healed. Hot liquids can worsen the throat swelling and pain.
Instead, make sure regular and adequate pain medication is administered to facilitate swallowing, and encourage swallowing of whatever saliva is built up in the throat. Taking frequent small sips of liquids will also help clear the mucous sensation.
The scabs usually fall off in small pieces. There may also be a small amount of bleeding. Most people swallow the scabs, often without realizing. Recovery from a tonsillectomy can take 10–14 days.
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.
Cold drinks (like apple juice, ice water, or soda) may make you feel better as they cool your injured throat. Warm drinks (like tea or coffee), on the other hand, may provide you with a soothing sensation that you'll like after surgery.
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.
Trouble sleeping at night. You may experience some difficult sleeping at night in the days following the procedure. This is common because it can be uncomfortable to breathe through your mouth right after surgery.
Your child may have ear pain up to a week after surgery and it may be worse at night. This is normal and is coming from the tonsil area. Giving pain medicine usually helps.
Avoid acidic, spicy, hard or crunchy foods that may cause pain or bleeding. Rest. Bed rest is important for several days after surgery, and strenuous activities — such as running and bike riding — should be avoided for two weeks after surgery.
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?
Start with clear liquids (water, non-citrus juices). Then, advance to soft mushy foods (noodles, pudding, apple sauce) for 10 days before resuming a regular diet. Avoid spicy hot and temperature hot foods. Avoid dry food like chips and toast.
Most people find that they have the most pain in the first 8 days. You probably will feel tired for 1 to 2 weeks. You may have bad breath for up to 2 weeks. You may be able to go back to work or your usual routine in 1 to 2 weeks.
The important thing is to have your child swallow liquids. Whatever works is the best thing to give. Milk products may increase mucus secretions but if the child will only drink a milk shake and eat ice cream then it is OK to give them.
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.
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.
Anecdotal evidence from several ENT departments suggests that pain following tonsillectomy is worst on the second and/or third days after surgery.
The 4th or 5th day after the surgery is a common time for the pain to get temporarily worse. Signs of pain in younger children may be crying more often, or refusal to eat or drink.
You may experience an increase in pain around day 4 or 5 after your tonsillectomy. This can be psychologically difficult because you think that you should be feeling better by this time, and actually you may feel a little worse.
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 tonsils are pulled away from the back of the throat and then removed by being cut away. Bleeding is controlled, and often the cut heals naturally without stitches.
Routinely during tonsillectomy a Boyle Davis mouth gag with tongue blade is applied to open the oral cavity and to keep the tongue away from the operative field. While the mouth gag is of a standard universal size the tongue blade has to be changed for an adult or child depending upon the size of the oral cavity.