OT: Tonsils Out - What To Eat After

[Best Aunt]

My niece is having her tonsils out next month. She's supposed to eat "soft foods" for several weeks afterward. Can anyone tell me what foods worked for their kids? I'm trying to help her parents.

I should mention that my niece is lactose intolerant.

 

[SiSiMonique2009]

Hi I'm not a parent but I had my tonsils taken out when I was 8 years old. I remember it really well because I had to have the surgery done all the way In Oregon because my dad had a business trip there. I remember the first thing they gave me after the surgery is ice cream, the nurse gave it to me. If there is a such thing as lactose free ice cream it may be really helpful for your niece because Ice cream helped me a lot. I also ate Popsicles for the first few days and after that I had scrambled eggs. A day after the surgery I was kind of sick so I didn't really want anything but popsicles were the best. In Oregon they had bubble gum flavored popsicles that they didn't have back here in Alabama. they were great! Oh and don't for get the toy! My parents got me a video game and balloons after my surgery since I couldn't talk it gave me something to do! I hope this helps!

 

[Normangirls]

Mashed potatoes, Jell-o, applesauce.

In a pinch, baby food will work. The fruits taste best, but if it's more than a few days that she needs to eat like this and nutrition becomes a serious concern, you can salt/sweeten the baby food so she can stand it.

 

[deva]

Popsicles, popsicles, and more popsicles. Once the pain subsides, soup broth (something with small noodles like Ring-O-Noodle), applesauce, jello, lemon ice

 

[mybabesuz]

My DD(3) had hers out 2 weeks ago...
The first three days she would only eat ice cream...
Then scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese cooked really soft.
oatmeal, cream of wheat, pudding...

 

[megsters]

popsicles, broth, clear liquid types....BUT you want to avoid anything red to avoid it looking like blood...

its funny that in the movies and tv shows they always give ice cream after having tonsils out, but they wont give you ice cream right off the bat anymore!

 

[scrapbookmom5174]

DS(10) had his out when he was 5 and DD(7) had hers out when she was 3 - We did a lot of popsicles, drinks, soups, applesauce, jello, pudding, mac and cheese(wouldn't work for your neice though). I would think eggs would be a good choice. I know I let them have pretty much WHATEVER they wanted as long as they were eating. So, if we had popsicles and pudding for breakfast that was okay. It sure got better within 3 - 5 days afterwards.

 

[jjjmranch]

My son had his tonsils out when he was 4. If you can find tofutti brand, it's a soy based product (lactose free) and they have cottage cheese. My son would only eat the inside of a mushy piece of garlic bread and cottage cheese the whole time. Refused popsicles, only drank water, it was a tough two weeks. Applesauce went down well too. Good luck!

 

[Best Aunt]

You guys are great -- thank you for the advice.

 

[TheDizMom]

Fluids, fluids and more fluids!!! My DS was 8 when he had his out and was in so much pain he wouldn't swallow anything . To make matters worse the pain meds they gave him made him throw up , so he then refused to take that. He got so dehydrated I had to take him to the ER for IV fluids and pain meds. He had blurry vision for days afterward and was so lethargic he didn't even wince when they put the IV in. Cold worked best at first since it numbed better, though we tried everything! I will never understand why they don't keep them over night in the hospital, it seems to me I cost them more money with my ER trip then a night in the hospital, but be that as it may, just warn her mom she could have real problems with this if she doesn't watch the fluid intake. I also just say once she is ready to eat anything soft that tastes good to her will work. I did popsicles, pudding, jell-o, ice cream, shakes, yogurt (soy based for those things if they can find them), soups, cream of wheat, and any drink at all. We also took his favorite juices and froze them in a square pan then ran a fork over it to make it a granita or snow cone type texture that he could eat with a spoon. Later oatmeal, applesauce and scrambled eggs worked well. They had a bit more texture so we waited a few extra days after the pain subsided more before trying them.

I hope things go well for her.

 

[CLEO Z]

Avoid anything that makes your saliva thicker- esp milk like products!!! When I got my tounsils out at age 15 (over 20 yrs ago) they wouldn't give me dairy. I was told that milk products make your saliva thicker and make you swallow more. Ouch! Have a glass of milk and you will see what I mean.

The only thing I wanted when I had mine out was mashed potatoes and gravy. I never was a Jello fan and it just didn't seem worth swallowing when it hurt that much. I agree with the previous poster about giving a child whatever they are willing to eat. It has to be worth it! Stock up on clear broth/soups, mashed potatoes, jello, popsicles, gatorade, oatmeal (make it thin) and anything else that might tempt. Frozen fruit ices would be good -they didn't have the good ones in the store when I was a kid.

 

[Debbie7452]

Every kid is so different! My DD was 5 and we stocked up on every popsicle known to man. She refused all of them! She wouldn't eat or drink or swallow her pain meds, either. We were getting very worried but we finally decided to make her a Dr. Pepper (her favorite soda) slushie in the blender. This is all we could get into her for days, but it was enough to keep her hydrated, thank goodness!

I blended ice and really cold Dr. Pepper until very smooth. Some kids are eating food the next day...but some need more time. My daughter did lose some weight, but it turned out OK. The best part is...no more strep and she slept better than ever before (very large adenoids also removed).

 

[disneygirl1024]

My son had his out at 2 years old. He had sleep apnea real bad (would stop breathing during sleep). Very scary. Anyway, yes to the popsicles, apple sauce, basically anything soft and very easy to swallow. I wouldn't do anything that can be considered thick after melting/chewed in your mouth due to it may be kinda hard to swallow and after having surgery, that really isn't a good idea. May hurt too much.

I can remember my son wanting pizza a couple of days after. He's 15 now. That still is his favorite food. Anyway, when we told him no, he cried. HAHA!

 

[locolala]

I haven't had mine out, but I had oral surgery to remove a fibroma in Feb. I ate a ton of tapioca pudding, lactose free cottage cheese (I'm lactose intolerant too!), applesauce, soups, that kind of thing. After a couple of days I could handle more stuff, so I ate ramen noodles and drank the broth. I hope the surgery goes well!!

 

[tgrundy]

Popsicles and stuff are good in the beginning. As they heal try some pediasure to help get some of the vitamins and minerals they are not getting in all of the sugary stuff. I had my tonsils out last summer. It was the worst pain I have ever felt. After awhile you get sick of the sweet stuff all of the time. I only drank ice water for a week.

 

[estherhead]

Ok, I've had my tonsils out twice so that makes me an expert. Yes, evidently they CAN grow back. Anyhow. After the initial popsicle stage, my doctor this time (as an adult) recommended plain Pringles. He said they are the perfect tonsilectomy food as the soften in the mouth really easy so won't hurt but the salt and bit of abrasion is excellent for healing throats. So I mainly ate plain Pringles and drank watered down Gatorade. You should ask if this would be OK, for me it was a good call.

 

[sk!mom]

The first couple of days nothing could convince my DD to eat. It was so painful! We just kept her drinking and sucking on popscicles constantly. She'd take a few bites of ice cream and cry.

By day three, she was really hungry and the pain had become a bit more bearable so we fed her pretty much anything that she was willing to try- mashed potatoes, really well cooked soft mac and cheese, pudding, yogurt. After maybe 5 days, she could do small bites of bread. I'm sorry that I'm not more helpful as most of that has milk.

She definitely did not have a healthy, well-rounded diet for a week or so.

It's tough but if she's anything like my DD, she'll be so much healthier afterwards that it's definitely worth it.

 

[LilAnn]

I second the popsicles, and again, preferably in a color other than red so you can detect bleeding, which can happen even 10 days after the surgery. I'd also recommend staying on top of the pain meds, we will typically wake up the kids in the middle of the night to give them the pain meds. It makes it a lot worse if you go the whole night in the beginning without pain meds, they won't want anything to do with swallowing in the morning. Encourage fluids, so popsicles, italian ice, jello, juice, water, broth. Also, I tend to see a lot of kids like scrambled eggs, plain pancakes, and oatmeal. Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[estherhead]

I second waking them up to take pain meds. And, obviously, make sure it is liquid medicine. When I was nine the pain killer was liquid and my mom would let a popsicle melt into the medicine cup and then I would drink it all down. It worked really well and for the first day this is all I had. I just was to tired to hold the popsicle myself but I wanted something.

Also, if you have a bleed out (I did on day 10 as an adult) you should know it. But just as a precaution, I would tell your child to tell you if there is a weird taste in their mouth, because it tastes like metal or iron. I've heard people say you can miss a bleed out because it just drips down your throat, but for me personally I cannot imagine missing it. It tastes weird, your mouth is full of spit & then bloody spit & then small clots & then for me I started vomiting. This is all in a matter of a minute or two. Maybe I'm unusual but a red popsicle wouldn't have confused me.

Don't stress out about having a bleed out, a VERY small percentage have one. But if you do have ANY bleeding go directly to the ER. It is simple for them to fix, but if you delay it can actually kill you. I really did not know this prior to having a bleed out. Again, I'd write down all your questions & ask the doctor. In my opinion, the more info I have about a surgery, the better.

On a totally positive note, I am a strep carrier and am sick constantly with tonsils in my body, ear infections, strep throat, etc. When I was 9 & had them out I hardly even had a cold for the next 15 years. Then they started to grow back & I spent a year and a half in bed with strep throat and ear infections. Very confusing for me. Had my tonsils out a second time and haven't had strep or an ear infection since. So it really does fix the problem & is worth it.

 

[princessalexis]

DS3 had his out in November (he was 2 then, he turned 3 in December). The day he got his out he ate 3 popsicles before we left the surgery center, but then when we got home he demanded bread. It wasn't on the list of things he could not have (mostly they said to stay away from crunchy stuff), so I gave it to him and he had no problems with it. But it depends on the child. I think it's most important to make sure they are well-hydrated.