OT: Tonsils Out - What To Eat After

[krcit]

Both of my dd's had their tonsils out when they were 6. both were eating pretty normally within 2 days. I think the quicker they start eating, the quicker they heal. I had to force the pain meds the first day or two so that they could swallow but they felt much better after 48 hours. The first day I gave them scrambled eggs, soup, ices. By the second day they were eating chicken nuggets.

 

[heathies2]

I have not posted before. But this thread is VERY helpful. My DD(4) is having her's out in 1 week and I am nervous. This advice is very helpful.
Best of luck to OP and your niece.

 

[MOREMICKEYFORME]

I want to say thank you as well.
My son is going in for:
Tubes in both ears
Tonsil removal
and Adnoid removal
all on the same day in a few weeks.
This is a kid who never had an ear infection, but snores like an old man. He's 6...

 

[barnaby1]

Just some contradictory advice from a nurse (with a speciality in ENT) from across the pond. Actually the worse thing you can do for adults or children who have their tonsils out is to keep them purely on soft food immediately post operatively. It is important to rough up the tonsil bed to encourage healing and help reduce that post op pain. So the advice from here is steer clear of icecream etc and eat chips, bread, toast, conflakes etc.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

How old is she? The younger you are, the less it hurts. I have heard that all my life and apparently it's true. I had mine out at 7 and it wasn't a big deal at all. 2 of my friends had theirs out in college and thought they were dying!! My older son had his out a couple of years ago when he was 9. They told us after we got home from the surgery center, starting the next day to let him eat anything he wanted. The more they eat, the more they slough off the scabs that build in the back of the throat. Kids that don't eat can't get those off, and that causes more pain. It makes a cycle--pain, can't/won't eat, thick scabs--pain, etc. So, the 2nd or 3rd day he ate a burger and did very well with it. It was painful at first, but he did it--he was so hungry. I think the second day he had just popsicles, sprite, jello, stuff like that-- but the meds they gave him kinda gave him a stomach ache, so that was partly why he didn't want much. but, every kid is different. The main thing is to make them keep getting something down---they need to swallow a lot.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I want to say thank you as well.
My son is going in for:
Tubes in both ears
Tonsil removal
and Adnoid removal
all on the same day in a few weeks.
This is a kid who never had an ear infection, but snores like an old man. He's 6...

My son didn't have all that either--and he snore SO loud!!!! I am trying to get my husband to go in!!!!!

 

[queenie1]

My daughter had hers out 2 years ago when she was 10. Egg salad, really fine, no bread was pretty much all we could get down her as far as food goes. She drank a little. Three days after having them out she decided to try a blue freeze pop. While eating this the wound opened and blood was literally squirting out of her mouth. We called the Dr., then 911, the ambulance came and she had to have surgery again to close it back up.

What was worse was that they tried to burn it closed first by putting acid on a long stick and putting this in her throat. They didn't giver her any pain medicine and when it touched her she screamed and moved. It didn't work so they put her under again to close it. She was in pain from that acid burn for days.

My advice would be to stay away from sharp frozen items like freeze pops. Popscicles melt better, but I think the ice was sharp on the freeze pop and that is what opened the wound. She had been drinking and eating egg salad for three days and then the freeze pop.....to this day I regret giving it to her. It was a terrible thing to go through!

 

[krcit]

Just some contradictory advice from a nurse (with a speciality in ENT) from across the pond. Actually the worse thing you can do for adults or children who have their tonsils out is to keep them purely on soft food immediately post operatively. It is important to rough up the tonsil bed to encourage healing and help reduce that post op pain. So the advice from here is steer clear of icecream etc and eat chips, bread, toast, conflakes etc.

I know that a classmate of my oldest dd had hers out a week before my dd and had a much longer recovery because she would not eat. Her mom said that her breath was so bad from the scabs that the entire house smelled. My dd was eating chicken nuggets the day after surgery and healed very quickly, same with my younger dd.

 

[Best Aunt]

Just some contradictory advice from a nurse (with a speciality in ENT) from across the pond. Actually the worse thing you can do for adults or children who have their tonsils out is to keep them purely on soft food immediately post operatively. It is important to rough up the tonsil bed to encourage healing and help reduce that post op pain. So the advice from here is steer clear of icecream etc and eat chips, bread, toast, conflakes etc.

If you're from across the pond, then by "chips" do you mean potato chips or French Fries?

OP here. Someone asked my niece's age. She just turned six. Hopefully that's on the young side of the "the younger you are, the easier it is" theory.

 

[jennifer293]

I just had surgery yesterday morning (superficial parotidectomy) aka tumor in my neck. I have bandages around my whole head, and the muscle in my jaw is swollen so I can barely open my mouth. I am eating soup through a straw, milkshakes, pudding cups with a baby spoon, applesauce through a straw, mashed potatoes with a baby spoon, my throat is very sore from the breathing tube so I have been sucking on throat losenges with numbing meds in them and lifesavers. Drinking ice water because everything else burns going down.

 

[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.

Little did I know when I made this post that I'd be needing everyone's advice. ENT told us yesterday that DS 5 needs his third set of ear tubes and to have his tonsils and adnoids removed! Y'all have added a ton of great ideas to my list! Thanks!

 

[aestapa]

This info has been great. DS3 is having his out 2 weeks from tomorrow...and suffice it to say that he does not handle pain well! His tonsils are so enlarged that there is barely space for him to breathe and like a pp mentioned, he snores so loud!

I definitely appreciate the info about getting regular foods in sooner rather than later. I had mine out at 13, but had been sick for so long before (strep carrier for years). I was thrilled to get them out and just looked at the recovery as the last time I would have to deal with strep-like symptoms. I think my attitude helped alot! Maybe that line of reasoning can help someone with an older child going through the procedure. Don't think my angel is going to understand though. He had surgery last summer and it was the worst day of my life. We had no pain meds to take home. He screamed from 2pm - 9pm until he literally passed out asleep in my arms.

 

[barnaby1]

If you're from across the pond, then by "chips" do you mean potato chips or French Fries?

Potato chips - good and crunchy!!!

 

[Binnie]

DD3 had her done in April. She ate a lot of popsicles, drank a lot of sprite and iced tea, and refused nearly all foods for almost a full week.

And remember don't get anything that has to be drunk through a straw!

 

[monorailsilver]

My ds had his out last summer. He was just under 5 & he is dairy allergic.

The ENT said nothing sharp but he could eat anything else, ie the points of a toasted english muffin, chips, etc....

We mainly did watermelon & popcicles for a few days. He took a nibble out of a piece of chicken nugget & that is about it.

After a few days he did eat some ice cream (toffutti or soy delicious) & ice cream bars (soy based).

He went from about 38 lbs to 32 from lack of eating.

 

[aestapa]

Had our pre-op yesterday for surgery in 2 weeks. The Dr. advised the usual, and wants him to drink 1/2 a juice box every 20 minutes or so. She said that bleeding problems typically come when the child has not had enough liquid early in the recovery. They want as much liquid as possible in order to keep the scabs from getting hard.

I asked her about the harder foods (chips etc) and she said absolutely not. She doesn't want those food for 2 weeks. I know it sounds crazy, but I can't wait for his surgery. My little guy can hardly swallow anything and his sleep apnea is scary.

 

[queenie1]

aestapa - I am glad to hear you decided to stay away from the harder foods. There are usually no stiches nowadays, they simply burn the wound closed and I am telling you if it opens up it is very scary.

Don't try to rush the recovery with hard foods and do what your doctor says with the liquids and I'm sure he'll be fine. Even after the terrible experience we had, I am glad today that my daughter had them out because she hasn't been on a daily allergy med since.

 

[mom2faith]

Just had mine out in December (I was 32).

My tips are:
- lots of water, no acidic drinks or carbonated drinks. You have to keep flushing the germs away so make sure she is drinking a lot
- lots of popsicles
- stay away from ice cream, pudding, milk, Boost, etc it can cause a mucas build up which can lead to infection
- soups that are brothy and not creamy, but they cannot be hot, they can only be warm
- NO STRAWS!! It can cause a vacuum effect and pull the scabs off
- make sure she takes her drugs even if it does not hurt - because it will start to hurt when the drugs wear off

I really did not eat too much for about 3 weeks. I just drank a lot of water as I was scared of infection.

It is not so bad, ok it was, but it was still worth it. I can breath and sleep so much better. And, I do not have the bouts of strep any more.

Good luck to your neice!!

Amy

 

[MonorailNate]

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.

Both my kids have had their tonsils out and our ENT said "no ice cream". Ice cream apparently creates more mucus. He also told me to give them potato chips. He said that every kid eats potato chips and that they soften quickly in the mouth and it is sort of like a salt water gargle for kids. He said no kid would willingly do salt water gargles. We gave both of our kids pringles, popsicles and jello. When they wouldn't want anything to eat they would always take the pringles. Also beware that they can get worse before they get better--about 8 days after surgery the scabs come off and they are in tremendous pain again. It took both my kids 12-14 days to fully recover.

 

[brekin67]

I am 41 and had my tonsils out last year. AVOID MILK PRODUCTS. They are too thick to swallow and coat the sores. Stick with sherbets, kool aid, popsicles, etc. I went to Disney for free dining about 14 days after surgery and had no trouble eating my way through the world. Be sure she has enough pain medications to get her through the weekend after surgery. I was given enough pain liquid for 5 days, then on Friday I ran out and was still in pain. Fortunately, my Dr. was still in the office that afternoon and the pharmacy got me a refill. Give her a bell to ring when she needs something, and ice packs for her throat.