My 5 year old had his tonsils and adenoids out on tues. He is having the expected amount of discomfort, managable as long as he has codeine and motrin round the clock. Today he is having more pain in the throat than before. He's drinking fluids well, not eaten anything yet or had bowel movement. Any advise on how long this really lasts. Dr says 5-10 days !! What else can I do to ease the pain??
Thanks for sharing.
Dear S., It has been a long time since I had my tonsils out but I do remember drinking ice water and eating Ice cream. the pain should subside soon and he will not have bowel movement if he is not eating. Best wishes, Grandma Mary
Here is what I fed my kids when they had their done; Baby food oatmeal in pureed fruit or baby fruit. (oatmeal will mix in cold well and fill his tummy) Fruit smoothies made with plain yogurt and frozen fruit and whey protein powder; nice a cold, applesauce, scrambled eggs, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, lots of cold water or Smart Water, fried rice with egg served warm or at room temp.
My son had his removed when he was 3 years old. We struggled even getting the pain med down his throat and so the Dr. prescribed Prednisone (steroid) to help with the swelling. Maybe you can suggest a script from the Dr.?
Also, what about slushi's or Icee's?
Good luck... Its tough on the little guys...
I suggest that you do not give him ice cream or any dairy product. Sherbet also has milk in it. Dairy products produce mucous which is uncomfortable and will cause him to cough. Dairy products are also a good incubator for bacteria,
Give him popsicles and sorbet. You can puree foods for him too. He can such on ice.
Because his throat is more sore, consider the possibility that he has acquired a bacteria infection. I contracted strep throat just a couple of days after I had my tonsils out. The doctor said that happens sometimes because hospitals are full of the strep virus.
He probably won't have a bowel movement until he starts eating solids or solids in pureed form. Liquids do not have much fiber in them and thus do not produce feces.
My daughter had her's out this past October at 4 1/2. She was in alot of pain due to the fact that one of her tonsils was swollen and grown into her throat and had to be dug out. The pain at this point is completely expected. And he will experience some ear pain soon as well which is just referred pain from the throat. Also normal. But DO NOT give him motrin. Motrin is contraindicated 2 weeks before surgery and at least 10 days after due to risk of bleeding. He should only be getting tylenol and his pain killer if needed. It doesn't matter if he's eating as long as he's drinking.
hang in there its not even a week yet. it hurts try ices ice cream and shakes.
It hurts I had mine taken out when i was 25 it hurts
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Definitely just do popsicles and things similar to that. A few moms mentioned ice cream, but that is not the way to go. It produces too much mucus which causes coughing which causes pain. I had mine done around that age, but believe it or not, remember it quite well. Popsicles were a god send! Good luck!
Give him ice cream. No kid is going to turn down ice cream no matter HOW sore their throat is. Let him know that the cold ice cream will make his throat feel better. It really does too! And he needs some simple carbohydrates (sugar) to keep him going until he can eat a more substantial diet. Ice cream is the way to go after tonsillectomy. I had my tonsils out when I was 18 and practically lived on ice cream for the week afterward. It was the only thing that made it feel a lot better and the only thing that gave me enough energy to get up and move around when I needed to. But make sure it's not an ice cream that has chunks of anything like cookies in it. It should be smooth.
It took me a while to recover, but I hear from everyone that I've talked to (mostly my mom, but she was a nurse) that it's harder to recover the older you get, so hopefully your son will be back to himself soon as long as you can get some carbs into him for the energy he needs to recover.
I know this is an old post, but the responses shocked me and I felt that I had to write something. First up, if you are worried about your child, or yourself please phone your Dr. They are trained in treating you.
I just had my tonsils out, and I'm only just beginning to feel ok on day 8. The pain is horrible. I'm allergic to morphine derived drugs so had to take tramadol instead. Your son was probably on a morphine derived pain killer which can cause severe constipation. If a person in hospital has not had a bowel movement for 3 days, a nurse will give them a suppository to stop faces impacting in the colon which can obstruct the colon and lead to a rupture. I used a suppository when I hadn't been for 3 days and I really did need to go. Despite not eating anything. It is rubbish that because you haven't eaten anything, there is nothing in there.
And don't hold back on giving you child their meds (at the right time, right dose) they will not get addicted to the drugs, and you cannot understand the pain of a tonsillectomy unless you have experienced it yourself. I had 2 kids drug free and the tonsillectomy was 10 times worse. I think because the pain lasted so long.
Please please phone your dr rather than listen to posts especially when it comes to your most precious child.
give him popsickles (not red. actually nothing red). make him soups, and feed it to him, warm, not hot or cold.
it actually took 14 days to the day for us, the 10th day being the worse. we were told there could be bleeding on the 10th day and not to freak out but to bring her in as soon as it happens to check and make sure it's all good.
otherwise, my daughter was fine, she ate mushy foods, i made a lot of mashed potatoes (potatoes and carrots with milk and sour cream), i made a lot of spinach pies, and gave her posickles and jello round the clock. i gave her only one dose of tylenol with codine but she didn't need it afterwards. just regular tylenol. codine was making her sleepy, and she was not much in pain
we were told to try give her regular food immediately after being discharged to strengthen the muscles. i did, but started with soups, rice, pot roast etc. i honestly believe feeding her right away made a huge difference.
good luck
ps there may be days he feels great. don't go overboard with allowing him to run around. throat will get dry and you want to avoid that from happening. we stayed in the house for 14 days. ventured out on the 15th. good luck
I would say popsicles!! I know when I had them out I loved to suck on them for the coolness it felt so good. But stay from away ANYTHING RED, just incase his throut bleeds you will be able to tell what it is. Don't give anything dairy, it will make more flem and will be harder to swallow for him. I feel bad for him know it painful but it will past in a few days.
tell him we hope he will feel better soon!
God Bless
