Tonsillectomy Scabs- How and when do they fall off?
Regardless of the tonsillectomy method used, some sort of scab is going to form over the the area from which your tonsils have been cut, coblated, and/or cauterized.
It’s normal. It is normal. People often become obsessed with the appearance of the tonsil beds as they recover from tonsillectomy. Almost like a recently lost tooth, it can be hard to resist the temptation to explore the new landscape. This too is normal. I strongly advise against molesting the area with foreign objects. Those scabs will fall off on their own. Touching, poking, or scraping on them increases the risk of hemorrhage and you don’t want that.
Many Otoraryngologists, or ear, nose and throat, (ENT) specialists recommend eating a somewhat rough diet, (think dry toast), to keep the affected area clear of excessive tonsillectomy scab build-up. This advice is most often given in the United Kingdom and Australia. Most ENT’s in the United States advise a soft diet.
Which ever route you take, there will likely be formation of tissue that covers the tonsil beds. I recommend following the advice I give in other pages of this site; keep the throat moist, avoid sharp foods, stay hydrated, take pain medications on schedule, sleep upright if possible, and leave those tonsillectomy scabs alone. They will normally begin to slough of at about day seven or eight of your recovery.
What Happens When Tonsillectomy Scabs Fall Off
You may feel a sharp pain occasionally as the tonsillectomy scabs fall off. This is common. This is normal. There is a slight increase in risk of bleeding while tonsillectomy scabs fall off. If you do have some bleeding, try gargling with ice cold water. This will usually stop the bleeding. If this doesn’t work, and bleeding becomes profuse, call 911 or get to a hospital immediately. Don’t panic. In there relatively rare cases, health care professionals have great success at stopping the bleed.
Daily Photos of Throat After Tonsillectomy. Caution: Scabs
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Day 5 was the worst. I had gone three days without eating or drinking which landed me in the ER getting IV fluids. I left with a new pain medication and feel great. I am now on day 7! I am eating (a little) and drinking fluids with hardly any complication. Reading these posts though are scaring me that it’s going to get worse again…
Today is day 7 for me. I have been waking up several times for the past few nights with pain. When will the scabs come off? And will I know when they come off? When does the pain stop. The pain just doesn’t seem to go away 🙁
Day 8 and still in so much pain but now it is not only my throat but my left ear as well. It seems the pain has decided to just be on the left side. This earache is worse than the entire experience so far. Anybody else having this type of experience? Not looking forward to the next week.
Hi Nina, Sorry you’re having a rough time. Ear pain is very common after tonsillectomy. Try chewing gum or placing a warm compress on the area. Hang in there! Things will improve soon!!
I’m on day 5 of recovery and both of my ears have been killing from day one! It feels like the worst ear infection of my life, and when they hurt, it’s worse than my throat. However a heat pillow on my ear really soothes it! I also have been eating hardly anything. I’m not hungry and can’t stand the pain.
Im 23 and I had my surgery on July 11th on day 5 (day 6 of post op) and my right ear won’t stop hurting and my right side of my throat. I woke up in a lot of pain but as the day goes on I’m finding some relief. I had to switch from the strong drugs the doctor gave me because it made me feel really sick and not have a BM. I switched to children’s Tylenol (15ml tho). On day 4 I switched to the gel adult Tylenol which seemed to help the pain a little more. Yesterday I ate some French toast and pizza rolls which went down fine and I thought I was making huge progress until I woke up this morning. My ear is on fire and it feels like I’m swallowing glass. I hope I feel better soon because this pain is bad and I want to enjoy my summer.
Holy crap I cannot express how much pain I am in right now and I’m day 8 of recovery. The last two days have been particularly awful – worse than the others – I think because the scabs are coming off. It hurts to drink water, and I just ate some mashed banana because I’m so hungry and it feels like shards of glass stabbing me at the back of my throat. I am still on heavy painkillers but they just take the edge off. I’ve got a pretty high pain tolerance and have had a few operations in the past (caesarian, gallbladder removal, wisdom teeth removal), but SH%# this hurts and possibly trumps them all.
Day 8 begun to ate rice and fish filet.
Hi ! 27 year old female here. Got mine out the 1st of August. Day 2 I threw up. As you can imagine it was excruciating. Day 5/6 have been absolutely horrible. I ran out of pain medicine day 4 but thankfully they gave me a refill. My ears starting to hurt on day 5 and now on day 6 they hurt constantly. I can’t eat solid food still even if I chew my bites up very well. I’ve learned mashed potatoes and gravy mixed with extra milk is surprisingly satisfying, since I can only eat broth, ice creme, pudding, and jello so far. Enjoy your first few days they are probably the best! Tip: I asked the doc to call me in a nausea Meds and even though I did actually throw up in day 2 I feel like they have helped. Best of luck to everyone !