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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i am 35 year old male and have removed my tonsils 5 days ago,so overall it has been a difficult 5 days, not because of eating or anything, for me sleeping has been the biggest problem, last night was the worst pain i have ever felt, the throat hurts obviously but it not unbearable, what is unbearable is the ear pain which makes the head explode specially when u are trying to sleep and the jaw pain on the side, i took
acetaminophen 500mg it did help a little but in a matter of 2 hours it was back again, for some reason during night time the pain gets to maximum level and during day all is good just come and goes, to all my fellow comrades i say power be with you, dont give up, fight it and there will be glory, dont get upset or angry thats the main reason it triggers and will choke u before u know it, fight it and remember there are far more worse things out there that people are struggling, peace and mich love to all ya.
I had this done when I was 8, in 1977, and I can remember vividly my mom bringing an R2D2 toy to the hospital after the procedure. Star Wars had come out and was really taking off. I cannot remember recover, just some ice cream and then back to school a couple of days later. Honestly don’t remember pain or anything like that. The benefits of being a kid! Now that I have pre-teen kids myself, I am watching them closely for tonsillitis, but they don’t seem to ever get sore throats. Back 1977, it seems like every kid I knew had them out.
i had laser tonsillectomy on 8th june 2017. i am a 21 year old male and suffered in college due to recurring tonsillitis (6 times in a year). finally had it done. my doctor was really nice , he said he could discharge me right away but its ok to be under observation for 24 hours. they kept me on pain killer drip (best thing possible). i felt like as if i am healed but when i was discharged and taken off those pain killers and was given tablets instead, it came back to bite me. i was in so much pain every morning and now it has reduced a bit. ice creams , yogurts and milkshakes are your best friends. i started eating semi solid since today. i hope the pain goes away soon. i caught cold in the morning, worst thing that can happen to anyone after tonsillectomy. sneeze and cough are the worst enemies. it can tear your stitches inside. i was advised by my doctor to not wash my head so as to not catch cold and it helped. its painful but i know its going to be ok. good luck everyone.
and honestly, the pain, i had more worse tonsillitis pain than this. i had extremely painful throat, once it hurt so much even after i was on pain meds, i didnt drink water for 1 whole day even though i was thirsty because i knew i wont be ale to swallow it and fever rising upto 104F and the body aches and chills. i hope it never happens again.
Today is June 8th and I am on day 7 of a tonsillectomy. I am a 35yr old female and I have 4 children. I have to say this is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. 3 of my children were natural, only one with epidural, and 1 was an emergency c section.
Today was the first day I had food which was basically gagging and choking down half a can of chicken noodle soup over an hour span. The pain is in my entire head. I wish I would have decided against the operation now. I can not believe that this is done as an outpatient procedure for adults. Pain meds don’t work, best bet is honestly 800mg ibuprofen alternated in frequently. The only positive I see so far is that I have lost about 10 lbs in a week. Good luck to everyone going thru this cuz I feel your pain. At this point I would not recommended having this done as an adult.
I’m 47, had my tonsellectomy May 25th. Honestly it took me two years do decide to do this! But I ultimately had to due to my complications I had because of them. THE WORST EVER! I’m pretty high with pain tolerance and I’m pretty positive but I’m really really over this! I’m on day 6 today is my first day I’ve ate anything, I’ve had incredible pain, my ears, jaw, tongue, throat, and neck. My uvula is very very swelled so i can not sleep laying down. I have only been able to sleep 1 half to 2 hours at a time because it feels like the pressure from laying still is going to make my entire head, mouth, jaw, etc explode!!! I’ve never taken anything stronger that Motrin so last night I found out it has constipated me and I was in more pain. I will not take anymore, strictly tylenol from here no matter what! Today, day 6 has been my best day yet. Throat is much better, still painful but I can actually swallow with very minimal pain. Just seems one day im ok and can deal and then out of the blue bam it hits again. Ugh getting frustrated want to go back to work and just get better. I really don’t even care about eating I just want to get better. Sores have been there but starting to slough which is causing raw patches that makes it difficult to drink even but at least no blood, yayyyy.
Oh my….had mines taken out on May 24th of this year and I totally agree that at 41 yrs old this is worst than child birth…I’ve experienced the exact same things as you have with no sleep, one day is better than the next and so on…I’ve slept in a recliner for 5 days and I’m sick of everything I stay nausea due to the drainage and sometimes it’s so bad I do vomit. ..but I’ve noticed that eating ice, applesauce soup and Popsicles helps and a humidifier by where you sleep helps….and take your pain meds on time every 6 hrs and brush your teeth 3 to 4 times a day and gargle and put cotton in your ears to help with the throat pain….hope you get better soon and sorry it’s so rough for the both of us….