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 got my tonsilsectomy and adenoidectomy done on Wednesday, the 29th of November. It is now day 5 (including surgery day since it was so early) and I’m having such a bad recovery. I haven’t been able to eat a thing! It’s crazy to see that people are managing soft foods, I was only able to do so on day 1!
I haven’t had an ounce of sleep since Saturday either, I overslept and dried out my throat to the point that it wasn’t going to let me rehydrate it properly. Went to er, they numbed me up and got me all up and going again. Sent me home with a magic wash? A numbing agent!
I can only use it every 6 hours and every 3 I’m on oxy an d tylenol. They’re not helping at all, though. I’m up right now and I think more scabs are coming loose, it burns so bad and my ears are ringing.. Can this end so i can get some sleep please
I’m also 19, f
I’m on day 6 now and my pain has gone down so much since last night! I was even able to get HOURS of sleep, finally! I’m still dozing off, the oxy is finally having a drowsy effect on me now that I’m not curled up in a ball in pain..
It feels like a bad case of strep right now and i never thought I’d be happy it feels just like that. I’m having burning sensations, it is way harder to swallow and I looked at my throat to see so many scabs gone! It gets better, give it time. You’ll make it! Its only up from here
Omg this is so weird I got my tonsillectomy the same day as you.
Really? How’s yours coming along?
Day 7! My throat stung again for a bit today as some of the last stabbings came off. Realized that the “dry” feeling in my throat no matter how much i drank was due to the scabs that were halfway off– weird.
I only have a few left on my right side! I was able to eat a little bread today but stopped when it became uncomfortable in fear I might negatively effect all this progress I’ve made. Midday today, ice water numbed me until now and I’m lessening on my meds!
Just a slight sore throat with a little ear pain.
HI Cassie,
I had my surgery on the 28th Nov. most of my throat pain is gone, I’m just hoping that the remainder of my scabs fall off within the next couple days.
I didn’t write this but on the night of day 7, I ended up having a really bad pain suddenly in the back of my throat and I tried to drink it down with water assuming it was another scab coming loose. Then, for a bit I felt warmth gathering in the back of my throat which was familiar due to the bleeding on day 2 which was minimal.
This, however, filled up a jello cup so I started to freak out thinking I’d need to go to the er and was going to call until i felt what i thought was the scab, hanging in the back of my throat. It caused me to get and i ran to the sink and spit up a blood clot. It was very scary. But, the bleeding stopped after that. I was scared the entire night though, got no sleep.
Im now on day 8, this morning after the big scabs seemed to have fallen off, I can talk some with little discomfort and I tried to eat a small burger, got through half! But, it was getting very uncomfortable. I’ll have to settle for Mac and cheese! But, it was so good to finally eat something. Oh, I was also able to sleep for 6 hours, woke up every 3 for meds, but I didn’t feel like I hated myself. My throat hadn’t gotten too dry, I’m happy!
I think it’s going good, I’ve been slowly getting off of my oxy and even forget about it until my usual alarm to take said medicine goes off. I’m still prepared for tonight, things might get bad again! Though, i hope its for the last time.
I had my surgery last Monday and had an appointment at the ENT for my son on Friday. So I hijacked the appointment because I was afriad I was going to run out of Oxy over the weekend and my pain only seemed to be getting worse, and the PA said I could take inbuprofen. I questioned her because I read you couldn’t take it but she said I was out of the woods for bleeding. After reading some of these posts I’m worried about that…but oh my word the ibuprofen made a huge difference with my pain level because it helps with the swelling so much. So I started alternating ibuprofen and tylenol ever 3 hours and was able to stretch out the oxy to six hours (was taking it every 4).
I had my surgery the day before you, I’m just now starting to eat alittle bit. The pain has been tolerable. Hopefully it gets better from now on!
Ibuprofen is doing me miracles (I’m on the same day as you)
28, female 4th day post op after tonsillectomy in Norway (surgery 28th).
I am so glad I found this site! It’s motivating and reassuring to read about your experiences. My pain is differing so much from morning to night. Early mornings and late evenings are for sure the worst, where I have to collect myself every time before I swallow my own saliva. The afternoons have treated me nicely so far and give me a time gap to eat some usually jello or scrambled eggs. Besides that I suck on ice cubes around the clock, it soothes a bit and helps to hydrate.
Here in Norway my doctor prescribed 50mg diclofenac every 8th h. & paracetamol 800mg with morphine(60mg) every 6 h. But the earache and feeling of having razor blades in my throat is still severe at night.
I am just hoping for my scabs to let go soon !!
xxx
I am now 3 weeks post-op, and a huge THANKS to everyone who shared their experiences – I checked in to make sure I was on schedule and what to expect at each stage. 30 year old female for reference. A few tips now that I am through the worst – mentally prepare yourself! If you have chronic infections, keep telling yourself it is just another bout of horrible strep, and temporary pain for a long term solution. Ice collar every few hours! I had two packs of small peas that I rotated through, they are easier to manipulate around your neck. Sleep upright if you can, especially the first few days. Try and get out and walk, I had little energy but looking forward to walking down the street every day helps get the blood flowing and prevents clotting (and cabin fever!) Expect soreness ALL OVER from the anesthesia. I was actually itchy for a few days and felt like I had run a marathon – my legs, arms, neck were all sore. This is normal when you go under, and it takes time for it to get out of your system. I started with just Jell-O and sugar free Popsicles, Costco has little sherbets in fruit cups that help coat your throat. I then graduated to chicken broth in small amounts (lukewarm of course), and instant mashed potatoes! Once the scabs started coming off, I added in mac & cheese, make sure to chew it up really well, but it satisfied my wanting to be full feeling. No milk in the mac, I just used butter and a little water (I was told to avoid dairy). Also, protein shakes! They may take you a while to swallow down, but helps with the tired and weak feeling. I also had 7up on hand, helped with taking meds on an “empty” stomach, and the bubbles were nice and soothing for my throat. As far as pain meds – I was prescribed Oxycodone, I kept the lower dose for the “easier” first week, and right on schedule days 7-10 were the worst so upped to the full dosage. Also, get a pill grinder or mortar and pestal, I used apple sauce and the small amount of acidity if you leave the ground up pills in there for a few minutes helps with the taste and makes sure there are no large pieces that hurt when you swallow. Remember, every 24 hours is different, you have a few bad days but that can change quickly! I am now able to eat solid foods (at about a little over 2 weeks, think enchiladas cut small pieces etc.), still have some redness and a little scabbing, but honestly the hardest parts were about 3/4 days when the scabs started to come off. Hang in there, lots of binge watching, and make sure to have the pain meds every few hours to keep them in your system, even if it’s a low dose! GOOD LUCK!
Had my tonsils taken out one the 21st, it is now the 26th and I am actually kind of surprised as to how everything is going , i do not want to jinx anything but although I have been in pain it hasn’t really been anything to severe unless we’re talking about the mornings which is quite painful. Also Just about 15 minutes ago I tried to eat a peice of French toast and I felt somthing in my throat so I took a look and some of the white stuff was hanging there , is this the scabs falling off or just somthing that happens?
I had mine removed on the 17th and was told to take tylenol… should I be take oxycodone too? Did my physicians screw me over? 18 year old male btw and I too am salty that I can’t eat on thanksgiving :((
I got mine out on the 20th and was also salty I couldnt eat on thanksgiving aha. Im a 19 yr old female and was prescribed hydrocodone but I only took it for 6 days. It made me sleep too much and I wasnt eating (because I was asleep) and I became extremely weak and malnourished. I just switched to lyquid tylenol and it does a really good job at managing the pain. It doesn’t take away 100% of the pain like the hydrocodone does but its managable. I managed to not take a nap yesterday and I got out of the house for the first time to see a movie! Your physician did not screw you over, some don’t prescribe oxycodone if they personally think tylenol is enough.