sexta-feira, setembro 25, 2015

Post tonsillectomy tips for pain

Hi, I'm a medical doctor. I've had my tonsills out 6 days ago and never felt so much pain, constant sweating and shaking from the pain's adrenaline release. But now i think i've got the hang of it
I'd like to leave a few tips, for people to know, especially tip 1.

1) The exposed area in the throat is permeable to water and salts and cant control its OSMOSIS, so it hurts bad like any open wound when you put something of unbalanced concentration agaist it. So it's REAAALLY important that you try to swallow liquids that are not too concentrated NOR TOO LITTLE concentrated, and never acidic! Pure water rushes into the wounds and hurts it, just like exposing a bruise to tap water. Lemon juice is your worst nightmare.
For me, cold water with 2 pinches of salt and 2 spoons of honey made for a drink that immediately stopped the aching. You should try to hit the 0.9% salt saline solution mark or close to that. AND take a sip of this drink after EVERY BITE of anything else that hurts, so it quickly balances the wound osmosis back to no pain.

2)Topical anesthetic( like tetracaine, lidocaine sprays or benzocaine candy) have a small lasting effect but its really strategic prior to trying to eat something. Just try not to swallow any as it gives me immediate nausea. Turn your head to the side so the anesthetic runs down into the wound at each side and wait a minute for it to sit there, then spit it out and gently wash your mouth.

3) NSAID painkillers are the most powerful in cutting inflammatory pain. Instead of drowning in vicodin/percocet/etc (opioids, they give me bad nausea and dont cut so much pain), try to have a constant dose of ibuprofen, or diclofenac (much more powerful but limited daily dosage), if you are not allergic, of course.

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