Tonsillectomy / Adenotonsillectomy

PIAG M29 Tonsillectomy and Adenotonsillectomy Discharge Advice (266kB pdf)

General Information

Following your child’s tonsillectomy, they should stay indoors for 3 days and off school for a further 10 days.

• Take your child to your nearest A&E if there are any signs of oozing or bleeding from their nose or mouth, or they are spitting out or coughing blood, or vomiting blood during the 2 weeks after their tonsillectomy.
• Your child should avoid contact with people with coughs and colds to minimise the risk of infection.
• Your child’s breath will smell, and their throat will look white.
• If your child has a temperature, vomits or/and their throat looks green they may have an infection. Go to your GP.
• Eating and drinking is an important part of your child’s recovery, and they should eat and drink normal food as soon as possible. This helps the throat to heal.
  Pain Information
• Giving your child their pain medicine 30 minutes before meals will help to reduce their pain, making it easier for them to eat. Your child should start to feel less pain about 30 minutes after taking pain relief. It may take up to an hour for the medicine to work properly.
• Chewing gum also helps to reduce pain by helping the muscles in the throat to relax and move better.
• After their operation your child may have a sore throat for up to 2 weeks. Pain may be worst 3-5 days after their operation. Giving their pain medicine regularly is the most effective way of relieving this pain.
• Giving paracetamol, ibuprofen and morphine at the same time is safe. While paracetamol and ibuprofen are to be given regularly, morphine can be given as and when required at the stated time as additional pain relief in the first week.
• The tables show a good way of giving the medicines at the right time.
• Give medicines regularly to help stop the pain coming back.
• Wait at least 4 hours before giving another dose of each medicine.

Week one

Week two

• You must not give your child more than four doses of paracetamol or morphine in 24 hours, so you may have to wait up to 6 hours between doses.
• You must not give your child more than three doses of ibuprofen, so you may have to wait up to 8 hours between doses.
• Write down the time that you give each dose, to help you remember.
  How much pain relief should I give?
• The medicine doses your child received in hospital were based on your child’s weight.
• These doses may be different to the dose shown on the side of the bottles of paracetamol or ibuprofen, which is based on a child’s age.
• For your child the most effective (maximum) doses are shown below:

Liquid medicine: measure out the right amount using an oral medicine spoon or syringe. Do not use a kitchen teaspoon as it will not give the right amount.

• If your child is sick after having a dose of pain relief, do not repeat the dose.
• Wait at least 4 hours before giving any more pain relief.

What if I forget to give it?

Give the missed dose as soon as you remember. You must wait at least 4 hours before giving any more.

• If you are not sure a medicine is working, contact Ward 3A.
• Do not give extra doses of medicine, as this can be dangerous.
• Only give these doses to your child. Do not give these doses to anyone else, even if their condition appears to be the same, as you could do them harm.
• You will be provided with 10 days supply of pain medicine. If more is required, please go to your GP or Community Pharmacy

Contact details:

If you have any problems or worries, please telephone Ward 3A and the staff will be happy to help and advise you. Telephone number: 0151 252 5416 or 0151 252 5447.

This leaflet only gives general information. You must always discuss the individual treatment of your child with the appropriate member of staff. Do not rely on this leaflet alone for information about your child’s treatment.

This information can be made available in other languages and formats if requested.

PIAG: M29