On the third day after surgery, if the child does not have a high fever (above 38.5 Celsius) and can eat semi-liquid (usually thin rice, cotton wool, noodles and rice flour in Minnan) without any problems, he/she can usually be discharged from the hospital.
In the days after discharge, you may encounter the following problems: 1. Sore throat: The first two days after surgery are usually less painful because of the analgesic pump to help relieve the pain. On the third day, when you wake up in the morning, the pain pump runs out of medication and your child will start to feel pain, especially when he or she swallows for the first time in the morning. But fortunately, the pain is not so intense that the child can basically tolerate it; and the pain gradually subsides after a small amount of water and food. The pain varies greatly from child to child, with some children looking sad and others watching TV and playing on their phones as if nothing is wrong.
Sore throat usually rarely lasts more than a week and usually does not require medication; if the pain is severe, you can take some painkillers (Merlin).
2. Abnormal pronunciation: Several children will have slurred speech after surgery, like having something in their mouth; this is because the pain makes the child swallow less saliva, and also the pain makes the muscle movement of speech uncoordinated. Some children may also have a slurred speech, and boys may speak like girls (male and female voice), which sometimes startles mothers and fathers, also due to the uncoordinated movement of the muscles of the throat.
The above situation will usually disappear within two weeks, so mom and dad don’t need to worry.
3. Neck pain: Usually the child will say that he/she feels pain when the neck is tilted back, and in severe cases the neck cannot be turned or tilted to the side. This is because the surgical site of the adenoids is close to the muscles next to the cervical spine (cephalicus longus) and the inflammation produced after the surgery can cause the muscles to spasm, causing pain and impaired movement.
This symptom usually does not last more than two weeks. The best way to cope is to take some painkillers (Merlin).
4. Bad breath: About a week after the surgery, some children will have obvious bad breath, mainly because bacteria will grow in the white membrane of the surgical site, and the bacteria decompose the protein to produce a special smell.
This symptom usually lasts for 3-4 days and does not require special treatment.
5. Fever: Sometimes a low fever (37-38.5 degrees Celsius) will last until about a week, which is due to the inflammatory material from the surgical site being absorbed into the bloodstream and producing a fever.
Unless the temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees or the child is depressed, no special treatment or hospital visit is needed.
6. Bleeding: Few children have bleeding after discharge from the hospital, and the chance of this is less than 1%. If there is a small amount of blood in the saliva, you can temporarily observe at home; if there is a whole mouthful of blood spit out, then you need to go to the hospital immediately (we have doctors on duty 24 hours a day).