Rhinoplasty aftercare is essential to reduce your rhinoplasty recovery time and improve your final cosmetic results. Rest and recovery are a great start, but if you want to make a difference, you should take special care in choosing your rhinoplasty diet and maintain conscious meal choice days after surgery.
Today, we discuss what foods you should eat or avoid after your rhinoplasty procedure to improve recovery and ensure minimal discomfort and no complications from your surgical procedure.
What to Eat After Your Nose Job
24 Hours After Your Nose Surgery
The first 24 hours after your surgery is the most critical period for your recovery. You also have to be extra careful with what you eat to ensure it doesn’t cause side effects from anesthesia.
Keep foods bland to prevent nausea or other side effects. The same sort of foods you might eat when you have a stomach ache should be appropriate. Once the anesthesia is out of your system, you can begin expanding your diet again.
The First Week for Rhinoplasty Patients
For the first seven days after rhinoplasty, stick to foods that are easy to chew. Some good examples include mashed potatoes, oatmeal, soup, yogurt, and scrambled eggs. In addition to chewability, these also offer sustenance.
During this time, you should also take extra care to hydrate. Hydrating beverages like water and Gatorade are good options. Don’t forget, food is another essential source of hydration. Look to hydrating fruits like watermelon and strawberries.
Second Week After Your Rhinoplasty
During the second week of recovery, most people can resume their regular diet again. Everyone reacts a little differently after rhinoplasty or facial plastic surgery, so stay alert. You may have to continue with soft foods for a few more days if you are having trouble or pain with hard or crunchy food.
What Food to Avoid After Rhinoplasty
The foods you need to avoid are just as impactful as the foods you should eat.
Eating healthy is an excellent start to recovery, but even some healthy foods can cause problems early on: this includes:
- Alcohol: Alcohol slows recovery and can contribute to swelling. It is imperative to avoid it early on as it can negatively interact with anesthesia. You may be okay after the first week, but we recommend avoiding alcohol until the swelling has entirely receded.
- Spicy Foods: There are plenty of benefits to eating spicy foods, even reducing inflammation. But in the first 24 hours after anesthesia, it can cause nausea. It’s best to wait at least a week to avoid any illness or side effects.
- High Sodium Foods: Sodium or salt can directly contribute to swelling and may reduce healing. For a speedy recovery, it’s best to steer clear of high sodium diets for a while.
- Smoking: Smoking can do damage to your throat and nose. After surgery, you are especially vulnerable to this damage. Vaping and e-cigarettes may also cause damage and is not a good substitute during this recovery time. If you can’t escape the nicotine cravings, ask your doctor about patches and other options.
- Hard to Chew Foods: As mentioned, hard, chewy or crunchy foods may cause discomfort or damage early on in the recovery period. Wait at least a week before easing back into eating these types of snacks or meals.
You don’t have to stay away from your favourite foods forever, but while recovering from rhinoplasty, we recommend waiting until the swelling completely subsides before reintroducing aggravating foods and beverages.
If swelling starts to reoccur or discomfort begins, consider backing off the offending foods a little longer to ensure complete recovery. Continue to monitor yourself for elevated temperatures, unusual bleeding, reinjury, or worsening pain. If you experience these issues during recovery, contact our office immediately.
Rhinoplasty Surgeons in Toronto and Newmarket
Dr. Rival has performed thousands of rhinoplasties, having the experience to work with many different face shapes to achieve the patients’ ideal results. A double-board certified surgeon, Dr. Rival is an Otolaryngologist Head and Neck Surgeon that can prepare you for an easy and low-maintenance recovery for beautiful results. Get in touch today to book your initial consultation.