Diet After Rhinoplasty: What to Eat And Drink and What to Avoid

Your journey toward a beautiful nose won’t stop right after the rhinoplasty. You’ve probably heard it many times or not (that’s not good) but let me tell you one more time: Recovery matters! It just occurred to me that it can make a great hashtag. But that can wait, so back to the recovery speech.

Well, your nose job result is significantly affected by how you recover and take care of yourself in this critical period of time after your surgery. One important factor in this period is your diet. A standard diet can positively affect the comfort and length of your recovery period. You may have heard random suggestions about what to eat or not to eat after surgery in general, but let’s go through a complete guide on diet after rhinoplasty to get a clear idea of all the food-related do’s and don’ts.

Why does diet after rhinoplasty matter?

Following the right diet paves the way for a smooth and successful recovery which helps the final result of your nose job come out both better and more quickly with minimal post-op side effects. Moreover, any surgery comes with some food restrictions and suggestions since the anesthesia, narcotic pain relievers like opioids, electrolytes, or fluid imbalance can mess with your stomach, make your digestion difficult, and cause constipation.

Rhinoplasty is not an exception. You’ll need to take it easy on your stomach on the first few days but you’ll also need nutrients that won’t interfere with the healing process, instead, speed up wound repair and reduce swellings.

So to experience fewer complications and to get the best out of your nose job, you’d better take your diet after rhinoplasty quite seriously.

When Can I Start Eating and Drinking After Rhinoplasty?

You won’t be allowed to eat and drink right after the surgery. You need to wait a few minutes, traditionally a few hours, before you’re allowed to drink water after the rhinoplasty. You can then keep drinking plenty of water and clear fluids. Your surgeon will then asks you to start having juice and soft liquid foods. 

Also Read: How to Prepare for Rhinoplasty

Foods to Eat and Drink After Rhinoplasty

While it matters what to eat after your rhinoplasty it also matters in what form you have them. As you’ll see it is important to eat foods that won’t pressure your jaws and your digestive system after the surgery. Generally here’s a good selection of foods and drinks to have in your rhinoplasty recovery period. Yet, we will discuss each group of helpful foods and their advantages in the following sections.

• Chicken soup
• Chicken stew
• Pineapple juice
• Celery juice
• Protein shake
• Kabab
• Chicken with whole rice
• Cold green tea
• Spinach dish
• Cooked vegetables such as carrots and broccoli

Water

It is critically important to keep your body hydrated. So make sure you drink a lot of water and help with your recovery.

Soft liquid Foods

You need to take it easy on your digestive system after undergoing rhinoplasty. This is why you have to spend the first week mainly with soft foods which are much easier to chew and digest. Moreover, it could be quite challenging and even dangerous to try chewing hard foods soon after rhinoplasty. Soft foods like

• apple sauce
• yogurt

scrambled eggs:

• oatmeal
• mashed potatoes
• chicken soup
• and porridge

can be both nutritious and also friendlier to your post-op condition.

High-Fiber Foods

Foods rich in fiber are essential for healthy digestion. Promoting normal bowel movements, high-fiber foods prevent constipation and are quite helpful during recovery. Therefore, it is very important to include foods with high amounts of fiber in your post-rhinoplasty diet. These foods include but are not limited to the following list:

• Grains are good sources of fiber you can include whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and popcorn in your diet.
• Make sure you don’t forget fresh fruits such as apples, oranges, strawberries, pears, etc.
• Vegetables are just as good so you can enjoy cooked carrots, baked potatos, boiled green peas, boiled broccoli, spinach, etc. which are both high in fiber and soft enough to be easily chewed.

Foods with Anti-inflammatory Effects

A very important type of food to be included in your diet after rhinoplasty is anti-inflammatory ones which as you can probably guess help reduce inflammation which in turn speeds up the process of wound healing.

Here are some of the anti-inflammatory foods:

• Foods with high levels of monounsaturated fats like avocado, fatty fish, and extra virgin olive oil
• Vegetables such as tomatoes and some green leafy ones like broccoli and spinach
• Fruits like strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and grapes
• Other foods such as dark chocolate, green tea, and mushrooms.

Wound-healing Foods

Foods containing vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that facilitate the healing process are a must in your post-rhinoplasty journey. Make sure to have a diet rich in wound-healing foods during your recovery period so that you can enjoy a quick recovery. Let’s take a look at some good sources of such foods:

• Foods rich in proteins: meat, fish, eggs, and yogurt
• Foods rich in vitamin A: carrots, oranges, and dark leafy green vegetables like spinach
• Foods rich in vitamin C: citrus fruits
• Foods rich in zinc: seafood

Foods with Anxiety-relieving Effects

Besides pain and discomfort, many people may also experience anxiety after their surgery. Prolonged anxiety can be very destructive which is why you should try to control it as much as possible.

Certain foods can help with relieving your anxiety and distress among which

• Brazil nuts
• dark chocolate
• green tea
• and chamomile

are some of the best ones.

Fresh Vegetables and Fruits

So far, we’ve mentioned fresh fruits and vegetables several times because they’re rich in nutrients which can be helpful in many ways. They’re rich in vitamins and minerals that are vital for a smooth recovery after rhinoplasty and help keep your body hydrated.

Still, we decided to dedicate a whole separate category to them in case you neglect their importance maybe because you’re not a fan, and resort to other sources for the above-mentioned groups of food.

In case you find it challenging to have fruits and vegetables during the recovery period, the good news is that they can be prepared and used in several ways so that you don’t need to worry about how to deal with chewing them.

Let’s take pineapple, for instance; the recovery queen. Containing bromelain that helps reduce swelling and bruising, pineapple is a perfect fruit to eat after surgery. Pineapple could simply be used in the form of juice which is much easier to have while it still has all the valuable nutrients and hydrates your body. Mashed potato is another example. It is both soft and rich in fiber which could be an ideal meal after your rhinoplasty surgery.

Nutritious Drinks

While acidic juices like orange juice are not recommended after rhinoplasty as they irritate your stomach, non-acidic fresh juices are highly recommended during your recovery. In addition to pineapple juice, celery juice is also a very beneficial drink to regularly have after your nose job. It reduces inflammation and helps with hydrating your body. 

What Foods and Drinks to Avoid After Rhinoplasty

It is important to ask your surgeon for complete instructions regarding rhinoplasty after-care, diet included. This can be particularly helpful if you need to be more cautious about specific things to avoid according to your case (if you have a special condition, suffer from a background disease, or are allergic to some foods).

However, if you fail to receive a full list of all the dos and don’ts or forget some points, here’s a guide to a post-rhinoplasty diet. Now let’s review the foods to avoid.

Hard Solid Foods

If you’ve experienced surgery and anesthesia before, you probably know that having hard foods are forbidden after almost any major surgery. In rhinoplasty, this period may extend a bit longer as the injured tissues are very close to your mouth and teeth. Therefore, you should strictly avoid eating hard and chewy foods that may cause extreme stretching of your upper lip and are hard to swallow when your nose is stuffy.

Foods like:

• Chips
• Cereals
• Noodles

Should be avoided.

Note that although many foods recommended above may be originally hard you can simply choose to have them in a way that is both soft and beneficial. You can have apples sliced into very small pieces and carrots baked so that you don’t have to chew them hard. Dark chocolate could be melted or grated.

Spicy or Acidic Foods

Spicy and acidic foods must be avoided after rhinoplasty as they can be harmful and negatively affect your healing process in several ways:

• Increasing blood pressure

Spicy and acidic foods can elevate blood pressure which could be particularly dangerous as it also increases bleeding

• Irritating the stomach

Digestive problems could be quite uncomfortable and slow down your healing.

• Irritating the mucous

The mucous tissues of the nose may be irritated which causes wounds to heal more slowly. Moreover, this irritation increases the risk of sneezing which is extremely uncomfortable after rhinoplasty.

Processed Foods

Processed foods are one of the most important groups of foods that you should avoid after rhinoplasty. They’re usually poor in nutrients and fiber but full of sugar, sodium, and saturated fats, and can promote inflammation. Using whole, unprocessed and unrefined foods is recommended instead.

Too cold or too hot Foods and Drinks

Remember how we emphasized that the type of foods and the way you prepare and have them matter?

Well, now you should know that the temperature matters too. Too cold or too hot foods are not good for your health even in general. Yet they could be more harmful right after rhinoplasty. They can increase pain and discomfort by damaging teeth and burning the mouth. So make sure you avoid them too.

Salty Foods

A big no to salty foods during recovery is a must if you hate bearing swelling and edema for long which you definitely do. Salty foods retain water and worsen swelling so should be strictly avoided. 

Alcohol

Alcohol is strictly forbidden after surgery, and rhinoplasty is no exception. 

It could negatively affect your healing process in many ways which is why a 6-week alcohol-free life is recommended after rhinoplasty.

Drinking alcohol can lead to poor healing by increasing the risk of bleeding, swelling, and bruising. Moreover, as you’re on pain relievers after the surgery, having alcohol at the same time can result in serious complications.

Caffeinated Drinks

It may seem difficult if you’re a caffeine addict or used to having daily caffeinated drinks but you should know that this caffeine is capable of slowing down the healing process. So avoiding it for a short time to have a comfortable recovery is really worth it.

What to Eat on the Day of Your Surgery

You should start following this diet from the very first day. So right after the surgery, you must avoid whatever you’ve been advised not to eat. In fact, you should even follow this instruction more strictly in the first few days.

As already mentioned, you’ll start with drinking water and go on with plenty of other clear fluids. You can have pulpless non-acidic juices such as celery juice and pineapple juice. As protein is an important factor in facilitating wound healing, protein shakes could be very helpful. But make sure you have shakes that only contain proteins. 

It is also recommended that you eat soft liquid foods rich in fiber which are easy to swallow and chew and decrease the risk of constipation.

How Long Should We Follow the Post-rhinoplasty Diet

Normally, rhinoplasty recovery lasts about a week. However, in some cases, it may last up to 2 weeks. So to be on the safe side, you’d better follow the post-rhinoplasty diet during this period. You can then gradually start to return to your regular diet. But it’s not the case with alcohol and caffeine which must be avoided for about 6 weeks. Don’t forget that you’re not allowed to smoke of any kind for a while after rhinoplasty.

Although we went through a general guide on diet after a nose job, considering each patient is different from another, make sure you consult your doctor for more details and a personalized guide.

Last Word

In conclusion, the recovery period after a rhinoplasty is a crucial time that significantly impacts the final results of your nose job. Following the right diet is essential to ensure a smooth and successful recovery with minimal post-op side effects. Your diet after rhinoplasty should focus on foods that won't pressure your digestive system, provide essential nutrients for wound healing, and reduce inflammation. Opt for soft foods, high-fiber options, and anti-inflammatory choices to aid in the healing process. Stay away from hard solid foods, spicy or acidic foods, processed foods, and alcohol, as they can hinder the healing process and lead to complications. Remember to avoid caffeine and extremely hot or cold foods and drinks as well. Following this diet during the recovery period, which typically lasts about a week, will help you achieve the best results from your rhinoplasty and contribute to a comfortable and successful healing process. However, always consult your surgeon for personalized advice based on your individual needs and condition.