Diet And Nutrition After Appendicitis Surgery

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Diet and nutrition after appendicitis surgery

Every person who is admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis will definitely undergo an operation to remove it. Naturally, this will only be done after a thorough examination and confirmation of the diagnosis. After the removal of appendicitis, as after any other surgical intervention, you should be prepared for the fact that the diet will become a mandatory item on the list of recovery measures. In addition to standard procedures and certain medications, you will need to eat special meals. Diet after surgery to remove the appendix plays an important role in the postoperative period. It helps to quickly return to the usual way of life, as well as to quickly restore the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

It is worth remembering that the diet must be followed, at least 14 days. A little longer if there were any complications during or after the operation.

The operation to remove appendicitis in most cases lasts no more than 20 minutes if everything goes well and without complications. Recovery after such a surgical intervention is quite fast, but not always easy. The most difficult thing is the first day after the operation. This is the day when the patient cannot eat or drink anything. Maximum moisten dry lips, no more. The first day is the time when the body must be given the opportunity to throw all its strength into the restoration of internal wounds. On the second day, still mineral water is allowed. Gradually, every day there is an expansion of the list of products that can be eaten again.

Content:

• What can you eat after appendicitis surgery?
• What not to eat after appendicitis surgery?
• Daily menu for a week

What can you eat after appendicitis surgery?

Meals for the first 3 days

In the first 12 hours after the operation, you should not eat at all, but basically, there is no appetite anyway. With good health, at the end of the first day, it is allowed to drink a little rice broth, low-fat chicken broth or fruit sweet jelly.

In the next 2 days, it is allowed to already include:

• low-fat chicken broth;
• mashed potatoes;
• boiled rice in water;
• squash or pumpkin puree;
• low-fat, unsweetened natural yogurt;
• boiled and mashed chicken.

In this case, food should be fractional, food should be taken in small portions 5-6 times a day.

Meals on the following days

The next 7 days after appendicitis, the patient's diet includes only fresh foods, they are prepared only in the form of porridge or very liquid soups. All of this is needed to ease the strain on your stomach and intestines. It is preferable to eat not so much soups as broths cooked with chicken meat or with vegetables. Why Chicken? Because it is the leanest meat, moreover, dietary, easily digestible compared to other types of meat. Loss of appetite is common after surgery. When on the second day the attending physician is allowed to eat a little, you should not give up the light broth. It will not cause a negative reaction from the gastrointestinal tract, and the patient will be able to recover faster.

Vegetable soups will be useful: zucchini, beets, potatoes, carrots, it is permissible to add a little rice. They will contain vitamins A and C, most important for the recovery of the body. They contribute to the rapid healing of internal tissues. All ingredients are cooked until fully cooked and crushed with a blender to a liquid puree. It is very good to add fresh herbs (parsley, dill) to broths or pureed soups, they will improve digestion, which is important during the recovery period.

Do not forget about the liquid, which will also be important during recovery. The bigger, the better. As liquids, you can drink herbal teas and natural juices, compotes, it is desirable that this is all of your own preparation, and not chemistry bought in a store with a large amount of sugar. If it is not possible to make juices yourself, it is better to limit yourself to 1.5-2 liters of plain water daily and be sure.

Gradually, the diet after the operation will expand. After two to three days, the body will already be able to accept and digest porridge, boiled meat, and some fermented milk products. All this should not cause any negative reaction from the gastrointestinal tract in the form of constipation, vomiting or intestinal pain.

Natural yogurt or unsweetened curd, kefir, enriched with bifidobacteria - all this is also a storehouse of essential vitamins for recovery. The fermented milk product is easily digested and does not cause a negative reaction from the stomach or intestines. It should be introduced into the diet as soon as you feel a little better.

Due to the fact that the first few days after the removal of the appendix, the patient is forced to remain in bed, he may experience constipation due to inactivity. Medicines can also cause constipation. In this case, the body should be nourished with some fiber. Boiled carrots, dried fruits, baked apples, rose hips, rice, buckwheat and oatmeal in the water are best suited. Just before you eat any of the above, talk to your healthcare provider if he will allow it.

The best source of beta-kerotene is pumpkin. It also contributes to the rapid recovery of the body due to the large amount of vitamins of groups A, B, C, E, as well as vitamin K, which has a beneficial effect on blood clotting. Thanks to vitamin T, the body's metabolic processes will be faster, which will significantly increase the digestibility of food. Pumpkin can be eaten boiled, as a mashed soup or porridge.

The list of approved products may differ for each patient. This is due to the peculiarities of the course of recovery of the body and the presence or absence of complications after the removal of the appendix. The duration of recovery is influenced not only by strict adherence to the correct diet, but also by timely medication, compliance with all doctor's prescriptions and the patient's age.

If there were any complications during the operation, then the list of allowed foods in the postoperative diet will be much smaller.

Consider the nature of the inflammation when compiling approved products. If the appendicitis was purulent, try to include in the menu as many foods as possible that have antibacterial properties, as well as fortified with a variety of vitamins.

What not to eat after appendicitis surgery?

After the operation, you should definitely make a list of foods that you will have to give up during your recovery. First of all, be sure to reduce the amount of salt you use to a minimum. Ideally, give it up altogether for at least 2 weeks. Eliminate all very salty foods, including jerky fish.

A variety of spices and peppers will not only cause negative reactions from the gastrointestinal tract, but also significantly delay your recovery time. Be sure to exclude foods such as tomatoes, beans, peas, and beans. They can cause intestinal cramps, cramps, and gas. In addition to making your stitches hurt after surgery, these products will add pain to your body.

Various smoked meats, fatty meats, any sausages, ketchup, mayonnaise, sauce - all this will negatively affect the work of your internal organs. This is a very heavy food. And since all the forces of the body after the operation should be aimed at restoring internal wounds, then such food will be digested for a very long time. Fermentation of the remnants of undigested food will begin, as a result of which complications may arise in the form of divergence or suppuration of the seams.

The same applies to all carbonated drinks. This is a prohibited product during the recovery period.

In addition to prohibited and permitted products, there are those that stand in the middle, they cannot be attributed to either one or the second group. These are honey, dried fruits and some dairy and fermented milk products (allowed only with a low percentage of fat or generally skimmed). It is important to consult with your doctor about these products, who will allow or prohibit their use depending on your health condition.

Give your body an opportunity to rest and recover on its own, do not complicate its work with too heavy and difficult to digest food.

Daily menu for a week

1 day

For breakfast, you should drink only a glass of unsweetened tea with Maria cookies. Moreover, cookies can be no more than 1 piece. You cannot eat other baked goods or pastries yet. If you cannot live a day without sweets, then with the permission of a doctor, you can eat marshmallows, but only 1 piece per day, no more.

II breakfast. You can only use juice, tea or water.

Dinner. The stomach should gradually get used to food and exercise. As a soup, you can eat chicken broth, and as a side dish - oatmeal or rice porridge in water, without oil. Drink everything with tea without sugar or mineral water without gases. You can use natural fresh juice.

Afternoon snack. You can only use juice, tea or water

Dinner. All the same Maria cookies, tea. You can eat one low-fat yogurt.

2 day

For breakfast, it is already allowed to eat any dairy-free unsalted porridge. This can be water-boiled buckwheat, oatmeal, barley or corn, all at your discretion. No added butter. Tea without sugar and unleavened biscuits. You can eat bran instead of cookies.

II breakfast. Freshly squeezed juice, you can also water without gas.

Dinner. Broth or soup with a minimum of potatoes and meat. Moreover, the ingredients of the soup should be crushed to a puree consistency. Braised cabbage without tomato paste. A small piece of boiled chicken. Gas free water or tea.

Afternoon snack. Low-fat yogurt or jelly

Dinner. Any porridge cooked in water and without butter. Eliminate only legumes from your diet. Low fat kefir.

Day 3

It's time to start introducing foods that are harder to digest.

For breakfast, dairy-free oatmeal or millet porridge, which can be slightly salted. 1 hard boiled egg Tea without sugar and a few croutons.

II breakfast. Freshly squeezed juice, still water or tea with cookies.

Dinner. Chicken broth with pieces of meat and vegetables (carrots and potatoes). Rice porridge on water, lightly salted, but still without oil. Dried fruits compote.

Afternoon snack. Low-fat yogurt or jelly

Dinner. Oatmeal with a slice of boiled fish. Gas free water or tea.

Day 4

For breakfast, dairy-free oatmeal. Lightly salted, no butter. Slice of loaf with cheese, tea with 0.5 tsp. Sahara.

II breakfast. Dry biscuits and juice, preferably fresh.

Dinner. Vegetable puree soup, no added sunflower oil. Buckwheat porridge with steamed chicken cutlets. Rye bread and apple compote.

Afternoon snack. Low-fat yogurt or jelly

Dinner. A bit of stewed cabbage with a few pieces of chicken. Tea, or low fat kefir.

Day 5

For breakfast, dairy-free wheat porridge. From this day onwards, it is allowed to add a small amount of butter. Tea, into which you can begin to add a little sugar, dry biscuits.

II breakfast. Dry biscuits and juice, preferably fresh.

Dinner. Chicken broth soup with vegetables and a little rice. Pumpkin porridge with steamed fish cakes. Rye bread, sweet tea or dried fruit compote.

Afternoon snack. Low-fat yogurt or jelly

Dinner. Dairy-free buckwheat porridge, lightly salted and with a small piece of butter. Steamed fish cakes. Slightly sweet tea with dry Maria biscuits.

6 day

For breakfast, dairy-free buckwheat porridge with the addition of a small piece of butter. Loaf with cheese and sweet tea.

II breakfast. Dry biscuits and juice, preferably fresh or still water.

Dinner. Vegetable puree soup cooked in chicken broth. Braised cabbage, with a little chicken meat without adding tomato sauce. Rye bread and tea.

Afternoon snack. Low-fat yogurt or jelly

Dinner. Cottage cheese casserole, but without sour cream. Tea with loaf or biscuits.

The most important rule regarding prohibited foods is the ban on salt, spices and spicy foods. In addition, in 1 month it is forbidden to eat fresh fruits, as well as foods that stimulate gas formation in the intestines (milk, legumes)

In any case, no matter what menu you have compiled for the recovery period after surgery, try, in general, to adhere to the rule that the food contains as many vitamins and beneficial trace elements as possible, which are important for the normalization of your digestive tract system. Eliminate prohibited foods and try not to eat foods that are heavy for the stomach at least for the first 2 weeks after surgery. It is advisable to grind all food to a mushy consistency.

The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist

Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).