Question to those who have had a tonsillectomy.

I am on Day 9 (almost done!) and when I woke up today I noticed on my left tonsil area a LARGE stream of dark blood draining down from the throat area to the tonsils. I have never seen this before, and when I spit there isn't any blood, but it looks like a pretty sizeable clot with a long oozing trail.

If I clear my throat I get a little blood (reddish) but nothing really worrysome.

Is this normal? To have a large oozing bloody area in this area? And should I contact a doctor to look at it?

I gargled ice water, and tried to make sure it wasn't bleeding, which it isn't but it has me a bit worried...

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Sorry I am just reading this now..hope you are okay.
I do not want to scare you or anyone..just telling you what happened to my son. He had bleeding on day 10!! He started just feeling nauseous (turns out he had been swallowing blood without knowing it) then he does taste some blood and spit some out. I gave him ice water to gargle as I had read..and it got better but when I looked in his throat there was like a big blood clot bubble on one side so I called the doctor who told us to go to the emergency room and get it looked at. They were maybe going to suction and then cauterize it right in the emergency room but because of the way it looked and his age (15) his doctor came right in and they took him into surgery to repair the bleeding. It turned out to be a very good thing they did as that clot was protecting an artery and he bled badly in the operating room and was in surgery a little over an hour!! If they had tried to suction or dislodge it in er (or if we had at home..) it would have been a nightmare! I know his was an unusual case but I would still call your doctor and explain what is going on and let them determine what you should do. It is always better to be safe than sorry!! I would definitely call doctor if any question about whether the bleeding is normal or not. My son had to stay in hospital a few days after that and it set his recovery back but that is all behind him now and he is FINE! And you will be too!

Hope it was nothing and all is well!

Thanks I called the Doctor and it happened to be one of the surgeons who worked on me a week ago. Anyway, he said as an adult as long as it was not bleeding profusely and was maintaining the clot to leave it alone. He didn't want to do surgery unless absolutely necessary.

I offered to get a ride to the hospital to have him look at it in the ER room but he said it wouldn't be necessary. His feeling was that an minor blood vessel probably opened and clotted up (hopefully scabbing) and unless I had problem breathing or it wouldn't stop after 15 minutes not to worry about it.

Honestly, that concerns me but from what I gathered from a few friends who are surgeons, clotted blood is ok...but honestly that scared the crap out of this morning.

Since this morning it has shrunken and bled off and on again, but nothing major...more like a minor oozing. Weird...and yet scary and annoying.

Thanks for the reply! I am definately watching it now.

So glad you are doing okay. It is good that you called your doctor....I guess they see these "Complications" all the time..and know when to send you to ER.....

I wonder why bleeding would give you shortness of breath????

My son was very nauseous and had no appetite at all and it was because he had been swallowing blood and not knowing it. But no shortness of breath..

At least you know what to watch for and are keeping an eye on it. It is really scary though as we are not doctors and do not know sometimes what is okay and what isn't! I would still go to ER if it does not seem to be getting better or if you are really concerned. Not that I would want you to have a second surgery!!! But you don't want to continue bleeding either and also sometimes a doctors reassurance helps!

It sounds like you have it under control though and know what to watch for. You are almost through the recovery!! :) Just remember to still take it easy..nothing strenuous!!
Hang in there!

Shortness of breath I think is because your body's natural reaction to something in your throat is to close the airways...that was the only thing I can think of. He probably is not concerned if blood drips into my stomach as much as my lungs. Weird huh?

But yeah the blood is gone now and I see little spots on the skin where it bled yesterday. It is really weird (and a little disconcerting) to see spots that are blood vessels that can and may open up whenever they want...but I guess because they can clot its not a big deal.

He said adults are easier because you can tell them what to look for, but with children its a lot harder, so 9 out 10 times it is just better to be safe than sorry with kids.

No blood in the throat today, but I do have less scabs and small pink bumps in poking out of the scabs...Day 10...I wonder if I will be able to go back to work on Day 12.

I have a few questions... Did you have a sore throat and mucus in your throat before surgery....What were your symptoms ?? did you have shortness of breath for one of the symptoms ?? how long did you have the symptoms before having surgery ? Thanks...

I have a few questions... Did you have a sore throat and mucus in your throat before surgery....What were your symptoms ?? did you have shortness of breath for one of the symptoms ?? how long did you have the symptoms before having surgery ? Thanks...

I just checked my file and found in the discharge papers from the hospital that my ENT stated that ANY and ALL bleeding of ANY kind should be grounds for immediate trip to the ER. He also told me that as I was leaving the hospital after my surgery was over.

If you already talked to your surgeon and he's not concerned, then I guess it's ok. Just know that your potential for a heavy bleed isn't over until day 16. There was a lady who posted on here that she had such a heavy bleed on day 14 that she had to be rushed to the hospital and be recauterized. It was really scary, she said, but she wanted everyone to know that the potential is still there.

patricia jean, no mucus or sore throat before surgery. Why do you ask? My symptoms were Sleep Apnea (and two boughts of Strep that required 3 rounds of Antibiotics to kill off). Doctor thought this may help with the Sleep Apnea and hopefully help with my enlarged tonsils being worthless at fighting infection. No shortness of breath either.

Bracelet, thanks for the tip. I agree it would seem silly for me to not go, but he said that 9/10 times the bleeding stops before you get to the ER or while you are waiting to see a doctor. So his philosophy was only come if it is really bad. Problem is I naturally have no idea what REALLY BAD is. :) I am definately keeping an eye on it, and see the occassional blood in my spit but its nothing major...so I am just being aware without being freaked out about it.

I guess really major would be like bleeding that doesn't stop but in fact keeps getting worse. I mean, just use your best judgement. I was lucky and didn't have any bleeding during my recovery. But it seems like the majority of people here experience some type of bleeding, whether a lot or a little, during that time.

But again, if you've talked with your surgeon and he's not concerned, then it's probably ok. But if you find that it starts bleeding heavily and doesn't stop, definitely get yourself to the ER immediately.