Diet taboos for appendicitis

The dietary taboos for patients with appendicitis should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis - during the acute attack/pre-operative period, strict food and drink prohibition is strictly prohibited, and no food or drink is allowed.； During conservative treatment or during the recovery period after surgery, priority should be given to avoiding foods high in oil and fat, hard and high in fiber, spicy and irritating, and easy to produce gas. Eat smaller meals more frequently and avoid overeating.

I came across a typical counterexample when I was on duty at the general surgery department last week: a 22-year-old college student had minimally invasive acute appendicitis. On the third day after the operation, his gas and bowel movements were normal. He felt that he was young and recovered quickly, so he secretly ordered a spicy butter tripe hotpot while his accompanying parents came home to get some things, and drank half of it with an ice coke. That night, his abdomen became so bloated that he could not straighten up, and the wound was painful. He was ready to be discharged, but he was kept in the hospital for observation for two more days.

Many people have no idea about the dietary taboos of appendicitis. They either think they can eat anything, or they are so extreme that they can only drink white porridge for half a month. In fact, they have to adjust according to their physical condition. If you suddenly have pain in your lower right abdomen, and it hurts more when you press and release it, and you suspect it is appendicitis, the first thing you should do is stop eating and drinking. Stop thinking about millet porridge to nourish your stomach, or drinking water to slow down the pain. At this time, the appendix is ​​already congested and edematous. Eating anything will stimulate intestinal peristalsis, which will not only aggravate the pain, but may also cause inflammation to spread. In severe cases, it may even induce appendiceal perforation, adding risks to subsequent operations. I have seen too many patients who were so painful that they were sweating and insisted on eating two bites of bread. In the end, when they arrived at the hospital, they had to insert a gastric tube to relieve pressure, which made them suffer even more.

After the acute stage, whether the inflammation has subsided with conservative treatment or the gas has been relieved after surgery and you can eat, you cannot just let yourself go. Don't just stare at the big tonic soups you drink, such as old hen soup and big bone soup. The yellow layer on top is full of fat. The intestines have just regained their power and cannot digest such a heavy burden. It will easily get clogged in the intestines and cause pain, which will delay the recovery progress. There are also high-fiber foods that are usually laxatives, such as celery, leeks, dragon fruit, and peeled apples. Put them away first at this time. The edges of the crude fiber will rub against the edematous intestinal wall, causing the pain to feel like a needle prick. There is absolutely no need to suffer this.

Try to avoid things that are easy to bloat, not to mention ice cola and sparkling water, boiled beans, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, etc. After eating, your stomach will be bloated like a full balloon. If you have just had surgery and the wound is so painful, you will never want to try it again after you try it once.

Speaking of this, some people must ask, can we eat the "favorable things" that the older generation refers to as seafood, beef and mutton? In fact, the views of Chinese and Western medicine are somewhat different on this point. The consensus of Western medicine is that as long as you are not allergic to these foods, stew them a little bit, and cut them into smaller pieces, it is absolutely fine to eat a small amount for about a week after the operation. On the contrary, it can supplement high-quality protein and recover much faster than drinking plain porridge every day. There was an aunt in her 50s who only dared to drink white porridge for a week after the surgery. When she came for a follow-up check-up, her face turned pale and she said she was afraid of "causing" wounds after eating beef. We explained to her for a long time and went back to stew some soft beef brisket to eat. Nothing happened. She felt much better when she came for the check-up next time. Of course, if you believe in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, or if you are prone to allergies or gastrointestinal discomfort after eating these, there is nothing wrong with avoiding them appropriately. You don’t have to be tough. Your own comfort is the most important.

When I educate discharged patients, I usually mention two more things: Try not to touch iced drinks or iced watermelon just taken out of the refrigerator in the first half of the month. Cold stimulation can easily induce intestinal spasm, and pain can easily be confused with recurrence. There is no need to take this risk. Also, be sure not to overeat. There was a young man who was discharged from the hospital just a month ago. He went to a buffet with his friends and ate for two hours until he could no longer walk. He came back for a review that night because of abdominal pain. Fortunately, it was just indigestion and not a recurrence, but he broke out in a cold sweat.

In fact, there is no 100% standard answer to the dietary taboos for appendicitis. Everyone’s intestinal tolerance is different. Some people can eat some mildly spicy dishes ten days after surgery and have no problem. Some people feel pain even after eating boiled corn. Pay more attention to your body’s reaction, which is much more useful than a rigid list of taboos on the Internet. After all, when it comes to nourishing the stomach and intestines, comfort is the first criterion.