It has officially been a full year since I had my nose surgery! I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. Even though I was extremely nervous about doing it, it was 100% worth it. I would do it again if I had to. In the last year I have been breathing better, sleeping better and stuffed up a whole lot less. It’s made a huge impact on my life and my only regret is not having surgery sooner!
I wanted to share with you all the items that were the most helpful for me when I had nose surgery. After I did my research, I stocked up on items ahead of time. I was so thankful that I had these items on hand. They made the experience so much easier.
Neck Pillow
The absolute best purchase for surgery was this neck pillow. I linked the exact one I bought because it was the best one I found. A neck pillow is absolutely necessary because you will spend a lot of time in bed after surgery. You definitely don’t want to be rolling over or bumping your nose. I chose this one because of the flat back it has which is perfect for moving to a chair or couch with a straight back. I also loved that it clipped in the front so that you could move around with it and it wouldn’t fall off. The memory foam is super comfortable and the velvet cover is so soft. The cover is washable too which is great! This pillow also comes with an eye mask and travel case.
Eye Mask
Not just any eye mask, but this specific eye mask. Since I was sleeping most of the time, day and night, an eye mask was necessary to keep it dark in the room. The reason I recommend this specific eye mask is because it has a ridge along the bottom that rests below your eyes and over your nose. I thought it felt really nice to have the pressure from that soft ridge on my eyes and nose while they were so bruised and sore.
Reusable Straw
When you have nose surgery, you don’t expect it to affect your mouth in any way but it does! Due to the type of nose surgery I had, the space between my nose and top lip was numb for months. It was so hard to drink anything that didn’t come from a straw. I couldn’t even smile for months! It is important to stay hydrated while you are recovering so having a reusable straw available is a lifesaver! These straws come in such cute colors too!
Dry Mouth Spray
Another major lifesaver after nose surgery was dry mouth spray! You can expect that you will be breathing out of your mouth A LOT during recovery as your nose will likely be in a cast or filled with packing. I woke up many times in the middle of the night during recovery with a horribly dry mouth. Just a couple sprays of this dry mouth spray kept me comfortable for the rest of the night. I cannot stress enough how much more comfortable this made me!
Lip Balm or Lip Sleeping Mask
I found that having a lip balm nearby at all times also really helped me with my dry mouth situation. When waking up to spray my mouth at night I would also apply some lip balm to keep the outside of my mouth from getting too dry. My favorite lip balm that I’ve used for about 15 years is Soft Lips in Vanilla. I didn’t own the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask at the time of my surgery but now that I have been using it for months, I would highly recommend that as well.
Nasal Spray
Your doctor will very likely recommend that you use a nasal spray and may even provide you with one. I bought a couple to have on hand and I’m glad I did because I ran out of the one the doctor provided very quickly. You will likely be cleaning your nose many, many times a day and will continue to do so for months after your nose surgery. This nasal spray will help to clean all of the dried blood and stitches out of your nose as well as keep your skin moisturized.
Pineapple Juice
My final recommendation would be to stock up on pineapple juice. I bought a bunch of cans and kept a pitcher filled in the refrigerator. Not only did drinking cold pineapple juice taste so good while I was recovering but it is known to help with bruising and swelling. I ended up pretty bruised around and under my eyes after nose surgery but I definitely noticed that my bruising was disappearing quickly while drinking the pineapple juice. I didn’t try any creams or anything for my bruising but I didn’t feel like I needed it since the pineapple juice seemed to really help me.
Leave a Reply