It’s most likely just mucosal swelling. I dealt with similar swelling myself; for a while, I was convinced I had a massive abscess or some kind of severe allergic reaction. But as time passed since the surgery, the swelling simply subsided and vanished. Don't panic over every minor fluctuation you notice. Just remember that you underwent an invasive surgical procedure, which must leave its mark.
If you're convinced it isn't just swelling, then go to a follow-up appointment instead of scaring yourself with self-diagnoses pulled from Google. A doctor actually knows what they're doing; you aren't a physician. 😉
Skin issues around the nose area are perfectly standard following surgery. You spent seven days trapped under a mold, which basically means your skin couldn't breathe at all. For me, things didn't even start feeling "normal" until about two months post-op. You just have to learn to live with it for a while until your skin decides to stabilize on its own. Using Neutrogena can help quite a bit, but honestly, there's little point in starting too early; in those initial stages, your sebum production is so excessive that no cream is going to make a dent.
When it comes to blowing your nose, please be extremely careful. It’s much better to just rinse it out with saline and then do a sort of "construction worker" style blow right into the sink. If you apply pressure with your hands against your nose while blowing, you risk causing some serious damage. My method was simply to blow, let whatever came out fall, and then wipe it up with a tissue. It wasn't the most graceful sight, but at least I knew I wasn't tampering with my nose.
My doctors have given me the same rundown: lymphatic drainage is essentially optional. It’s a choice. If you’re looking to aggressively flush out those swollen areas as fast as possible, then sure, go for it. Otherwise, the standard approach is just to leave it alone for two or three months. In most cases, the swelling tends to subside on its own during that window without any intervention whatsoever.
wanderingnomad13 said:Absolutely not. None of that is even remotely accurate. That might have been the standard twenty years ago, if it ever was. Typically, within two or maybe four days at most, someone like Dr. Smith would have them out the very next day after surgery. In my case, I had mine removed after two days and I could barely hold out until then. I don't know how anyone manages waiting any longer than that..
I corrected myself in the post immediately below; there's really no need for that kind of reaction.😉
I can't edit my previous post, but yeah, I messed up—I was confusing the mold with the tampon 😁 As for me, I had my tampon removed the very next day following my estrogen surgery. However, scanning through this forum, I've seen people mention that after more intense functional procedures, they wait a full week before removal. It really seems to vary from doctor to doctor; not everyone follows the exact same playbook...
rapidbadger7 said:Generally speaking, how many days should you leave them in?
It depends on the context. If we are talking about cosmetic adjustments, maybe a week. If it involves functional surgery, it could be much longer. Of course, it all comes down to the specific doctor; there isn't a single standard everyone follows.
Drew Perez11 said:Hey everyone... 😁 how long did it take for your packing to fall out? 🙂 It’s been about 22 or 23 days since my surgery and they’re still stuck in there... :S The smell is getting to me and it’s just uncomfortable... I just want to finally be able to clean my nose normally.. 🙂 Both are sitting in my right nasal passage...
It’s been nearly two months for me since the procedure and almost everything has dropped out; I've only got one left in each side. It's pure relief now that there's no more pressure in my sinuses and none of that disgusting buildup lingering inside.😁
Look, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but five weeks is basically nothing when you're trying to get swelling down. I don't understand why people can't grasp the reality here: you underwent nose surgery. That’s a physical trauma. It isn't some minor seasonal flu that clears up in a few days; it requires a significantly longer recovery window than that.🙄
Don't sweat it; I'm dealing with the exact same thing in my left nostril. My Conan is halfway out, and everything has just clumped up around it, hardening into this stubborn mass that won't budge. The only way I can manage the new irritation is by flushing things out with saline and using Q-tips. You really just have to wait until it falls out on its own—the wound isn't truly healed until the body rejects the stitch holding it in place. Until then, you're stuck dealing with the smell, that constant tightness in your nose, and picking at the gunk. 😁
I dealt with some absolutely brutal bruising myself—at first, they were as dark as fresh asphalt. My doctor told me straight up: don't bother applying any ointments or creams, just let them be. Twelve days later, they had completely vanished without a trace. In my experience, it’s usually best to just step back and let the body process things on its own terms.
wanderingnomad13 said:What kind of claims are these, saying you can't even touch your nose for several months?? Or that you shouldn't blow your nose for ten days after surgery??
Correct me if I'm wrong, but since my fifth day, I’ve been blowing my nose quite normally. If I hadn't, there's no way I would have cleared out all that congestion, and I haven't breathed this perfectly since the sixth day—not a single drip. Today is my 12th day post-op, and breathing is absolutely fine.. How am I supposed to leave my nose alone for a month?? Even my doctor had to touch it while removing the splint... I clean it (externally) gently with a cotton swab and apply cream, being careful because the skin is so dry.. I might have been a bit too heavy-handed a few times, but the experienced girls told me not to worry since the nose isn't made of paper. Now it turns out I'm not even allowed to touch it?! What, is a light touch going to cause it to warp or shift? It makes no sense..🤷
Nothing's going to happen to you. She probably just meant you shouldn't blow your nose the way people who haven't had surgery do—you know, just going at it wildly, haha.
It’s been seven days since my surgery and they finally removed the splint. I’ve been back to my usual routine, doing pretty much everything I did before the procedure. The only real difference is that you have to mess around with your nose a few times a day to clear out the crust so you can actually breathe, and use some saline spray to keep things cleaning itself up slowly. Other than that, life is just life...
It has been exactly 23 days since the surgery, and my stitches have finally started coming loose. I can only say THANK THE LORD, because for the last three or four days, I’ve been breathing in this nauseating stench caused by some old blood trapped in the sutures. 😢
Aside from getting rid of that hump, you won't see an immediate shift in your nose shape, so there is no need to panic. Just be patient and give it a few months for the swelling to subside.
It’s because you can't just grab it with tweezers when it’s completely fused to the nasal mucosa. You have to separate it first. I don't know how to explain this visually, but it’s like using a toothpick to slowly peel a mass away from the lining—almost like you're trying to surgically excise a lump from your nose. Once you've detached enough of one side so it isn't stuck to the membrane anymore, then you can grab that section with the tweezers and, out you go! 🙂I usually do it standing up normally, and then you just take a forceful breath through your nose to pull everything deep into the sinuses.
Every second or third day, I’d find myself extracting small amounts of dried blood from my nose. My routine was specific: first, I would drench the area completely with saline and let it sit for about half an hour to ensure everything was thoroughly soaked, moistened, and slightly loosened. Then, using a toothpick, I would carefully detach those clumps of dried matter from the nasal lining—especially if they were stubbornly stuck to the walls. Once detached, I’d finish the job by using eyebrow tweezers to gently grasp the piece and pull it out. I still do this occasionally, though much less frequently now that I've cleared most of the buildup; however, every so often, a blockage forms again, making breathing quite difficult.😁
I had to head over to the hospital for an EKG, a cardiac ultrasound, a lung ultrasound, and two separate blood draws since they only perform those specific tests in a clinical setting.
It’s better if you stop scrolling through these comments and just decide what you want for yourself; you can't really make life decisions based on everyone else's experiences.
Donna Johnson16 said:Sterile saline is the gold standard. If you’re going with something like Aqua-Maris, stick to isotonic—nothing hypo or hyper. You want the salt concentration to match human blood perfectly. Chamomile just doesn't cut it. If you want to make the process less painful, warm the solution until it’s close to body temperature. Lukewarm, not hot.
How long has it been since your surgery? Expect about a week for the mucous membranes to recover; that’s the standard timeline, even after a nasty bout of the flu.
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It happened last Thursday. I actually just picked up some saline today, so thanks for the tip! I'm just not sure how this is supposed to dissolve all that dried blood. I spent some time playing detective today, shining a flashlight in there to see what I was dealing with, and honestly, it looks like a disaster zone in there.