Sub-topics

What you can have

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You can eat and drink whatever appeals to you. However, it is sensible to begin by drinking water and then progress to other drinks, such as ginger ale or tea. It is better to avoid milk-based liquids, and to abstain from alcoholic beverages for at least 24 hours. Once you are able to tolerate drinking clear liquids, then it is probably safe to try eating something light, such as toast or soup.

Vomiting

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Nausea and vomiting can normally be controlled by medication. It is unlikely that you will be discharged from hospital if vomiting is a major problem. However, if vomiting becomes troublesome at home, you should contact your anaesthetist, surgeon or family doctor as soon as possible. Persistent vomiting can be dangerous because you cannot take in the fluids that you need for normal body function. Severe vomiting may put excess strain on healing stitches or staples. There are a number of drugs which are likely to be quite effective.

Breast feeding

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There is no danger to your baby from any of the drugs that you may receive during anaesthetic. Most of them are destroyed or eliminated from the body quite quickly and the concentrations in breast milk are very small. Even morphine and similar drugs will be present in only very tiny amounts.