Swallowing without air?

[focusonthefuture 14]

Random question. I know that after surgery, pain is to be expected. One source of pain could be from gas in our smaller stomachs. I'm in my pre op liquid diet phase and finding that there is a lot of air when I swallow. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you!

[Berry78 4,261]

Take your time, try and make sure the air is out of your mouth as you swallow. Your tongue will move the liquid around, forcing air out of your mouth through your nose. It sounds complicated, but it is pretty straight forward if you let the liquid sit in your mouth for a moment.

The other source of air is bubbles in your blended or shaken thick liquids. And of course, straws can potentially be a source of air too, depending on how they are used.

The main thing is to just take little drinks. "Sipping" is kinda a misnomer because most people slurp in air as they "sip" a hot beverage (for example).. you don't want to do THAT! lol.

[jhope71 105]

I swallow less air with a straw, personally. If I drink, I have a bad habit of "gulping" and taking big swallows. Straws let me take smaller sips, and I only get the liquid in the straw, not air. Everyone's different, though!

[ZumbaMami 12]

Like posted above, it really does help to blow air out of your nose after you take a sip/drink. I am not allowed to use a straw but I sure wish that I could. I always used a straw pre-op so this is a struggle.

[focusonthefuture 14]

I appreciate the advice and insight, my program doesn't want me to use straws because you get too much air. I suppose if you drink carefully that may not be a big issue... something to consider.