Why is my throat sore after surgery?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
The breathing tube used during general anesthesia is the usual culprit. While you are unconscious, the anaesthetist keeps your airway open with a tube or an inflatable mask, and that device pressing on your throat leaves it sore, dry, and sometimes hoarse afterward. The Royal College of Anaesthetists says this kind of sore throat usually lasts 24 to 48 hours. MedlinePlus lists sore throat among the normal after-effects of general anesthesia, alongside grogginess and a dry mouth. It needs no special treatment: warm drinks, ice chips, lozenges, and ordinary painkillers are enough while it settles.
What to do
- Soothe it mechanically: warm drinks, ice chips, and lozenges coat and calm the throat.
- Use simple painkillers like paracetamol if swallowing hurts.
- Give it 48 hours; most post-anesthesia sore throats are gone by then.
- Call your team for worsening pain after two days, a fever, trouble breathing or swallowing, or hoarseness lasting over a week.
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