Can I eat food four days after undergoing a gastrointestinal endoscopy?
Disease description:
It has been four days since my gastrointestinal endoscopy. For the first few days, I have mainly consumed soups and liquids. I would like to consult my doctor whether I can start eating other foods now.
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Shen Yonghua
It has been four days since the gastrointestinal endoscopy, and no endoscopic treatment was performed at that time, so you can now resume a normal diet without restrictions.
Dietary recovery after a gastrointestinal endoscopy mainly depends on whether any endoscopic treatment was performed during the examination. Generally speaking, if only a routine gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed without any therapeutic procedures, you may start with a liquid diet within 2–4 hours after the procedure, gradually transitioning to a soft or regular diet within 24 to 48 hours. If endoscopic treatments were performed during the examination, such as biopsies or polyp removal, the recovery period for resuming a normal diet will be somewhat prolonged. In such cases, it may be necessary to wait 3–5 days before returning to a regular diet. In most situations, if no abnormalities such as bleeding, polyps requiring removal, or other treatments were found during the examination, you can generally resume a normal diet immediately after the endoscopy. However, to ensure sufficient recovery time for the digestive tract, it is recommended to start with liquid or semi-liquid foods in the first one or two days after the procedure, gradually transitioning to soft foods before returning to a normal diet.
