When food, bacteria, or other debris get trapped in the crevices, they harden and calcify into tonsil stones. You can get tonsil stones without having tonsillitis — in fact, many people get tonsil stones very frequently.
And usually tonsil stones are harmless, but in some rare cases, they can cause tonsillitis. Clark says. Sometimes the retained food and debris lead to chronic halitosis bad breath , he adds. The stones typically fall out by themselves, though some people scrape them out using a cotton swab, Clark says. When a person has a tonsil infection and there are stones, the stones are more likely to secrete pus, since that is part of the result of the tonsils swelling, according to Clark.
Although everyone experiences pain differently, in almost all cases tonsillitis causes throat pain or irritation, such as a sore throat, difficult or painful swallowing, enlarged glands in the neck, and a scratchy voice where you may feel more strain than usual to talk. Antibiotics, the typical treatment for tonsillitis caused by bacterial infections, are not recommended in these cases, however, unless someone is experiencing symptoms of tonsillitis.
Whether tonsillitis has been caused by a virus or bacteria, it can easily spread from person to person because such infections are contagious. The cilia work to push nasal mucus down your throat and into your stomach.
Then, they start shrinking as you approach your teenage years. They may almost completely disappear in many cases. However, some children have enlarged tonsils and adenoids without any underlying cause. Tonsillitis and peritonsillar abscesses can also be caused by complications of these infections.
Non-infectious things can also irritate your tonsils or adenoids, causing them to enlarge. These include:. Sometimes, tonsils or adenoids should be removed. This is usually due to:. The procedure itself is usually straightforward and done on an outpatient basis. Following surgery, you might have some pain and inflammation for up to two weeks.
Your doctor will likely prescribe some medication to help with the pain as you heal. See the separate leaflet called Glandular Fever Infectious Mononucleosis for more details. This is also known as peritonsillar abscess. An abscess is a collection of pus. Quinsy is an uncommon condition where an abscess develops next to a tonsil, due to a bacterial infection. It usually develops just on one side. It may follow an episode of tonsillitis or may arise on its own.
The tonsil on the affected side may be swollen or look normal. However, it is pushed towards the midline as pus forms and the abscess next to the tonsil gets bigger and bigger. Quinsy is very painful and can make you feel very unwell. It is treated with antibiotic medicines; however, the pus also often needs to be drained with a small operation. This is a rare cancer. It is more common in smokers and those who drink a lot of alcohol.
Swollen adenoids may not cause any symptoms or problems. However, symptoms may develop in some cases, especially if the adenoids become very large. Possible symptoms include the following:. In most cases no treatment is needed. Often the symptoms are mild but may flare up during a cold or throat infection. Adenoids normally gradually shrink in later childhood and usually almost disappear by the teenage years. So symptoms tend to clear with time. If symptoms are severe then a doctor may consider removing the adenoids.
For example, if a child regularly has difficulty sleeping or disrupted night-time sleep due to a blocked nose. Infectious mononucleosis. Sore throat. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drutz JE. Acute pharyngitis in children and adolescents: Symptomatic treatment. Reye's syndrome information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Kliegman RM, et al. Acute pharyngitis. Mitchell RB, et al. Clinical practice guideline: Tonsillectomy in children update.
Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. DOI: Paradise JL. Messner AH.
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