Tonsillitis or tonsil stones arise when the tonsil glands become inflamed. These are actually two pads of tissue that are oval in shape and lie towards the back of the throat. If there are tonsil stones in your throat, you would probably suffer from bad breath, sore throat and would have difficulty swallowing your food.
The main cause of tonsil stones are when the glands become affected with a virus infection. In some cases, bacterial growth may also lead to hardening. Since tonsil stones cause pain and bad breath you should get them cured. Prior to this, a proper diagnosis of your tonsils is necessary because treatment largely varies with the cause.
Here are some main methods through which tonsil stones can be treated.
Home Remedies
There are quite few home-based treatments that can help your tonsil stones. You can either use them solely if your condition is not severe or use them in conjunction with other treatment plans which your doctor recommends.
- Get ample rest throughput the day. Do not participate in anything that may cause tiredness or fatigue. Try to sleep for more than eight hours.
- Drink lots of water so that your throat remains moisturized. This also prevents dehydration.
- Avoid speaking too much since tonsil stones can affect your voice in some cases.
- Eat food that can help soothe your sore throat, for instance, you could have coffee or drink hot cocoa. You could even have some broth or just drink warm water with honey.
- Try to gargle with warm, salted water because it can really help your inflamed tonsils. Put one teaspoon of salt in about eight ounces of water and gargle for about two or three times a day.
- Make use of a humidifier so that your room does not become dry enough, which can alleviate sore throat and increase your pain.
- Stay away from smoke, dust and other things that can irritate your throat.
- Take medicines which can relieve you of the pain.
- If along with tonsil stones you are suffering from fever as well, get it treated with drugs.
Medications
Your doctor will prescribe certain medications, particularly if bacterial infection is the cause of your disease. In most cases, these medications will usually be antibiotics. A common name among these is Penicillin, which has to be taken for almost 10 days.
Bear in mind that even if your symptoms disappear, you will still have to take antibiotics throughout the time period for which your doctor prescribed them. If you fail to do so, your symptoms can worsen and several complications can arise such as kidney inflammation and rheumatic fever.
Surgery Or Tonsillectomy
Surgery is the last treatment option for tonsils. Your doctor will consider it only when other treatment plans fail to produce effective results. If your stone formation is frequent, then your doctor will suggest surgery, which is usually referred to as tonsillectomy.
A tonsillectomy is conducted when you have been given a dose of anesthesia. A tube is passed through the nose into the cavity so that a person can easily breath during the process. Surgery is performed through the mouth, which is kept open with a tool. A laser or another heated instrument is guided to where the tonsil stones are located, which are then cut away. The entire procedure is finished in just about an hour. You can be allowed to go home on the same day, but you will be fully recovered in about 14 days.
Author Bio:
Kevin Kerfoot writes about health, nutrition, oral hygiene and skin care for Trusted Health Products’ natural health blog and newsletter.