Tonsil Stones (Tonsilliths) What They Are and How They Form the Mucosal

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Tonsil Stones (Tonsilliths) What they are and how they form The mucosal epithelium (the lining tissue of the mouth and throat) naturally sloughs off, but in some people this sloughed epithelium traps into a tonsillar crypt—a space or crevice or hole within the tonsil. These crypts are natural features of the tonsil. This trapped epithelium can further accumulate, building upon itself much like an oyster builds a pearl, and then becomes colonized with bacteria typically found in the mouth. This imparts the foul odor and taste. And voila! A tonsillolith is created. This typically is a benign condition especially if there is no underlying tonsil infection and the tonsil does not look odd or suspicious for something like a tumor. Treatment 1. Daily warm salt water gargles even when not noticing the tonsil stones—this cleanses the tonsils and may prevent stone formation in the first place. 2. You can also use a Water-Pik to cleanse the tonsils daily which would blast the crypts and get them really cleaned. If there has been no significant throat pain or recurrent tonsillitis with these, a tonsillectomy is not needed unless this condition worsens in the future, causing infections or throat pain, difficulty swallowing or if it significantly impacts your quality of life. I try to dissuade patients from surgery such as a tonsillectomy otherwise; mainly with adults, postop pain can be quite severe (often the worse pain you could experience) lasting for at least a week after surgery. Coughing up a tonsil stone on a date .

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Unilateral Tonsillar Swelling: Role and Urgency of Tonsillectomy
Journal of Otolaryngology-ENT Research Case report Open Access Unilateral tonsillar swelling: role and urgency of tonsillectomy Abstract Volume 13 Issue 1 - 2021 Unilateral tonsillar swelling is a fairly common presenting complaint in an Ear, Nose and J Kynaston, S Drever, M Shakeel, M Supriya, N Throat (ENT) department. It may or may not be associated with any other symptoms. Most McCluney of the time, the tonsil asymmetry is secondary to previous history of tonsillitis, quinsy, and Department of otolaryngology and head &neck surgery, tonsil stones. Other benign lesions to cause tonsil swelling may include a mucus retention Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK cyst, lipoma, polyp or papilloma. Sometimes, it is the site of primary malignancy but in these situations, it is often associated with red flag symptoms like pain in the mouth, dysphagia, Correspondence: Muhammad Shakeel, FRCSED (ORL- odynophagia, referred otalgia, weight loss, night sweating, haemoptysis, haematemesis, HNS), Consultant ENT/Thyroid surgeon, Department of hoarseness or neck nodes. Most of the patients with suspected tonsillar malignancy have Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery, Aberdeen Royal underlying risk factors like smoking and excessive alcohol intake. However, lately, the Infirmary, Aberdeen, AB252ZN, UK, Tel 00441224552117, tonsil squamous cell carcinoma can be found in younger patients with no history of smoking Email or drinking as there is rising incidence of human papilloma virus related oropharyngeal malignancy. Sometimes, lymphoma may manifest as a tonsil enlargement. If, after detailed Received: June 24, 2020 | Published: February 25, 2021 history and examination, there remains any doubt about the underlying cause of unilateral tonsil swelling then tonsillectomy should be considered for histological analysis.
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