Tonsil stones Treatments, Symptoms, Causes

 

Small lumps of hardened material that can form in tonsils are called Tonsil stones or ‘tonsillitis’. They are bits of bacteria and debris that get stuck in your nostrils. They are hard, and sometimes even painful. Tonsil stones can cause a bad smell. It most commonly occurs in teenagers. 

Tonsils are gland-like structures, one on each side of the back of the throat. They are made from lymphocyte cells, which help protect against infection and harmful substances inside the body. According to some scientists, they play a vital role in the immune system by trapping bacteria and viruses that enter the body from the throat. A study shows that people get more infected by viral infections or bacteria than those who have tonsil stones. Tonsil stones are not harmful, but sometimes they become a problem and get treated by surgery.

Tonsil Stones Symptoms

Most people don't experience any symptoms as they are so small and can only be seen by X-rays or CT scans. But large tonsil stones can be seen with the naked eye. Tonsil stone symptoms include:

• Bad Breath: Halitosis, or bad breath, is the main signal of tonsil stones. It is due to the volatile sulfur compound. Research shows that 75% of the people who had high amounts of these compounds also had tonsil stones.
• White Debris: Lumps of solid white material form in the back of your throat.
• Sore Throat: Tonsil stones can cause discomfort and pain. 
• Trouble Swallowing: Sometimes it causes trouble swallowing liquids or foods with tonsil stones, depending on their size and location.
• Cough: Tonsil stones might irritate the throat and cause a cough.

Diagnosis Tonsil Stone

A physical exam is needed by a doctor to diagnose tonsil stones. You might need imaging tests like MRI or CT scans to find them if they are present in the fold of your tonsils, but if white pearl-like structures are found in the back of your throat, your doctor won’t need any additional tests to diagnose tonsil stones.

Causes of Tonsilloliths

Sometimes debris is formed in your tonsils, which creates tonsil stones. Tonsils are glands at the back of your throat on both sides that help you protect against infection and increase your immunity. These tonsils contain folds called tonsillar crypts. If tonsillar crypts are large, calcium-like minerals can be trapped in them and become as hard as stone. Fungi and bacteria can also cause tonsil stones. It might be possible that poor hygiene can also contribute to the development of tonsil stones.

Treatments

Tonsil stones can go away on their own and not cause any health problems. 

Home Remedies

Small Tonsil stones are not a serious problem. If you see tonsil stone symptoms like bad breath, throat discomfort, or white debris at the back of your throat, you can control them on your own by:

• Pop tonsil stones: by scraping gently with swabs or water picks, you might be able to remove tonsil stones.
• Salt Water Gargles: A most common and useful way to remove stones and ease pain is to gargle with warm, salty water.

Clinical Treatment

As tonsil stones are not such a big issue, they might fall on their own, but sometimes chronic throat problems last more than a month and cause a problem in swallowing and severe pain. You should consult a doctor for treatment. 

Its treatments include:

Medication: In medication, a doctor suggests some medicines like corticosteroids, which may help, but they have more side effects.

Surgical removal: unusually large tonsil stones might be removed by surgery.

Surgeries may include

1. Tonsillectomy: It is the most effective as well as the most risky surgery. This surgery completely removes tonsil stones but causes severe pain for a week, and bleeding and infection might happen.
2. Crypto lysis: Laser or radiofrequency might be used in this to remove tonsil stones and prevent farming.