Tonsillitis

Overview

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils lymph nodes in the back of the mouth and top of the throat. Tonsillitis is extremely common particularly in children.

Causes

You can see your tonsils if you open your mouth wide and look at the back of your throat. These two balls of tissue catch germs and help prevent infections in the throat mouth and sinuses. Sometimes however they themselves become infected either by a virus or bacteria. Most cases of viral tonsillitis are caused by the herpes simplex virus the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) cytomegalovirus adenovirus and the measles virus. Most tonsillitis is due to viral causes and cannot be treated with antibiotics. The exception is "strep throat" which is bacterial and can be diagnosed by your caregiver (See below).

Symptoms

When you have tonsillitis your throat will likely be very sore. If the pain lasts for more than 48 hours and it is so severe that you find it difficult to swallow you may have tonsillitis. See your doctor if a sore throat persists for more than two days or is accompanied by other symptoms such as:

  • a yellow or white coating on the tonsils
  • swollen glands in the neck
  • fever
  • recent contact with a person with "strep throat"

Treatment

Your doctor will examine your mouth and throat and try to discover the cause of the infection. He or she will likely take a throat swab to check for streptococcus bacteria - the form of tonsillitis that is not just treated with the "tincture of time". If it shows a positive result antibiotics are usually prescribed. Symptoms should lessen in 2 or 3 days after treatment starts. However do NOT stop taking the antibiotics until they are all gone. Otherwise the infection will not clear up completely and the inflammation may return.

If the tonsillitis is caused by a virus antibiotics won't work. You'll have to give your body time to fight off the infection by itself. Here are some ways to help it heal and to relieve your symptoms:

  • Get plenty of rest
  • Drink lots of cold fluids
  • Gargle with warm salt water
  • Use over-the-counter medicated lozenges
  • Use ibuprofen to reduce pain and fever

NEVER give ASA (aspirin) to children with fever as this may result in a life-threatening condition called Reye's Syndrome.

If your tonsils get infected frequently don't respond to antibiotics or if they are so swollen that they interfere with breathing you may need to have them surgically removed.