[Greenleaves]

My throat has been feeling "itchy" lately. I thought I was coming down with a cold so I began taking some echinacea. It's been several days and the scatchy weird feeling at the back of my throat has only gotten worse.

I looked in a mirror with a flashlight today and found a white spot about half a centimeter long where my left tonsil is. Is this a cankor sore? Should I be concerned? When I swallow, there is some pain.

I also have a slight cough.

Has anyone every experienced this before? (Finding a cankor sore(?) where the tonsils are?)

[dottie]

I think you should be checked for strep.
Not saying that's what it is. But there is a good chance...from what you have described. Better to be safe than sorry greenleaves.

TGC

are you running a temp> better check in with a doc. before it turns into something rough.

[Greenleaves]

I feel pretty OK, but it definately looks like some sort of infection or something where my left tonsil is. There is some redness and swelling as well. The white stuff looks like maybe pus??

Ick...

I think I'll make an appointment tomorrow to check it out.

[dottie]

I would do that GL.Even if it's just for the peace of mind. This way you will also find out if it's bacterial or viral in nature.

TGC

[Greenleaves]

I did some searching for "white and tonsils" and found this about tonsilloliths .

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Q: I hope this doesn't sound too gross, but both my sister and I get white particles in the pockets of our tonsils. She thinks it is food buildup but I think it is the bacteria that the tonsils build up.

The stuff is like cauliflower, kind of hard and with a foul odor. She thinks she needs to have her tonsils out. Can you advise us on this? We both have it regularly, but our throats are not really sore.

A: Doesn’t sound gross to me, but it’s probably a pretty gross problem for you and your sister.

These things are called tonsilloliths ("tonsil stones.") You have described them perfectly. They are typically white, or whitish-yellow, irregularly-shaped, foul-smelling, and usually smaller than a pea.

The tissue lining the tonsils (oral mucosa) is fairly sensitive, so people with this problem often report that they feel an irritation in the back of their throat and are able to pick these critters out of their tonsils.

Like your skin, oral mucosa sheds continuously. The dead cells become incorporated in your saliva and then you swallow them. Yum!

One more anatomical fact that you need to know: the surface of your tonsils is pockmarked with deep pits, appropriately called "crypts" (since dead stuff accumulates in these pits.)

Oral mucosa lines the crypts. Under normal circumstances, as this mucosa sheds, the dead cells leave the crypts and are swallowed.

In some unlucky people, like you and your sister, the dead cells accumulate and glom together to form hard little balls.

All of this dead stuff makes great food for bacteria, and of course your oral cavity is colonized by all kinds of bacteria. Consequently, the tonsilloliths are ripe with bacteria. This accounts for the smell.

The only sure-fire method for ridding yourself of this problem is to have your tonsils removed (tonsillectomy), but there are nonsurgical alternatives which you should certainly pursue before you ask an ENT to take out your tonsils:

– You could try gargling frequently with warm salt water (1 teaspoon of table salt mixed with one pint of water– gargle with about 1/4 cup of this mixture three times per day, after meals.)

– You could also gargle with a mouthwash called Alkalol, which is essentially salt water combined with a variety of natural aromatic extracts; some people prefer Alkalol to plain salt water. Most other commercial mouthwashes contain sugar or alcohol, which are pleasant-tasting but are, in the long run, fairly irritating if used frequently.

– There is a doctor in Los Angeles, Murray Grossan, who markets a water-jet device for "hosing down" the tonsils. Relative to gargling, this device provides a more aggressive technique for clearing out those nasty crypts.

– In the hopes of avoiding tonsillectomy, I will often put my patient on a long (3 to 4 week) course of antibiotics in the hope that this will allow the tonsils to "settle down" (become less inflamed.) I must admit that antibiotics are not a very effective cure for this problem.

If I had this problem, I would try all of these things before resorting to a tonsillectomy. You should also discuss your problem with an ENT, since he/she may have other suggestions to help eradicate these nasty critters, and could also give you information on what to expect from a tonsillectomy.

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Their description doesn't quite match mine. Mine isn't a white ball. Mine looks more like a canker sore or something and doesn't stink.

Oh well, I will go to the doctor and ask about it.

[wi_fighter]

Sounds like Strep. Get to a doctor. It's highly contagious.

chloraseptic spray or rinse will help. I dont have tonsils but do get canker sores on other mouth areas and this over the counter meds helps.

[Greenleaves]

I dunno...I don't think it is strep...

I feel fine, no fever or anything and my throat isn't really sore. I have a bit of a cough and that's it.

I'm thinking maybe it is just a local infection. I will wait and see if it gets better.

Thanks for the suggestions

[LMo]

I don't know how much contact you have with other people, but if there is any chance you could expose someone else to strep, then you should do the responsible thing and see a doctor.

If you live alone and don't work/socialize, then you theoretically could wait it out.

[Greenleaves]

Hmmmm...you scared me LMo. I don't want to give others strep. I will go to the doctors tomorrow then.

Is it possible to have strep and not show many symptoms?

I live with my parents and I ride the bus a lot.

[LMo]

it's been a long time since I've had it, but Wi_fighter has 2 kids and deals with medical stuff more often ... so if she said it could be strep, then that's good enough for me!

Good luck!

[Greenleaves]

I just looked at my throat again and the white spot is gone now! I'm think maybe it was just a tonsillolith. My tonsils are still asymmetrical, with the left one being kind of swollen.

I don't think I need to waste a doctor's time with this. It's probably nothing. I don't feel sick.

i've had strep many, many times. i didn't always have anything physical that i could see. i don't even have my tonsils and anyone can have strep.

since you raised this issue and there is a possibility that you're infecting other people, i think it is your responsibility to get off the computer and go see a doctor. if it's nothing, great! if it needs attention, great!

[Greenleaves]

Hmmm...I really don't want to be infecting other people. If it is possible to be infectious without being sick, then I will go to the doctors tomorrow.

I always feel silly about going to the doctors whenever it is not a really big deal.

You guys are really convincing.

[Perzephone]

Strep throat is very nasty & if let to 'run its course' can turn into rheumatic fever - one of those 'old-timey' sounding diseases that can permanently ruin your heart. Usually the cankers in strep are on the throat itself, but I'd still go to a doctor.

Gargling w/a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide or warm salt water can clear up minor tonsil/throat infections. You can also make goldenseal tea & use that as a gargle.

Echinacea is only an immune-system booster - once you're sick, it's pretty useless. The best way to use echinacea is when you know it's cold & flu season, everyone in your school or job is sick & you don't want to catch anything - either drink the tea, 1 cup 2X daily (1 tsp. to 1 cup water, steeped, not boiled) or find the higest concentration in a commercial preparation & take that once a day. Only use it for about 2 weeks at a time, & let your body rest for 3 weeks so you don't burn your immune system out.