Pain in the tonsils

Pain in the tonsils can make a person suffer from unpleasant sensations, he loses the ability to speak, has a fever and a headache. The quality of life of such a person is impaired, friends advise to finally remove these nasty tonsils and stop suffering. What actions will be truly effective, and what are useless?

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What are tonsils for?

The tonsils have another name - tonsils, and in Latin it sounds like Tonsillen. Therefore, when a person gets a sore throat, its medical name is tonsillitis. The tonsils are located at the back, in the pharynx. There are 5 tonsils: one lingual (it is clearly visible when the surgeon asks you to say "Aaaa" and puts a spoon in your mouth). Two more tonsils are palatine, and two are pharyngeal.

The tonsils together with the lymphatic follicles form the pharyngeal ring – it is also called lymphatic. These organs together help the throat not to hurt when it is attacked by various viruses and infections. These organs contain immune cells that do not let bacteria further into the throat, destroying them. When the tonsils are healthy, our immune system is healthy.

How Tonsils Fight Bacteria

When they get to the tonsils, the enemy bacteria are immediately recognized by immune cells. Immediately after this, the body launches its natural defense - a set of reactions that develop the resistance of systems and organs to pathogenic bacteria. And the process of their destruction by special cells - macrophages - begins.

How does this happen?

When a person breathes, absolutely all bacteria enter the body. Among them are pathogenic and harmless to humans. The tonsils (their lymphoid tissue) filter bacteria according to the principle: harmful - neutral. And selects those that the body perceives as dangerous, causing diseases. At the same time, the tonsils themselves can become inflamed, hurt, in a word, suffer from their difficult work.

Why do tonsils hurt?

Since bacteria constantly attack the human body, the tonsils are also at risk of getting sick all the time. They become inflamed, and this process can get worse the more the person is under stress. And if he also has a weak immune system, if he is often in the cold, if he sleeps little and works a lot, then the tonsils (or tonsils) are under increased stress and can eventually give in and get sick.

The tonsils located on the palate are most at risk. They are clearly visible if you open your mouth wide. The part of the tonsils that comes out is turned towards the pharynx and mouth. They consist of porous tissue that absorbs various substances well. Inside the tonsils are lacunae, thin tubes that catch viruses and bacteria and sort them out there, dividing them into good and bad.

There is also the internal part of the tonsils. It is anatomically connected to the pharynx and the lymphatic duct. Through this narrow corridor, the tonsils maintain contact with the entire immune system of the body, protecting it from enemy microbes and bacteria. That is why, having removed the tonsils, a person begins to get sick more often, he becomes weaker, more susceptible to colds, weakness, and other serious diseases.

Why are tonsils removed in childhood?

Because in childhood they are the most tense and work the most. The child is still very weak, he is constantly attacked by various infections, and the tonsils take on all this load, fighting the source of the disease.

When a child is taken away from the family to a kindergarten, the environment changes, and the tonsils protect the little organism from enemy agents. The child goes to school - the environment changes again, he needs adaptation, and the tonsils take on this huge burden.

It is not surprising that the tonsils become inflamed, hurt, the child develops tonsillitis - once, twice, three times, and on the fourth time doctors advise removing the source of pain - the long-suffering tonsils. And when they are removed, it helps only for a while, the child's body becomes much weaker, the child begins to get sick more often.

What viruses can cause tonsil pain

• Viruses that increase the risk of colds
• Influenza viruses (any form)
• Mononucleosis virus (infectious)
• Varicella virus
• Measles virus
• Croup virus

Bacteria that cause tonsil pain

• Diphtheria bacillus
• Streptococcus
• Mycoplasma
• The causative agent of gonorrhea
• Chlamydia

All of these causes can cause tonsil pain that needs to be treated immediately.

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Angina

This is an infectious disease that occurs in acute and chronic forms, and is expressed by redness of the throat, inflammation of the tonsils and severe pain in the throat. Most often, the palatine tonsils suffer from this disease.

The causes of angina are the penetration of pathogenic bacteria (pathogenic streptococci, staphylococci, pneumococci) into the body.

Tonsillitis can also be viral, caused by the activity of herpes viruses or adenoviruses.

Tonsillitis can be parasitic, caused by amoebas that enter the oral cavity.

Tonsillitis can also be fungal, caused by fungi such as lepospira, candida and others.

Tonsillitis is divided into primary (which occur on its own) and secondary, which occur against the background of various infectious diseases: syphilis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, mononucleosis, as well as infectious blood diseases. Tonsillitis is more likely to knock down a tired and nervous person than a healthy and happy one. If a person works a lot, has strong physical and mental stress, nervous exhaustion, vitamin deficiency, recently suffered infectious diseases, such a person will be knocked down by tonsillitis very quickly.

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Symptoms of angina

Sore throat, sudden increase in temperature to 39 degrees (maybe higher), dry nasopharynx, pain in the tonsils, swallowing is incredibly painful. All these symptoms are accompanied by weakness, sweating, headaches, and a general feeling of complete exhaustion.

With angina there may be a low temperature - 37-37.5 degrees - it is called subfebrile. Or very high, as already mentioned - up to 40 degrees Celsius - such a temperature is called hyperthermia (hyper - very high, thermia - temperature).

Chronic tonsillitis

When the tonsils hurt and become inflamed chronically, you need to think about the reasons. By the way, doctors call this condition chronic tonsillitis. It is caused by sore throats that recur from time to time, acute respiratory infections that tend to affect and destroy the lymphoid tissue of the pharynx. Examples of such diseases are measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria.

Chronic inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis) is also caused by teeth affected by caries, the oral cavity affected by periodontal disease, various types of sinusitis, adenoid diseases and hypovitaminosis. All these ailments provoke severe weakness, fatigue, poor health, there may be poor sleep, increased nervousness.

With chronic tonsillitis, breathing through the nose is very difficult (hyperplasia of the adenoid tissue occurs, the nasal septum may become deviated, hyperplasia of the nasal conchae may occur). Adenovirus infection contributes to these painful conditions.

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Symptoms of chronic tonsillitis

Patients with this disease very often complain that they are tormented by neuralgic pain. These pains in the tonsils can radiate to the neck or auricle, or to the middle ear. At the same time, the patient may have a bad smell from the mouth, he may feel that there is a foreign body in the throat, the tonsils (tonsils) hurt.

The temperature in chronic tonsillitis can be low, subfebrile (up to 37.4), and it usually rises to this level in the evening, and during the day the temperature is normal. A person may have general weakness, lethargy, apathy to life, zero efficiency, a severe headache. This may be because another disease is hidden in the body - cervical lymphadenitis of a regional nature.

Pain when swallowing

A disrupted swallowing process, or more precisely, (retropharyngeal abscess), occurs due to pus that accumulates in the lymph nodes and in the tissue of the space behind the pharynx. The infection that causes this attacks the tonsils from other organs - the nasopharynx, nose, middle ear, auditory tube. Sometimes complications with this abscess are influenza, scarlet fever, measles. The causes of the retropharyngeal abscess can also be a wounded mucous membrane of the pharynx (its back wall).

Food that is too hard can also hurt the throat.

The symptoms of this disease are a sore throat, sharp pain during the swallowing process, while the tonsils hurt, and the food does not go where it should - into the throat, but ends up in the nose, as in vomiting. Breathing is also impaired, it becomes difficult, the person develops a nasal voice. If the abscess has spread to the lower part of the pharynx, then the person may have shortness of breath, and he snores loudly in his sleep. Snoring can occur not in sleep, but while awake. The body temperature is very high, from this the skin turns red. The temperature reaches more than 39 degrees, and this is far from the limit.

One of the external symptoms of a retropharyngeal abscess is the position of the head, in which it is thrown back and to the side where it hurts. This position is unnatural, it is forced, the person is trying to relieve the pain in the throat. The patient may have swelling of the angle of the lower jaw (its lower part) and the front edge of the chest in the nipple area.

Chronic pharyngitis

This is a disease of the mucous membrane in the throat area. It is inflamed, and this inflammation increases, the throat becomes more and more inflamed if it is irritated by cold water, long conversations or spicy food. The picture is completed and the pain in the throat is aggravated by diseases of the intestines and stomach, thyroid gland, liver. With chronic tonsillitis, the throat turns red, thick nasty mucus accumulates on its mucous membrane, which greatly complicates breathing. The tonsils hurt a lot, and this pain is sharp, strong.

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Flu

This disease can also cause pain in the tonsils. The culprits are viruses and bacteria, which accumulate in abundance on the mucous membrane of the pharynx. The culprit of this condition can also be a bacterial infection that causes tonsillitis.

The infection can be transmitted through contact with a person sick with the flu, or by accidentally being next to such a person on a bus or in a public place and becoming infected. Even if a person simply touches their nose or eyes with an unwashed hand after contact with a person sick with the flu, the viruses immediately penetrate the body through the mucous membranes and here you go – you too are sick with the flu. This disease can be transmitted by using common pots, plates, cups, toys, touching a telephone or door handles. It is not for nothing that door handles in infectious disease departments are treated with antiseptics.

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Allergic reactions

Allergic reactions of the body are already a failure in the immune system of the human body. If any allergy to something manifests itself, then a person should be prepared for the fact that his tonsils may hurt. For example, with an allergy to cat hair, a person may have a sore throat, he may start coughing, this irritates the mucous membrane and as a result - sore tonsils, which, in addition, take on pathogenic bacteria that penetrate the body. Side symptoms - redness of the face, swelling of the face, changes in the skin - peeling and itching.

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Dry air

The cause of tonsil pain can also be too dry air from air conditioners or heating devices. For example, in the morning, when a person crawls out from under a warm blanket and enters a room with air conditioning. The difference in temperature is also a cause of tonsil pain. Especially if a person breathes only through the mouth, because his nose is blocked.

Tobacco smoke

This factor can easily cause tonsillitis because it irritates the nasopharynx, especially in a non-smoker. It has been proven that passive smoking increases the risk of throat and nose diseases. If a person quits smoking and resorts to smokeless smoking (chewing gum, snuff), this can greatly irritate the throat and cause spasms. The tonsils are the first to suffer.

Throat tumors

They increase the risk of inflammation of the tonsils and pain in them. These can be tumors of the pharynx, vocal apparatus and tongue. Smoking and alcohol consumption aggravate the process. Then the tonsils become even more irritated and hurt even more. Symptoms of tumors may not appear at first. But they can be distinguished by a hoarse voice, inability to swallow (it hurts a lot!) and pain in the tonsil area.

Help with inflammation of the tonsils

Gargling helps very well. If you gargle with antiseptic solutions every hour, your throat will hurt much less, and pathogenic bacteria will be destroyed. This will help deal with purulent discharge and remove toxins from the tonsils. 45 minutes after irrigating the throat, it would be good to spray or lubricate the tonsils with Lugol's solution. This is an inexpensive and very effective remedy against inflammatory processes in the throat and for destroying harmful bacteria.

True, this remedy is prepared on the basis of iodine. So those people for whom iodine is contraindicated, it is better to use another antiseptic.

If the tonsils are too inflamed and this inflammation has become chronic, you should not treat it yourself. Herbs may not help, the disease will only get worse. If you treat your throat with folk remedies for a week in a row and there is no improvement, you should definitely visit an otolaryngologist. Then he will prescribe antibiotics, most likely from the macrolide series, because the situation is extremely serious. 7-10 days are enough to relieve inflammation of the tonsils and pain, you will be healthy.

If inflammation of the tonsils is associated with fungal and viral infections, there is no point in using antibiotics. At best, you will do nothing against the disease, at worst, you will harm the body due to prolonged treatment. In addition, antibiotics can only worsen the development of fungi in the body. If antibiotics are really necessary, the doctor will prescribe antifungal drugs along with them, they will remove fungi from the tonsils as well. Probiotics will also serve well in the fight against inflammation of the tonsils and their soreness.

If you are prone to allergies, the doctor will prescribe you antihistamines in combination with calcium gluconate. The course of treatment is 5-7 days. If the pain in the tonsils is also accompanied by an elevated body temperature, it can be brought down with ibuprofen or paracetamol after 38 degrees. And against a sore throat and pain in the throat, sprays with eucalyptus and pine needles and herbal lozenges can help. If it is not possible to cure the throat with medications, you need to remove the tonsils. But this can only be done after carefully weighing everything and visiting an ENT doctor.