How can you get tonsil stones and how serious are they? What can you do about them? Learn everything you need to know about this condition!
Tonsil stones, also known as tonsilloliths, may be barely visible or have such extreme sizes that they cause severe discomfort to anyone who has them.
What are tonsil stones?
These stones form due to the accumulation of food in this area of the throat. What happens is that over time, bacteria begin to proliferate next to dead cells, other compounds of the digestion process in addition to mucus, accumulate in the tonsils and form tonsilloliths.
Are they bad?
They are not malignant but they constitute the main cause of halitosis (bad breath), so much that it can harm your social life.
Large tonsilloliths can actually cause odynophagia (swallowing pain) and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).
How can you get tonsil stones?
The causes are unknown, besides they are not very common. However, some of the reasons they may appear are:
- Poor oral health and dental hygiene habits
- Residues of the action of enzymes on retained foods. These can cause layers of bacteria around the food particles that are then trapped in the crypts of the palatine tonsils.
- Oral bacteria
- Hyperfunction of the salivary glands
- Mucus secretion
- Leukocytes (white blood cells) dead
- Smoking without a filter
- There is a process of calcification in the development of tonsilolites, despite normal levels of calcium and phosphate in the blood.
- In addition, the repetitive inflammations of these stones lead to the development of fibrosis, which is a process similar to healing and then deposited inorganic salts.
- It is also believed that something that favors the formation of tonsilloliths is the existence of ectopic tonsil tissue (out of place), formation of calculi in the salivary ducts of the minor glands, or calcification of accumulations of abscesses.
Symptoms
- The tonsilloliths can be completely asymptomatic. However, they can generate bad breath and much discomfort in the oral cavity.
- They can also cause problems for the person to swallow their food normally.
- Solid lumps of white material forming on the back of the throat will appear.
- There is a feeling that something is stuck in the throat.
- Some people may suffer from ear pain.
- There may also be sore throat and discomfort, especially in the area where angina becomes infected, is another common symptom.
- Inflammation of the tonsils caused by infection due to tonsillar stones
Treatments
You can use home remedies to treat this condition:
- The most recommended home cure is to gargle with salt water. It is necessary to boil the water with two tablespoons of table salt. When the solution becomes warm, gargle with it. Repeat this process 3 times a day, to alleviate the discomfort.
- Another option is to use swabs (cotton swabs) to manually remove tonsil stones, but it is best to consult your doctor first.
Further info: Cleaning Your Tonsils With This Can Help You Eliminate Bad Breath And Throat Pain! See How!
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