Tonsillar Stones and Bad Breath
As a prior sufferer of tonsillar stones, I decided to write this article to hopefully know it could assist everyone else who has been dealing with these very annoying and mysterious things! To be honest with you I have to admit that until recently, I had no clue what they were. I’ve been to the physician a half dozen times, been prescribed medicine that turns out had nothing at all to do with tonsil stones and I admit, I’ve tried some of the wackiest ways to scrape, poke or dig them out of the back of my mouth! My own physician couldn’t ever inform me what they were which leads me to think, he really didn’t know.
Here is the best explanation I can give for just what I believe them to be. Tonsil Stones are irregularly shaped, whitish/yellow, foul-smelling globs of mucous and bacteria that get caught in the tonsils. They form in the tonsil crypts which are simply small pockets or divots that appear in everyone’s tonsils. The technical name for these gross little white/yellowish clumps is tonsillolith which literally means ‘tonsil stones’.
Actually, I’ve found out that they are called by a few other names too. Here are just a few versions I’ve learned they are called by:
-Tonsil Stone
-Tonsillolith
-Tonsil Rock
-Tonsilith
-Throat Rock
I’ve read about the actual medical terms for them but it’s too difficult for me to try and pronounce here! Suffice it to say, if you’re reading this article currently, no matter what name you’ve given yours, you or someone you know has the most unpleasant misfortune of dealing with these pesky, little balls. In all my study I’ve also learned that there are bunches of misconceptions, opinions and information about what causes a tonsil stone to form, where they came from, and most importantly…how you can keep them from coming back!
Many people mistake these nasty things for tonsillitis or other more serious medical symptoms related to the ears, nose and throat. The symptoms I had that caused my discomfort as a result of my tonsil stones were:
-Painful pressure in the back of my throat
-Unusually bad breath
-Sore Throats
-Scratchy throat with coughing
-Ear aches
-Throat Infections
For the longest time, I was not only uncomfortable talking to folks about them, but I had the hidden fear that they were very detrimental or maybe some serious illness. To put your mind to ease, I can tell you that they are not dangerous at all. They can be very frustrating to deal with and although they can have some really uncomfortable side effects, you can rest easy! They are much more of an aggravation than anything else. You can have surgery to have your tonsils taken out, which would naturally end tonsil stones. Before you turn to such a drastic and pricy measure though, you have to know that there are low risk, natural alternatives you can use to keep tonsil stones from coming back that many people, including myself personally have discovered to be really helpful.
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