Treatment of tonsillitis

Treatment of tonsillitis strategy depends on the size and severity of the tonsillitis inflammation. There are many choices for the treatment of tonsillitis that can be done to eliminate those tiny obstructions sticking out of your throat.

The main goal of any tonsillitis treatment is to eliminate the stones by dislodging them through natural body processes, without injuring the tonsils. In some advanced situations, where the tonsil stones are quite big, it is necessary to make use of some dental devices that can remove the stones from where they are located.

Listed below are different approaches to allopathic western treatment for tonsillitis

Medications for tonsillitis

People can use over-the-counter (OTC) pain-relieving medications to numb the symptoms of tonsillitis. If a bacterial infection is causing tonsillitis, a doctor will usually prescribe antibiotics. However, they will not do so for a person with viral tonsillitis. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.

Penicillin is the most common antibiotic. When on a course of antibiotics, a person must follow the full course and continue taking them, even if the symptoms have resolved. Stopping a course of antibiotics part of the way through might allow the infection to spread. Rarely, if left untreated, certain types of bacteria may lead to rheumatic fever or kidney inflammation.

Tonsillectomy – tonsils removal surgery

Previously, doctors regularly recommended surgery to treat tonsillitis. Today, a doctor will not recommend a tonsillectomy unless the condition is chronic and recurring. Although the tonsils become less active after puberty, they are still a functional organ. For this reason, a surgeon will not remove them unless necessary.

A doctor might request a tonsillectomy if the tonsils are causing secondary issues, such as:

• Sleep apnea, which involves problems breathing at night
• Difficulties with breathing or swallowing
• An abscess that is difficult to treat

If a tonsillectomy is necessary, doctors can choose from a variety of methods. Medical practitioners have successfully used lasers, radio waves, ultrasonic energy, cold temperatures, or a heated needle to remove the tonsils.

Surgery has increasingly become the last port of call. The negative implications of surgery may outweigh the positives of tonsil removal. While tonsillitis can be distressing and uncomfortable when it occurs, it will pass without any serious long term implications for most people.

What are tonsils and adenoids?

Tonsils and adenoids are part of the immune system. They’re similar to the lymph nodes found throughout the rest of your body.

Tonsils are located in the back of your throat. They’re the two round lumps of tissue you see when you open your mouth wide. You can’t easily see your adenoids, but they’re found in the upper part of your nasal cavity.

Both tonsils and adenoids help to trap pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses that enter the mouth or nose. They contain immune cells that produce antibodies that kill these pathogens before they can spread to the rest of your body.

Adenoids are also covered by a layer of mucus and hair-like structures called cilia. The cilia work to push nasal mucus down your throat and into your stomach. Also, tonsils and adenoids continue to grow until a person reaches the ages of 3 and 7. Then, they start shrinking as you approach your teenage years. They may almost completely disappear in many cases.

What is tonsillitis?

Tonsils are considered as a part of the lymphatic system that is responsible to defend our bodies from infections and viruses. In normal cases, tonsils work day and night and they protect us from any invading viruses or bacteria. However, some reasons cause these tonsils not to perform adequately and thus tonsillitis is formed. Tonsillitis or tonsil stones refers to inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils. The inflammation may involve other areas of the back of the throat including the adenoids and the lingual tonsils.

There are several variations of tonsillitis: acute, recurrent, chronic tonsillitis, and peritonsillar abscess. This swelling is usually caused by either a viral or bacterial infection. Tonsillitis is the name given to swollen, red, and tender tonsils.

Tonsillitis is usually a self-limiting condition, i.e. it gets better without treatment, and generally, there are no complications. Tonsillitis is extremely common in children and young people but can occur at any age. The characteristics of the disease are pains in the throat and trouble swallowing. Tonsillitis usually begins with a sudden sore throat and painful swallowing.

Types of tonsillitis

Tonsillitis can be a problem that can interfere with your drinking process as the lymph nodes in the neck swell, causing difficulty and severe pain when swallowing. Also, there are three types of tonsillitis, namely:

Recurrent tonsillitis:

This type of tonsillitis occurs mainly in episodes over a year. This means that the person will have tonsillitis several times a year. Although the person can take antibiotics, the disease can come and go, meaning it can repeat itself.

Acute tonsillitis:

This type of tonsillitis occurs when a person who has it show symptoms for not more than 3 days to 2 weeks. This is a normal event if diagnosed early.

Chronic tonsillitis:

This type of tonsillitis is similar to acute tonsillitis in which the symptoms are much longer. People with this type of tonsillitis may have an acute problem that can include symptoms such as chronic sore throat, bad breath, swollen and tender lymph nodes in the neck. This usually occurs in teenagers and young people who are experiencing the following symptoms:

• Bad breath and enlarged lymph nodes (tissue behind the mouth).
• Sore throat.
• A person with chronic tonsillitis may be exposed to infection due to resistance to bacteria, viruses, and antibiotics.
• If you are exposed to radiation, you can develop tonsillitis.

Note: If chronic tonsillitis is left untreated, you can develop sleep apnea.

Causes of tonsillitis

The common causes of tonsillitis are mucus and bacteria, which get layered around the tonsils. These are layers that are formed around tiny food particles that can get caught in tonsil crypts. These crypts are pockets or divots on the surface of your tonsils. Hence, the condition of having tonsil stones has also been known as cryptic tonsils. These tonsil stones generally cause no physical harm, but they are uncomfortable and lead to bad breath, which most people don’t like to bear.

The major reasons that these stones can occur in the throat include poor brushing habits, not cleaning the tongue regularly, and not washing the mouth after eating. Often the causes of tonsillitis are allowing bacteria to attack the mouth due to food particles, which are stuck in the teeth. These are some of the reasons that it is suggested to brush your teeth regularly and take care of your oral hygiene.

Symptoms of tonsillitis

In many cases, there are no obvious symptoms of tonsillitis. These stones might not interfere in the person’s daily life and they might get unnoticed for very long periods.

Listed below are the common symptoms of tonsillitis

• Bad breath. The abundance of some substances, mainly sulfur compounds, has been associated with bad breath. Medical research has shown that those who suffer from this medical condition have high levels of these substances, thus the association between tonsil stones and bad breath is established.
• Sore throat. Throat infection is usually associated with pain in the throat. For people who suffer from this medical condition, it is hard to tell if the pain is coming from the infection itself or the tonsil stones. Although this is not clear to many practitioners this association is valid.
• White formation. Sometimes the stones are visible in the back of the throat. However, this is not always the case; in many instances, we can find the stones hiding in the folds of the tonsils and they can only be detected by further investigations such as CT scans or MRI.
• Difficulty in swallowing. This happens when the stones are enlarged, it also depends on the location of these stones.
• Ear pain. Since the pathways are common, stones that are formed in the throat area might cause ear pain. This occurs even if the stones are not touching the ear. One of the common tonsillitis symptoms in adults
• Swollen tonsils are the inflammation that occurs in the tonsils, combined with the hard formation of the stones cause swelling in the tonsils. This again depends on the situation and the size of the stones.

Natural treatment for tonsillitis

There are a lot of natural treatments for tonsillitis available, and most of them are found to be effective without any side effects. Listed below is a natural treatment for tonsillitis

Home remedies for tonsillitis – most popular natural treatment of tonsillitis

Home remedies for tonsil stone are easy to do remedies at home that has been effective to reduce the symptoms of tonsillitis.

Listed below are home remedies for tonsillitis

Gargling with salt water

• Gargling with salt water may temporarily soothe pain or tickling in the back of the throat. People can make a saltwater mixture by adding a quarter of a teaspoon of salt to 8 ounces of warm water and stirring the solution until the salt dissolves. They can then gargle with the saltwater for a few seconds before spitting it out. It is safe to repeat the process as often as necessary as long as the person avoids swallowing the mixture. Gargling is one of the best home remedies for swollen tonsils.

Drinking lots of warm liquid

• Drinking warm liquids, including soups, broths, and teas can help soothe a sore throat. All these little things are great home remedies for swollen tonsils.

Eating cold foods

• Eating cold, soft foods, such as frozen yogurt or ice cream, can numb the throat, offering temporary pain relief. Since usually, we recommend using warm or even hot drinks and food for people with swollen tonsils, this method belongs to alternative tonsillitis home remedies.

Avoiding hard foods

• For people with tonsillitis, eating hard or sharp foods can be uncomfortable and even painful. Hard foods may scratch the throat, leading to further irritation and inflammation.

Increasing indoor humidity

• Dry air can further irritate a sore throat. People with tonsillitis may benefit from using a cool-mist humidifier. These devices release moisture back into the air, helping alleviate throat discomfort.

Avoiding irritants

• Irritants such as tobacco and smoky locations should be avoided so as to help reduce symptoms.

Herbs for tonsillitis – effective home-based natural treatment of tonsillitis

Herbs for tonsillitis are a natural treatment for tonsillitis that is very effective and virtually safe. Listed below are herbal remedies for tonsillitis.

Marshmallow root

• Marshmallow root contains a gelatin-like substance called mucilage that coats and lubricates the throat when a person swallows it.

Sage and echinacea

• Sage is a popular herb in cooking, but it also has several medicinal uses. Sage, also called Salvia officinalis, originated in the Mediterranean. Now, people grow it around the world. Sage may help with many inflammatory conditions, and controlled studies suggest that it can help relieve throat pain.

Licorice root

• The licorice plant, also called Glycyrrhiza glabra, is native to Europe and South Asia. Best known for its sweet flavor, licorice also has uses in traditional medicine. It has properties similar to aspirin that may help reduce sore throat pain. It also has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Homeopathy for tonsillitis – #1 natural treatment of tonsillitis

Homeopathy for tonsillitis has always worked wonders in every case of tonsillitis and tonsillectomy has been prevented in most of the cases.

Homeopathy for tonsillitis helps by:

• Reducing the inflammation of the tonsils
• Acts like a natural pain killer and an anti-pyretic drug
• Helps relieve soreness & irritation
• Aligning the body with nature and bringing about natural healing in the body.

Homeopathy is safe, natural, and can be dispensed to everyone without having to worry about the side effects. Homeopathy is the treatment which is known to boost the body’s immune system and restore the body’s defenses to normal. Homeopathic medicines are selected based on individualization and each case is taken after a thorough history, extracting the causative factors, modalities as well as characteristic symptoms.

Listed below are homeopathic remedies for tonsillitis

Belladonna

• This is the most common homeopathic remedy for tonsillitis. Belladonna has the best anti-inflammatory action and thus helps a lot to relieve the symptoms both in acute and chronic conditions.

Mercurius Solubis

• This is another homeopathic remedy for tonsillitis, it is prescribed when there is pain in the throat, congestion of tonsils, and difficulty to drink or eat anything.

Phytolacca

• This homeopathic remedy for tonsillitis is prescribed when the tonsils are dark red or bluish-red and when there is much pain at the root of the tongue,

Traditional Chinese Medicine against tonsillitis – ancient Chinese natural treatments of tonsillitis

Chinese medicine differentiates between diseases that cause a sore throat (such as laryngitis) and those that cause tonsillitis. In the first case, there may be problems involving specific organs (especially the lungs and stomach). In the Chinese diagnosis, tonsillitis is caused either by an external factor (wind-heat) or by internal heat generated by the lungs and stomach which inflames and builds up in the throat.

The TCM specialist will identify the causes of the disease, which may include; poor diet, excessive smoking, emotional disturbances, or incomplete elimination of an external pathogenic factor. The latter cause can result from the overuse of antibiotics, which are classified in Chinese medicine as “cold” drugs. Antibiotic treatments serve to defeat the infection but do not address the primary cause, which is then left to reappear. Successive treatments of antibiotics are generally not used to relieve chronic conditions of this type.

In 1979, the World Health Organization aka WHO published a list of various conditions under which acupuncture was indicated as a potential treatment based on clinical experience. Tonsillitis was on that list. Subsequently, clinical trials were conducted: for example, Sun et al (2003) showed a high success rate in treating 58 patients with acupuncture using a prick technique.

Acupuncture – the most effective TCM technique for natural tonsillitis treatment

The April of 2003 study published in Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science shows the remarkable result of Treatment of 58 cases of tonsillitis by pricking technique. One session of the acupuncture in Ashi point (tonsil) accompanied by the pricking and bleeding method on Shaoshang and Shangyang acupuncture body points cured in 38 cases, showed the remarkable effect in 17 and wasn’t successful only in 3 cases. Thus, the total success rate appeared as high as 95%.

Chinese medicine practitioners will differentiate tonsillitis caused by wind and heat or, sometimes, poison arson. Heat, poison, and fire can be treated internally by a Chinese medicine practitioner, for example with honeysuckle flowers drunk as tea. A saltwater scrubber can also be used for local sterilization. The diet can be modified – people suffering from tonsillitis should not eat too much spicy food as this will aggravate the problem. Tripartite acupuncture needles for piercing the top of the ears can also be effective.

Conclusion

Natural treatment of tonsillitis is safe and effective. In the majority of cases, natural treatment of tonsillitis can successfully substitute the use of antibiotics and steroids. Also, many people were able to avoid tonsils removal surgery procedures aka tonsillectomy. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that tonsils are very important organs in our body, and if the inflammation of tonsils is not properly addressed these 2 small lymphatic nodes turn into storage for infection in which bacteria feel very comfortable and grow fast.

It is important that natural treatment of tonsillitis performed under the supervision of a well-trained medical professional who not only understands the physiology of the lymphatic system in general and tonsils and adenoids in particular but also has outstanding clinical experience in natural treatment.

For initial evaluation and treatment contact Philadelphia Holistic Clinic at (267) 384-3085 and schedule your first appointment with Dr. Tsan.