tonsillolith/tonsil stones???

[MedStudent2007]

i love the fact that my thread is still going on.

when i first posted, i thought i was a total and complete freak. it is SOOOO nice to see that i'm not alone.

i'm still getting tonsil stones in both tonsils (once a week to every other week) and can almost immediately detect when they have grown to a size big enough to be extricated...its just a "foreign body" sensation i get in my mouth. i can also literally get rid of them within a few seconds. i just push on the outside of my tonsil with a clean index finger and push on the stone and force it out. i am too scared to get a tonsillectomy. and i'm even more afraid to ask a doctor...fearing they have no idea what it is and then assuming i'm some weird freak or that i'm dirty (b/c well, i'm a doctor and i didn't know what it was until last year).

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[recentgrad123]

I have gotten these "stones" 4 times in the past year, and a few patients have reported them as well. I have been more interested than horrified, but I do have a question. If a patient with halitosis which is not affected by good oral hygiene and deep cleanings has these stones, can the halitosis be blamed on the production of them?

 

[kemushi]

OMG! Ok so this addresses a few things others have said:

1. CoffeeMate: I swear I wasn't even getting these until I started drinking coffee, which was within the last year. And I KNEW it had something to do with it. Before that I never even heard of them.

2. Water picks, tooth picks, q-tips, uhm, OUCH! I use the round 1/2 inch wide end of my tooth brush and just massage them out. I am sure I am not getting all of them though. I need to go home right now and try this out, I have a little curved water pick syringe.

3. Nasal irrigation: the BEST method to irrigate the nasal passages is with a neti pot (natural water flow not forced). Buy a ceramic or plastic one from a natural food store and use that. If you want the water to go down the throat it takes some practice but you basically have to know how to open and close the flap that separates the nose from the throat. (Tip: When using a neti pot it is recommended to breathe through the mouth as it CLOSES this flap from nose to throat.)

Here's my story: post nasal drip, smoker, coffee drinker, and ever since this Saturday I have had a horribly painful right tonsil. I know it is not caused by smoking since I've been a smoker for years now. Coffee is highly suspect. As are starchy breads.

So I was looking at it last night and decided Okay I need to go to the doctor. Called to make an appoint today, and just afterward went to brush my teeth after lunch. While I was in there I used the end of my tb to push on the offending tonsil and loe and behold, 7 nasty ORANGE tonsil stones came out!! 4 of them being quite large (2-3 cm). I checked the other side but it seems closed, there don't appear to be any holes visible.

QUESTION: for those who have gotten tonsillectomies in adulthood, what was your experience?? Was it actually 10-15 days of severe unbearable pain? How old were you when you got them?

*phew* After getting those things out I feel SWEET RELIEF! My tonsil pain has almost disappeared completely.

 

[Motherof2]

wow, congratulations on figuring this out as i know it was really bothering you. has his breath kept up as youve been doing this?

His breath is MUCH better. I can actually tell now when he has a stone just by smelling his breath.

i bought a water pik myself but the water was a lot stronger than i expected. im not sure it works and one of the handful of times i used it resulted in bleeding, so i havent used it much. now that i see u shoot it directly into the crypt, i hope to do the same.

Is yours adjustable? Mine goes from a nice, slower stream to JACKHAMMER strength. I set it right near the easiest stream so it doesn't damage their mouth.

if only i could figure out where the crypt is! can u see the crypts while looking into your mouth? or would someone else have to look down into your mouth?

Depends. With my son, his crypt looks like more of a cave. It's large enough that I could maybe put a pencil into it about an inch in. It's insane. What's nice is that I have to only flush that one area and it's no problem.

With my daughter, I can see her crypts (they look similar to a pic someone posted about a dozen posts back, but WAAAAAAAAAAAY more crypts; my daughter's tonsils are HUMONGOUS!), but they're shallower than my son's. So, I couldn't put a waterpik in hers since she has so many, I never know there's a stone until the crypt is packed with one. When that happens, a direct spray usually works just fine.

Anyhoo, my daughter and son went to the ped. (again) and both got a referral to the ENT. My daughter also had x-rays so they could also see her Adenoids (which, of course, were enlarged). I'm sure she'll get her's taken out (since they are SO ridiculously big - they smoosh her uvula, hang down far and are very thick) along with her Adenoids, but I think we'll hold off on our son's for now. Poor kid has been through so much and it seems like less of a necessity to have his out.

Sorry for the long post...

4 of them being quite large (2-3 cm)

That's an inch long! You had 4 inch long stones in your tonsils???

 

[getoutplease]

im 14 and i am so ****ed with these things.
mine dont even smell they jus taste REALLY unbarable i feel like killing myself.
my story
a few months ago i could not get rid of this foul taste! And had a white fing on my tonsil, i was diagnosed with a mile viral infection or mild tonsilitus and was told it will go away, it didnt and later on i had these green things coming up every once in a while and they just randomly come out, i try to coff them up but they refuse to move
the taste finally went after a month and i was so happy
but the other month it came again and i had one come out today
i am so happy and at my age it is a big confidence dropper
i went on forums for a cure but all i see is picking them out, I CANT SEE ENYFING! exept my right tonsil is bigger than my left :S
i need it to go, the other day i even tried swallowing reli strong mouthwash to sort of burn them away but instead had a really sore stomach and felt sick all day
please help its driving me mad
x

 

[Motherof2]

im 14 and i am so ****ed with these things.
mine dont even smell they jus taste REALLY unbarable i feel like killing myself.
my story
a few months ago i could not get rid of this foul taste! And had a white fing on my tonsil, i was diagnosed with a mile viral infection or mild tonsilitus and was told it will go away, it didnt and later on i had these green things coming up every once in a while and they just randomly come out, i try to coff them up but they refuse to move
the taste finally went after a month and i was so happy
but the other month it came again and i had one come out today
i am so happy and at my age it is a big confidence dropper
i went on forums for a cure but all i see is picking them out, I CANT SEE ENYFING! exept my right tonsil is bigger than my left :S
i need it to go, the other day i even tried swallowing reli strong mouthwash to sort of burn them away but instead had a really sore stomach and felt sick all day
please help its driving me mad
x

The best thing to do would be to go see your doctor who can refer you to a good ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor). They'll be able to decide what the best course of action is for you.

Good luck

 

[Dental15]

Is yours adjustable? Mine goes from a nice, slower stream to JACKHAMMER strength. I set it right near the easiest stream so it doesn't damage their mouth.

mine doesnt have different strengths. its a panasonic one which had pretty good reviews, but im sure those people were probably using it on their teeth, not their tonsils..

sorry i had to post nasty pics of my mouth lol, but if u can point out my tonsils/tonsil crypts for me, so i know where to point the thing, id very much appreciate it.

something i notice is it seems my tonsils are not as big as some of the others posting here?...i think

here goes

thanks

 

[emt888]

I am psyched to finally figure out what I have! I don't know where I saw the term "tonsil stone," but I did a google search and here I am.

I had my first tonsil stone in August 2006. I had been swallowing against it for about 2 weeks and when it finally came up, it was HUGE! From then until January 2007, I hacked up about 1 stone (much smaller than the first) per week, always on the right side of my throat. After Jan, 2007, I stopped hacking them up. I still sometimes feel that I am swallowing against something in the back of my throat, but it usually goes away in a day or two. I wonder if I am still getting them, but if they dislodge when they are smaller and I am just swallowing them. My mom died this past September and we knew about a day ahead of time that it was coming. I spent most of that day crying and I noticed that the right side of my throat felt really swollen during that time (much more so than my left side), but no stone. After about a week (after the funeral, etc) the swelling went down.

In November 2006, I saw my regular doc and told him about it and he referred me to an ENT PA. She had no idea what I had and I had a CT scan to rule out cancer. It came back negative. Soon after that, the stones stopped so I pretty much let it go. I would love to get my tonsils out to get rid of the "lumpy" feeling on my right side, but I am a grad student (not in anything scientific, American History, although I was an EMT for 12 years) and now I have the crappy university student health insurance and I doubt it would cover it.

A bit of my background, when I was a kid I used to get sinus infections all of the time. When I was around 10, my doctor told my parents that he wanted to remove my adenoids to try and relieve some of the sinus infections. I never had them removed, I don't know what happened there. At age 12 my sinus infections all but disappeared (1-2 per year). Lately, at age 32, I have been getting them very frequently (1 every month or two), but I moved from the midwest to a desert climate, and I am guessing that the climate change is causing them.

 

[kemushi]

That's an inch long! You had 4 inch long stones in your tonsils???

No actually I think I meant mm. I'll try to post a picture when I get home of them lined up in a row next to a bic pen. NOT as thick as the bic but definitely getting there.

 

[Matron]

I've been experiencing these little stones popping out of my tonsils for the last few years. I haven't really worried about them - they don't seem as big as most people here are describing, and I don't think it's causing bad breath (c'est a dire, I don't have any trouble getting dates, plus I work with kids, and they can be horribly honest about things like that). I just deal with them by picking them out (blunt ended tweezers are my preference!) , and doing the whole sniffing&mushing thing.

My colleague thinks I'm a freak for delving into the back of my throat to fish things out, but all I know is...it makes me feel better. Physically. In fact, whenever I feel a bit rubbish, sore throaty etc (that muscular soreness people have described), I look into my throat and 85% of the time I can see a tiny white stone poking out, ready to be plucked). This may sound ridiculously sudden to most of you real doctors, so I'm prepared for you to be sceptical about this, but as soon as the stones are out, I feel fine again, and the cold/fluey type illness that I could tell I was sickening for, disappears and I feel fantastic. I'm guessing that the sore throat that disappears is probbably due to the removal of pressure and maybe inflamation that these foul stones cause, but I can't figure out why any viral-esque illness also seems to go.

For me its fantastic (well not the stones exactly) but the fact that I can 'cure' myself just by removing them. I have huge responsibilities and work very long hours so really can't afford to get ill. I posted this after reading the thread because I had noted a few people mentioning a connection to illnesses early on, but few people have mentioned it in the latter posts.

 

[Dental15]

I've been experiencing these little stones popping out of my tonsils for the last few years. I haven't really worried about them - they don't seem as big as most people here are describing, and I don't think it's causing bad breath (c'est a dire, I don't have any trouble getting dates, plus I work with kids, and they can be horribly honest about things like that). I just deal with them by picking them out (blunt ended tweezers are my preference!) , and doing the whole sniffing&mushing thing.

My colleague thinks I'm a freak for delving into the back of my throat to fish things out, but all I know is...it makes me feel better. Physically. In fact, whenever I feel a bit rubbish, sore throaty etc (that muscular soreness people have described), I look into my throat and 85% of the time I can see a tiny white stone poking out, ready to be plucked). This may sound ridiculously sudden to most of you real doctors, so I'm prepared for you to be sceptical about this, but as soon as the stones are out, I feel fine again, and the cold/fluey type illness that I could tell I was sickening for, disappears and I feel fantastic. I'm guessing that the sore throat that disappears is probbably due to the removal of pressure and maybe inflamation that these foul stones cause, but I can't figure out why any viral-esque illness also seems to go.

For me its fantastic (well not the stones exactly) but the fact that I can 'cure' myself just by removing them. I have huge responsibilities and work very long hours so really can't afford to get ill. I posted this after reading the thread because I had noted a few people mentioning a connection to illnesses early on, but few people have mentioned it in the latter posts.

i wish i could see mine. i dont see anything unless i happen to cough one up

 

[Motherof2]

Dental15 - Hmmm... can't tell at all by that pic, but your tonsils look almost non-existent (kind of like mine).

I'll post a pic of DD's mouth later so you can see the difference. Her tonsils are unreal. I've never seen tonsils as large as hers. Her crypts are quite visible too. I'm not surprised that you can't see your crypts and am amazed that your crypts get stones (since I would assume they were small and flat).

Maybe I'll post a pic of DS's mouth too. He has one 'active' crypt and it's a HUGE cave.

 

[passerby]

i also get these and am so glad to know that it's fairly common.

unlike others, i have not been able to figure out exactly where the stones are located, and can not seem to push them out with a finger, qtip, etc.

i went to the drug store today and they gave me a water syringe, which i filled with water and aimed at the 'general' area, and 3 big stones came out. i'm going t keep doing this and hope that it's "preventative".

 

[Sama951]

thanks guys, after reading the first few posts in this thread I started poking my tonsils with a q-tip and have managed to gag myself 4 times and now i have a sore throat

 

[tonsilolito]

your tonsils are behind a fold of skin that normally covers them unless they are inflamed (tonsillitis) they are hard to see but it doesn't mean they are not infested with debris, you should message them every morning before you eat, it's like rinsing a sponge, use your middle finger and make it part of your oral hygiene regimen, I've been using a tonsilcleaner for year and it help me rid my chronic halitosis, remember that we cannot smell our own breath due to acclimation, so what ever you smell coming out of your mouth others smell five times stronger!, good luck.

 

[fromgoogle2]

I found this forum from google, after someone asked a question about tonsil stones on a nursing community in LiveJournal.
I read the post, and thought "hang on a minute, that sounds like me" so googled etc...

Anyway when I was 8 I had awful sinus and chest infections. It got so bad that I woke up every night suffocating because of the mucus blocking my airways. The only way to break up the mucus would be to drink hot ribena (a blackcurrant drink in the UK - plenty of Vitamin C)
After that infection I had problems with catarrh for many years, and would cough up "crap" regularly, including some tonsil stones at times. I was also diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, had x-rays done etc, then prescribed nasal drops :/ blech.

Several times I've had that feeling of something being in my throat, like a hair caught at the back. Sometimes after that feeling I end up with strep throat, but this isn't often.

The ironic thing is, I recently had a baby (she's almost 5 months) and when I was around 2 months PP I had such a sore tonsil on the right, and while looking in the mirror in the car found a tonsil stone! I showed my husband who being the wuss he is just shuddered hah! I coughed a few times and it came up, it was HUGE! I've never had one so big! During the winter/Christmas season I tend to drink more coffee (i'm addicted to Starbucks gingerbread latte's - what can I say?!) so just before I gave birth I drank more coffee than normal, decaf of course.
On occasions i've clearly swallowed one, as I feel it go down :/ then it makes me feel nauseous. But sometimes I'm able to cough it up.

On other side notes, I have fibromyalgia, and have had swollen sore glands for years. Mayhaps the stones are a cause...

Anyway just wanted to share my story of the nasty stones of the body!

 

[Dental15]

your tonsils are behind a fold of skin that normally covers them unless they are inflamed (tonsillitis) they are hard to see but it doesn't mean they are not infested with debris, you should message them every morning before you eat, it's like rinsing a sponge, use your middle finger and make it part of your oral hygiene regimen, I've been using a tonsilcleaner for year and it help me rid my chronic halitosis, remember that we cannot smell our own breath due to acclimation, so what ever you smell coming out of your mouth others smell five times stronger!, good luck.

hi, what exactly is a tonsil cleaner and how can i get one? does it work well? and do you work for the company that makes them? thanks!

 

[pcforjc]

Anyway when I was 8 I had awful sinus and chest infections. It got so bad that I woke up every night suffocating because of the mucus blocking my airways. The only way to break up the mucus would be to drink hot ribena (a blackcurrant drink in the UK - plenty of Vitamin C)
After that infection I had problems with catarrh for many years, and would cough up "crap" regularly, including some tonsil stones at times. I was also diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, had x-rays done etc, then prescribed nasal drops :/ blech.

Several times I've had that feeling of something being in my throat, like a hair caught at the back. Sometimes after that feeling I end up with strep throat, but this isn't often.

Hallelujah -- thank God for this forum, MedStudent2007's post, all of your posts, and Google! Without these I might never have identified this lurking blob colony secretly breeding on my territory. There's a saying, "a devil identified is a devil destroyed." And it's identified! Be destroyed, tonsilloliths!

Anyway, I think that these blobs were harboring and emitting sources of sickness in my body. They need to be found and removed. Maybe it's like the excess junk gone bad from a clogged filter. Much like fromgoogle2, although I look healthy to others, I have been suffering from long bouts of illness- sinus infections, tracheitis, bronchitis. If a cold was going around, I would catch it, and remain sick for months, with a chronic cough. The doctors I went to described the problems, but no diagnoses, really (I am not a doctor myself). Just the usual "cough syrup, claritin, water, rest" that resolved nothing. But then my most recent sickness in March 2008 was followed by discovery of the white blob on my right tonsil. I thought it was a cancer. $500 dollars later (doctors who shrugged, tested it for Strep, ENT that told me it was food etc.) but then, this forum! Like I said, Hallelujah for this. My notes to bring the doctor read: "Exercised Monday/Tuesday. Chest pains Wednesday. Thick blood feeling in legs, arms. Sore throat Friday, burning down throat Saturday and yellow cough plugs. Cough all night with burning chest now with irritation. Wheezing." I bet if I had found and removed the tonsilliths, the source of that sickness would have left!

I cannot get these out using tools. I found I can hack and gag and contort my jaw and tongue around like I have a hairball, and my throat seems to do the "massaging it out" on its own. Then if I have to I can swipe at the emergent blob with my finger. I tried this yesterday and my seemingly clean left tonsil yielded a big one. I spent all yesterday with a sore throat but this new feeling of hollowness in my tonsil area... I bet that I will be healthier now that I know these exist to get rid of. I am already breathing better, no "allergy symptoms" today!

And, I might as well pray as well. I pray in the name of Jesus that these unclean tonsilloliths and corresponding sicknesses are bound and cast out, in the name of Jesus, from each and everyone on the list, or reading this, who wants them gone! Amen.

 

[aphistis]

This thread has gone well beyond the bounds of SDN's blanket prohibition against personal medical advice. Closing.