tonsillolith/tonsil stones???

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I'm surprised how many people on here are getting the "little white balls" that reek. For the past few years I would get the nasty little things. I also got lots of colds, sore throats, my ears would feel plugged up, lots of phlegm, etc. Finally I went to an ENT, and he said I had a couple options. I could use a waterpick to clear them out every day, or get my tonsils out. Lots of people have mentioned these causing bad breath, and seeing as how I'm going to be working inches from other peoples' faces, I decided to get them out.

It was a long recovery, but I feel so much better. No sore throats, I sleep better, have more energy, plus I am not the carrier of bacteria I once was! I'm so glad I had them out!
 
Wow. I can't believe I found this thread! Before I knew what these were, I used to think they looked like little bits of walnuts - but smelled like... I don't even know. Something dead?
I get these quite often (few times a month)on both my left and right side.
I often notice that my ears feel itchy (like a really annoying, deep, can't-reach-it-to-itch-it kind of itch) and my glands feel swollen and tender when the tonsillolith have gotten really big.
The first time I saw them in the mirror, I was sure I had some kind of cancer or that my tonsils had gone rotten and white.
When I don't regularly remove them they can become really large (like the size of almond M&Ms).
The method I use to remove them is really simple - I use a cosmetic cotton swab which is like a q-tip but one end is flat, rounded, and much wider and the other end is more pointed, a magnifying mirror and a bright reading lamp. Using the flat, rounded end of the swab, I press gently and toward my cheek against the fleshy flap (soft palate) that covers the tonsils. This pulls the flap/cover back exposing the tonsils and normally causes the tonsillolith to pop right out.
Because I'm not touching the tonsils - I don't gag and I'm not worried about damaging them. My dentist agreed that as long as I'm not touching my tonsils, this method should be relatively safe.
My dentist did caution me to be sure not to push toward the tonsils or use a water-pik (since these could force the tonsillolith further in).
I'm so glad that I'm not the only one with smelly little bits in my mouth.
 
Well, I just finished with my first experience with these little buggers (of which led me to this very post). It wasn't so much of a stone as it was, well, crud; a cotton swab wouldn't work. It was far too deep in there for anything like that. I didn't have much else to work with so I eventually managed to clear it all out with tweezers sterilized in listerine and a guitar E string wrapped around a dry pasta noodle from the kitchen. :scared: (It was the only thing I could think about that was long and thin for the job!)

The thing is, I still have the sensation in the back of my throat; I imagine that it's just my tonsil still sensitive from the poking, prodding, and bleeding. Still, I wonder if some of it still eludes me; it's a nasty thought indeed. I just got yet another ear infection to boot a few days ago; I'm sure it's related.
 
Wow... I never knew so many people were experiencing these tonsil stones. Actually, I never even knew what they were until I stumbled on this thread. I had my tonsils out a few years ago, so I had forgotten about my tonsil stones until now.

My experience is very similar to many of the posts here. I got them often... irritation in the back of my throat... itchy in the ears. I'd usually get sick around the same time. I remember trying to roll the stone out of the crypt with Q-tips. Sometimes this worked. Other times I'd go in with tweezers... but if I squeezed too hard, the while ball would get squished and become very difficult to remove.

What I didn't know at the time was that I had chronic tonsillitis. I have never had this problem since I got my tonsils removed. Creepy little buggers.
 
I dont get them that often but I noticed that when i eat late at night and i go to bed with my stomach at least halfway full, I wake up with 1 or 2 in the crypts. ..And Damn do they smell!!!!
 
I am so glad I found this thread. I thought I was the only one with this problem. The only time I get these is when my tonsils become inflamed. Usually after the initial onset periods they last for about a week and gradually decrease in occurrence until they completely go away.
The most effective way I found to cope with the bad breath is to religiously use Listerine, and always carry Listerine mouth strips. So nasty, I haven't had them in at least 2 or 3 years and I just got sick a few days ago and they came back 😡
 
What do we all have in common besides Tonsiliths?
That may be the answer to the cause?

I started noticing these about 8 years ago (mid twenties)...
I attributed them to smoking. I smoked for about 10 years. I stopped smoking 5 years ago and I still produce these from my tonsils, less frequently and smaller in size, but still present.

My method of removal is to sterilize a finger and gently message the tonsil to dislodge the large pieces and then gargle with salt water to flush out the small bits. If you have a gag reflex as with anything repeated you will get better at minimizing it...I do this approximately 2x a month.

I too suffered from ear and throat infections throughout my youth. As a child I played in very dusty and humid areas... And as an adult have had very swollen tonsils and glands. I attribute my ENT issues to an allergy to very fine dust. However all my allergy tests have come back negative? Needless to say allergy tests do not test for everything and something is irritating my tonsils and causing the post nasal drip and Tonsiliths.
I've spent the last 4 years trying to clear up the post nasal drip and reducing the size of my tonsils to where they barely protrude beyond my inner cheek.

I changed my habits from drinking and smoking to running and drinking tons of water...I use breath right strips and flonase for a while to clear things up. I breathe better now and in the morning when I wake up I do not feel like my sinuses are swollen or stuffed up...No tonsillectomy for me...

Most of the ENT's docs I spoke to went cross eyed when I asked about the Tonsiliths. As most doctors don't like to talk about what they don't know.

As for the doctors/med students answers I would have to agree that it is either a bodily secretion from the tonsil be it a chemical that we have ingested or an irritant carried in from a mucus membrane to the tonsil and then the bacteria in the mouth finds it and feeds off of it causing the Tonsiliths to grow and ultimately be: seen, felt, smelled...

For you to completely rid yourself of these nuisances you must clear up your entire ENT. Mechanical removal is just that...maintenance.

Good luck to all...
I appreciate everyone’s openness and honesty. You've made me feel better.
...Thanks...Hurray I'm not alone.
 
sandrews said:
I think tonsiloliths are related more to the ear and the Eustachian tubes than to the tonsils themselves.
Click to expand...


I first noticed these things about six months ago... I thought I was having a recurrence of the annoying/ nauseating food lumps that used to get stuck in the cavities formerly occupied by my wisdom teeth. In retrospect, I've had foreign-object sensations back there for a long time (and bad breath)... of course, I also get popcorn shells stuck back there. Amusingly enough, for years, I thought (in my ignorance of fundamental human oropharyngeal anatomy) that they were getting stuck in my eustacian tubes! Still, they have definitely become more frequent in the past year or so.

Anyway, I have read assertions that tonsil stones are associated with post-nasal drip... I have whopping awful allergies, and tonsil stones seem to be more common during really bad attacks. After beginning a regular regimen of sinus irrigation (fresh water, in the shower), and using one of the new zinc-whatever antibacterial mouthwashes, I have experienced a slight reduction in tonsil stones.

I too have itching around the eustacian tubes sometimes when I have this problem. I had assumed that this has more to do with poor localization of pain perception. However, I have had several bad infections around the old ear tubes, and THAT pain was always correctly localized!

Anyway, my stones are most often soft to semi-rigid and only very rarely extensively mineralized ("crunchy" [shudder]). They are usually white to off-white, with very little yellow, and I have never noticed a smell (although my sense of smell is weak). At least one very large tonsil stone was grey and swirled, very closely resembling a very large earwax plug I once had to have removed at a clinic. Hmm...

My left tonsil has a large, protruding flap [ed: on second inspection, it is not a flap, but a protruding mass of inflamed tonsilar tissue... it may be time to go see the Dr.] that extends well farther into the pharynx than the corresponding structure on the right. This flap, and the large crypts surrounding the substantial cavity directly behind it, is often the source of the stones. I assume that the complex, labyrinthine structure there catches food and bacteria more efficiently than on the right; even repeated attempts to keep it clean (toothbrush, sometimes to the point of gagging) and irrigated (mouthwash, frequent water gargling, sometimes direct injection of mouthwash using a small syringe) have failed to prevent recurrence.

Those of you who are just discovering these, you may eventually learn that many of these stones (or gelatinous masses) are "icebergs," with an acne-like tip hiding a substantial mass within the tonsil. I imagine this can only occur by compressing adjacent crypts, which probably exacerbates the foreign-body sensation. In some cases, the "flap" on my left tonsil has been engorged with ?pus to the point of turgidity, and I have in the past briefly entertained the notion that the smooth, white mass supporting it might be cartilage beneath taught skin! Sometimes, a tiny "whitehead" will come out as a small-pea-sized mass... the foreign-body sensation then does not subside completely, and further probing will produce another, larger mass. Then blood, of course. I use a small metal spatula, because the tonsilar structure is too flexible for softer objects, and it usually takes some prodding. I imagine I'm asking for an infection...

I am impressed by the number of people here hoping for a non-surgical solution. I find these things so bothersome, I am almost wishing FOR a surgical cure! 😕
 
You sorta ruin pasta for me. Thank you very much!

BeetleMama said:
Oh this is such a gross thread, I'm so glad I found it.

I started looking on the net tonight after a particularly nasty "thing" came out of the back of my nose. I felt something come loose and start to go down my throat so I hacked it out and it was a white thing, about an inch long and about 2mm wide and sort of dry and sharp on one end but soft and squashy at the other. How nasty is that? Kind of the texture of old pasta but surely a bit of pasta couldn't have backed it's way up my nasal cavity? good grief.

I still don't know what that was but I am net-hunting it down, however...I have had these icky tonsil stones too! I always thought of them as "stinking cauliflowers" because they look like little cauliflower florets and well, they don't smell so great.

So good, ok, now I have two weird gross things that emerge from my interior, nasty.
Click to expand...
 
Quick Question, I'm new to this...
Chronic bad breath, or so I've been told.
tonsils are a little larger than other peoples, so I've been told...
and my 'stones' aren't lodged in crevices in my tonsils,
but tucked in the skin flap that partially covers the tonsil...
In order to free them, I just push the small skin flap back and they 'float' out...
is this the same thing?
any suggestions on how to 'clean' out that area between the skin flap and the tonsil?
 
Provjake said:
Quick Question, I'm new to this...
Chronic bad breath, or so I've been told.
tonsils are a little larger than other peoples, so I've been told...
and my 'stones' aren't lodged in crevices in my tonsils,
but tucked in the skin flap that partially covers the tonsil...
In order to free them, I just push the small skin flap back and they 'float' out...
is this the same thing?
any suggestions on how to 'clean' out that area between the skin flap and the tonsil?
Click to expand...
No asking for medical advice. Besides, it sounds like you're keeping on top of the situation. 🙂
 
First off, when I was young I had tonsillitis that caused my tonsils to become enlarged permanately, keep that in mind.
Recently, I have had this same problem that is being mentioned in this forum. I had a sore throat for a few days along with a cough. I figured I was getting a cold of some sort. But then when it wasn't going away I took a look at my throat but noticed it wasn't my throat at all that was the problem it was my tonsil. Since I was in dim lighting it looked as though I had a "kanker" on my tonsil. So naturally I gurgled some salt-water and hoped it would go away or at least feel better. A little while later I took a closer look at my tonsil with a flash light and a mirror. I noticed that this thing was too white to be a kanker. I showed it to several people and they though it might be tied into my tonsillitis that I had when I was younger. But the more I look at it, it seems as though I would be able to pick it out. I have had food stick to my tonsils before but I know this is different, it is difficult to pick out, before i could just take the food out. My breath has been horrible, all my food tastes like the smell. But what I haven't heard from these other people is that my one left tonsil has shrunk a large amount, it is very red and sore. It has made it had to drink or swallow for that matter, even when I talk it hurts. So, i made an appointment with my doctor so hopefully she can get it removed before it hurts even more. I have never had one of these before and I'm scared that it is infected. From all of the problems and greif they have caused me I'm secretly hoping that they will have to be removed, I'll get back to you...😳
 
well.. I went to the doctor. She didn't do too much. She looked at it and told me that sometimes debris gets stuck in the crevice of my tonsils. She gave me an antibiotic because it looked sore and infected. I came back from the doctors and i knew I had to get rid of this thing. So i tried to keep my tonsils out so i could pick out the white thing from the hole. I got a piece out. It was very far in my tonsil and i thought it would be a difficult task getting the rest out when i could barely see it. But the more I coughed the more of the stuff came out. I used a pen but thankfully it feels a lot better now
 
Omg, google is the **** and so is this site...who knew googling "hard white on throat" would yield my exact results. Like a couple of other people, I thought I had throat cancer or something. I've been getting these things for years, but I never actually looked in my mouth to see where they were coming from ( I just would cough them up and by chance caught a whiff, ew) until about a month ago. When I saw the white thing at first I was just freaking out, but it did look like it could be removed, so when I scraped it off (and oh buddy did it bleed) I went to smell it and knew exactly what it was. Well, now it's back, and for some reason it appears I only get them on my left tonsil. And like someone else mentioned, my breath feels disgusting and my food tastes horrible too! Thank God I'm not the only one experiencing that. I was about to make an appointment with a Dr if I didn't find anything on the net. Glad I did and I'm glad to see other people go through this disgusting occurrence as well. I don't think I've had any as big as the pics google pulled up, but hey I just now noticed them. I'm gonna try someone else's method of using a qtip and sort of popping it out instead of trying to scrape it out. Again, very happy to have found this thread.
PS. I just read on another site that someone said gargling with tap water and a couple drops of grapefruit seed extract dislodged her's and then she follows with like listerine. She said this keeps them at bay.
 
I gotta tell ya, when I first saw these things come out of my throat, I was 15 and it was 1976. My mom was alarmed and stumped when I asked her what they were. So she had me collect them in a baggie for about a month, and then she took the baggie to her doctor and asked him what they were (you can imagine the smell that baggie was working up! LOL) He told her that it was just dried mucus that got stuck and rotted in the pocks of my tonsils...absolutely nothing to worry about and nothing to do about it. In all of the 30 years since, I've shared this experience with no one! I figured I would notice if someone else had to pick these out of their mouths and get rid of them in public. Never saw anyone else do that. Hopefully, nobody noticed me doing it. I also wonder what people thought this was, hundreds and thousands of years ago. It had to have been happening all along, right? We will never know when it started. Kind of like, who was the first cave man to find out pot was okay to smoke...what were they, so bored they smoked everything in the garden until they got a good feeling about it, and what happened to the guy who tried the poison ivy joint? Sorry, what were we talking about again...?

There is a Will & Grace episode that broke this wide open for me ~ Grace strides into the kitchen saying (I'm paraphrasing) "this is going to be a great day! That little THING in the back of my throat finally came up" and Will goes "It's a wonder some guy hasn't snapped you up yet." Boy, did I feel like I was in good company! Finally, somebody said it out loud 👍

Thanks for letting me share.
 
I've had tonsilloliths for 25 years and met only one physician (not my ENT) who knew about them and that was many years ago. I first encoutered the medical term for it only on the Web. Odd - they cannot be so rare.

I remove them - two or three times a week - by cleaning my hands thoroughly and pressing in front of the tonsils with my index fingers. Anything involving bleeding or instruments risks infection, as I have discovered. These things do grow like pearls and it is possible to prevent them from getting big and annoying through maintenance cleaning. Mind that if you do this, even with very clean fingers (or whatever you are using) you can give yourself a sore throat quite easily.

I've had long, frequent bouts of throat and lymph node inflammation most of my life and found there is no more depressing waste of time than to describe this to physicians (including my ENT). I'm surprised that there are people who had been able to get their tonsils removed - I've been repeatedly steered away from that course.

And I hate my ****ing tonsils.
 
I started getting these atrocious balls that resemble chic peas sent straight from hell when I was about 12. 😱I am now 26. I used to obsessively pick at them because I couldnt stand the sensation. Needless to say, the craters only got bigger, requiring more maintenance from my end and obsessive poking and proding of all sorts.

I don't want to discourage anyone w/ hopes of one day overcoming this on their own. My experience however has been disheartening. During high school they were pretty bad and it was always my right tonsil packed full of the gnarly crap. College on the other hand was much easier. This was a time where I particularly didnt take care of myself in the way I should but my stones drastically cut back (and it wasnt because I was too drunk or stoned to notice :laugh:)

Now that I've been out working in the "real world" for awhile, and am emotionally/physically/spiritually healthier than I've ever been, they have began to recur, much to my dismay🙁 I have a superb ENT (I have many allergies) and he straight up said that if they continue to effect my quality of life in the way that they have, then he could probably take them out. I can't bear the thought of living the rest of my life this way. I am very self conscious and concerned about all of the negative things that come w/ it.

And get this... my d*mn left tonsil just starting getting them too... after 13 years had gone by w/ none!!!:barf:

I scheduled an apt w/ my ENT today for mid-October to discuss a tonsillectomy. I've read about the horrid recovery but have made up my mind to go ahead w/ it if he approves.

Has anyone else had a similiar experience? Sorry to be a "debbie downer" so to speak!

















Lycophron said:
I've had tonsilloliths for 25 years and met only one physician (not my ENT) who knew about them and that was many years ago. I first encoutered the medical term for it only on the Web. Odd - they cannot be so rare.

I remove them - two or three times a week - by cleaning my hands thoroughly and pressing in front of the tonsils with my index fingers. Anything involving bleeding or instruments risks infection, as I have discovered. These things do grow like pearls and it is possible to prevent them from getting big and annoying through maintenance cleaning. Mind that if you do this, even with very clean fingers (or whatever you are using) you can give yourself a sore throat quite easily.

I've had long, frequent bouts of throat and lymph node inflammation most of my life and found there is no more depressing waste of time than to describe this to physicians (including my ENT). I'm surprised that there are people who had been able to get their tonsils removed - I've been repeatedly steered away from that course.

And I hate my ****ing tonsils.
Click to expand...
 
These things have been with me on and off for years. Typically, I am more aware of them when I have a sore throat/cough/cold. I have discussed with an ENT about removal, which she says is painful, or just managing the condition. I am 41 and don't want any unnecessary surgery. The little nuggets that develop in the back of my throat come from two places: the pockets on the tonsil, and the space hidden by the smooth fleshy part of the back of the throat (don't know official name). The best tool I have found to clean the area is a smooth, blunt end of a toothbrush handle. It allows you to gently push and coax the little buggers out. Everyone says they smell like something, I say they smell like a bad oyster (nasty, but seeing how bad oysters are full of bacteria, it makes sense). I also read about a laser tonsillotomy, which is done with local anaesthetic, and removes the tonsil pockets, but not the tonsil itself. It could be a good alternative to major tonsil surgery. I'd love to hear about experiences with tonsil surgery. thx for reading!🙂
 
I would regurgitate those stinky balls too for the last 10 years now and wondered what they were. I tried may mouthwashes and even tried to pick on them using toothpicks and water picks but I always ended up gagging. I would always ended up coughing blood after. Then I decided to have tonsillectomy about 2 months ago and I tell you that I should have done this a long time ago. My breath improved because I do not have those facial reactions when I speak because they can smell my breath. I usually regurgitate those stinky balls at least once a month and now have not had any.

I consulted an ENT physician and he knew exactly what I was talking about. It was pretty easy to set up the date of surgery. After the surgery, the recovery was a painful (4-6 out of 10 pain scale) but after about 14 days it healed.
 
I consulted an ENT physician and he knew exactly what tonsillolith was. I told him that I wanted my tonsils removed because of it and he agreed. I was pretty easy to set up the surgery. It has been 2 months since my tonsillectomy and I noticed that my breath improved. Since then I have not regurgitated any of those stinky balls.

Before I had the surgery, I tried mouthwashes and water pick, tooth picks but they never worked. I got tired of gagging and spitting blood afterwards. I tell you that I should have done this a long time ago.

The reward of not having bad breath really outweighs the pain during recovery from the surgery which is about 14 days. Pain is between 4-6 out of 10 pain scale but it is all worth the trouble.

PharmD Student
 
When I was younger I used to be plagued with tonsilliths as well. When I was in second grade I sucessfully dislodged a larger tonsillith, ( it was about the size of a pea, but on an 7-8 y/o kid that is a pretty decent size) I was so proud of it that I snuck it into a small vial containing rubbing alcohol, and took it to class for "show and tell" the next day! My mom would have died of embarassment if she know that took it to class. It wasn't until many years later, 8th grade, that this girl who was in my second grade class, said "hey aren't you the kid who brought in that white thing from your tonsil?" I was so embarassed. :scared: Towards the end of second grade I ended up having a tonsilectomy. Back then it was still pretty routine to have tonsilectomies.
 
hiy guys am moustafa from lebanon am third year dentistry

i will give some information about tonsil stones

The tonsils are sentinels, standing guard at the back of the throat to protect the delicate tissues of our lungs and intestines from foreign invaders. They are part of a ring of defenders, Waldeyer's Ring (which includes the tonsils, adenoids, and other lymphoid tissue), encircling the back of the throat as an important line of defense. The tonsils and adenoids are largest during childhood; they are front-line guardians while the body's more sophisticated internal immune system learns and develops.

The situation MedStudent2007
Member describe, is a very common one. The tonsils usually appear like small, dimpled golf balls set on either side of the back of the throat. people with large tonsils and deep crypts often do get food particles trapped in there. Because saliva contains digestive enzymes, trapped food begins to break down. Particularly, the starch or carbohydrate part of the food melts away, leaving firmer, harder remains of food in the tonsils. This does not look like the food that went into the mouth.

however, there is more to these hard lumps than just food. The tonsils also trap other mouth debris such as bacteria and old cells from the surface of the mouth's lining. Some of these cells contain small amounts of keratin, the same substance found in fingernails and rhinoceros horns. Whatever the nature of the debris, it is then attacked by white blood cells. The aftermath of this battle leaves the crevices of the tonsil strewn with hardened remains.

Most people swallow this material without ever noticing it, while it is still tiny. In those whose tonsils are large, however, the particles can lodge in the deep crypts, where they continue to grow. The enlarging lumps are called calculi of the tonsil, or tonsilloliths (tonsil stones). These stones are most common during adolescence.

Microscopic studies of these tonsilloliths have shown them to contain a combination of food particles, bacteria, oral debris, and white blood cells in a concentrically laminated pattern -- rather like a pearl. Usually they are small gritty particles found in the center of soft, cheesy flecks. Sometimes, however, they become quite large, appearing as rough, yellow or gray, round stones. At times they reach an extraordinary size. Affected people usually have a history of repeated attacks of tonsillitis in earlier years.
 
Hi all,

My family members and I all have this problem. For me, the delightful goo just gets stuck between my tonsil and soft palate, so pulling the palate back usually un-sticks it. I too get the itchy ear sensation when it gets bad, and sometimes the tonsilloliths make my throat hurt.

Not a doctor, but as a personal opinion, I wouldn't stick pens or tweezers into my tonsils. They're pretty sensitive and can be damaged and get infected. I wait until the tonsillolith is visible, and then push gently around the tonsil with something dull-- like a clean pinky finger-- until it comes out. My dad uses a water pik on low.

Also, an alternative to having tonsils removed, I've heard, is having laser surgery on the surface of the tonsils. Anyone done this?
 
i too have these delicious tonsiliar liths. mine, unlike most peoples, are usually a lovely pale green color. does this seem healthy? my ent told me not to worry about this problem but i do. the problem is that i feel like there is a pill or something stuck in my throat for days at a time. i get stuff out of my tonsils pretty much every day, too. i am thinking it's time for these babies to go. my tonsils have been huge since i was a child (with chronic strep throat) and my lyph nodes below my jawbones are also always huge. do these things seem connected? i'm gargling and trying to be gentle, but as you all know, this is not an easy problem to live with. any brilliant thoughts?
 
Hi, I'm not a dentist or doc, I'm a newbie nurse. I was doing a search on "white chunks back of mouth" & came across this site. This is such an interesting forum that I had to join just so I could share. I've had issues with these same tonsolliths that seemed to come up from the back of my mouth since forever. I recently started taking probiotics & after maybe a few months on it all of the sudden a number of these chunks started coming up for days. Since that episode no more - I think. We'll see. But I really think it's the probiotics that has taken care of this issue. I'm very pleased. Maybe this might help some of you?
 
I been having tonsilloliths for years and didn't know what it was. I tried looking it up and found nothing on it. Went to the doctor and he didn't know what it was. Told me to come back next week, never show up. Ask my close friends if they have it too...all of them was clueless... Was kind of worry in the back of my mind.

And today, I found this site...Glad to hear it isn't fatal. Glad I'm not the only one. Thanks guys... 😉

And to add on to the count... I can't stop playing with it and smelling it... but one time i found like a piece of bone in the center, which freak me out... lol
 
Oh man, I think I'm gonna hurl. :laugh: People, please stop talking about these "delicious" tonsillar accretions and playing with them. I am a dentist, and I'm feeling nauseous. Some odiferous bodily products are best not spoken about. 😀 In this case, knowledge is not power! It's just disturbing. 😉
 
Hello there.. I first had contact with tonsillolith when I was a child.. for a period there I, sometimes, would regurgitate these things.. they never bothered me much and I thought it was just pieces of food and never told anyone about it... and then as suddenly as they appeared, they went away..

Now that I am 27 these creepy things appeared again.. and more than ever before.. I asked some questions around and searched a little over the net and found the term "tonsillolith".. It had never bothered me much before, but now it is really getting to my nerves.. I had been regurgitating this tinny pieces and I felt like it had gone away when yesterday I felt there was something in my throat... looking at the mirror I saw both my tonsils were covered by this white stuff... and in my left tonsil it was so big it formed like a golf ball(!!) of these weird stuff glued together.. as I tried to get a better look a pressed gently with my index finger and this horrible stuff just jumps out.. it was just so big I really am impressed and wanna find a way to stop it.. what puzzles me is why did it stop that time and came back again...? And.. if it stopped that time... there should be a way to stop it again... or prevent it from appearing...!

I really find this disgusting and I almost throw up when I see this things.. can't understand some people's fascination/smelling fixation... but I'm glad to see there are more ppl out there with this same problem.. maybe together we could find out how to get rid of it! (without surgery or tonsillectomy). 😡
 
oh my good lord, i cannot believe this thread is still alive!!! i started this thread last year when i freaked out about my tonsil stone and just happened to see if anyone else wrote and wow!

well, i still get these stones every few days/weeks. but my body has become so good at detecting their presence, i just get this slight sensation in the back of my throat and i know those f*ers are back. so i wash my hands (make sure my pointer fingernail is trimmed...cause that hurts otherwise) and just push on the flap that covers the tonsils. i can then see if the stone is there, and 99% of the time if i feel something funny, its there. then i just push harder on that flap area and out comes the stone.

i've decided against tonsillectomy. sounds too painful and getting rid of the stones isn't too much work really. i'm lucky that i don't have bad breath (well, at least my husband doesn't think so) with it...otherwise, that would be a good reason to get surgery.

good to see this thread is alive!
 
Hi all,

I'm just a mom who was doing a search to find out how to relieve my 17 yr old son of his Tonsil Rocks - or Vomit Rocks - and I found you guys! Does anyone have any info about laser "smoothing" to get those crevices smoothed out and thereby not able to create these things? He has HIDEOUS breath - you guys ALL say they smell horrible - well that smell comes out your mouth! He sits next to me in the car and I can smell his mouth. I want him to be able to be confident in his job, with girls, with LIFE but this is such a hinderance! He was "chicken" to get anything done (we took the horrible things in a baggie to his pediatrition about 4 years ago) but now he cares about his breath and wants to get something done. I saw somewhere and in a post above that there might be a laser surgery answer - ANYONE KNOW?? THANKS SO MUCH! (My stomach is weak from reading all the posts btw!! lol)
 
Hello, all.

I was quite surprised to find this thread (amoung) others on the web. 😀

I have been afflicted by the cheese curds in my tonsils since I was a child (I am 31, now); I was asthmatic and allerigic to everything. Then and now, I was a competitive swimmer and have reoccuring swimmer's ear. Recently, I ended up in the ER on IV Cipro because oral and ear formulations did not work; I had puss running out of my ears and was nearly deaf with a fever of 103!😱

So...
I have always used toothpicks, fingers or Q-tips to express the curds out. I notice the tonils become sore and firm; my ear also begins to itch deep w/in.

What I have discovered is that if I use my tongue scraper..and go all the waaaayyy back to the back of the tongue (I have an over-active gag relfex :barf:as well) that the reoccurrance of the smelly curd is less often. :idea:

The curds do appear more if I eat late at nite while studying or grading and fall asleep w/o brushing my teeth (Yeah, gross I know); Upon waking, I instantly realize my "mistake" and prepare myself for the curds that are sure to follow.:scared:

Additionally, I have become aware of a foul taste coming from the tonsils prior to their appearance.
Further, the older I become the more painful and swollen the tonsil becomes when a curd errupts!🙁

thnx for the info!
 
am a chronic sufferer of these annoying things

first noticed them in college, thought I had a pea-sized "ball" of bread stuck on my right tonsil (which is chronically swollen---not painful, just always larger than what one would expect)

fast forward 20 years... i still get them. i now wash my hands, stick index finger in back of throat and press against and squeeze tonsil against throat to squeeze out, loosen and remove. Based on the fact that these things don't always want to easily detach themselves from the tonsil, in my particular case I'd be surprised if a water pick did and good.

for those of you wondering, after using your index finger to press the tonsil, you'll eventually overcome the gag reflex, which I didn't think was possible. when i say eventually, i cant remember exactly how long it took, but it may have taken a few weeks or months

but after years of dealing with these things, I'm now fairly certain that they also form a little lower in my throat as well, and not just on the tonsil. Has anyone experienced this? Of course pressing the tonsil doesnt remove the ones in the throat, I just "sense" them and am ultimately able to hack them up (ewwww, gross)

anyway, as someone who suffers from post nasal drip, I feel there may be a connection. I dont believe food particles are the cause, but may be indirectly involved by getting trapped in the masses

have soaked removed tonsil stones in hydrogen peroxide, thinking maybe it would dissolve them. no such luck.

i haven't noticed any connection between eating certain foods or eating or not eating after a certain time of night

would give anything to find a true remedy for these annoying foul smelling blobs!! i'd like to think a tonsilectomy would be the cure, but the fact that they also seem to form on (something in) my upper throat , I have to wonder if that really is a permanent answer. help?
 
zdz said:
would give anything to find a true remedy for these annoying foul smelling blobs!! i'd like to think a tonsilectomy would be the cure, but the fact that they also seem to form on (something in) my upper throat , I have to wonder if that really is a permanent answer. help?
Click to expand...

Please be advised that it is against SDN's Terms Of Service to solicit medical advice. Discussion of the topic is fine. Just don't ask about the effectiveness of treatments in your particular case.
 
I am not a doctor or medical student but rather am a lawyer who has struggled w/these annoying sulfur-smelling stones for my whole life. I am 33 and started having them as a child, they disappeared for several years, and in my college years, they came back w/a vengeance. I have often researched them and have found scant valuable information on the internet and/or from talking w/my GP about them.

I am never able to see my tonsil stones but I agree w/the individual who thinks that the ear/eustachian tube is a likely source for these annoying stones. Whenever I am about to suffer a bad bout w/the stones, usually in the winter, I start with an itchiness in the ear and if I am unsucessful in disloging them, I may even get a full-fledged cold.

I am experiencing some interesting symptoms now that I want to run by you as med students, first of all, and second, see if anyone else has had a similar problem. It's now Saturday, Dec. 29th. I started with the problem on Monday, discomfort, etc. in the ear, feeling that something was caught in the back of my throat. I was unsuccessful in dislodging it and by Wednesday night, Dec. 26, I had to call in a prescription of Amox-Clav b/c I had a 102.0 fever and was shivering. I thought it was a normal cold at that point. Several days on, my fever has broken but I am still the same. My throat is red raw and I cannot see any tonsil stones. My tongue is characteristically white. I went out today and bought a Waterpik and used it. I felt something large that I was unable to swallow to get rid of it. I succeeded in doing something to it. I now cannot sleep because I am producing prolific amounts of saliva.

I am hoping to see an ENT on 12/31 but in all likelihood, I'll be waiting till 1/2 or worse.
 
This may sound crazy, but I use to have shoulder & back spasms until I removed these tonsil stones. Once I took out the stones, the spasms went away. For some reason my shoulder still feels stiff though.
I would be surprised if this post actually helps anyone because it is buried so deep. Oh, well...
 
I had been sick. I felt the dull ache in my throat and it woke me up in the night. I grabbed a flashlight and decided to poke my finger at my tonsil (I am not sure why). When the tonsil stone popped out it looked like a piece of peeled garlic. I poked some more and found that that dark little hole in the side of my throat was a factory of nastiness. After all that, I gargled with salt water. I was so excited about how wonderful my throat felt that I couldn't wait to tell my husband the next morning. I told him that he needed to google "tonsil stone" and that it would forever change the way he cleaned his mouth. The next time I, he, or my children are suffering from baaaaaaad breath, I will be whipping out the flashlight and the q-tip. It sounds like this is a very common thing. I am so surprised that I have never heard of this before!
 
you nasty people,

just use a waterpik device at low pressure to blast them out. low pressure to not damage the tissues. you guys are hilarious.
 
glad i found this forum. am off to the ent in 2 days,, but have had this problem with what you all are calling stones for years... mine are yellowish and firmish not hard,,once mushed they smell bad. been haveing a problem with bad breath, mouth tasteing bad, tongue coated , sinus drainage, very sore throat and laryngitis. i do not have my tonsils or adenoids...so i am wondering if these things can be from the sinus cavities? mine come out when i "snort " in through my nose then really cough hard (hack actually) can take days though, after i frist think i have one , before it may come out.. always small like a small grain of rice... what yucky things,,,cant see anything in the back of my throat..
 
Finally I have some answers for the last 4 months I have been coughing up these hard things and they get so stuck in my throat - my bf thinks I am coughing up fur balls. When I cough them up - they are hard, yellow and smelly - I never knew what they were until reading this. I have had my tonsil out when I was 28 and I get a sore throat often. Time to go to my doctor and see what can be done
thanks
 
I had the same exact things you are describing. I went to an ENT and he told me that I needed a tonsillectomy immediately, so I got it done.

I would strongly suggest seeing an ENT.
 
most everyone here having these things still have their tonsils and adenoids.. and you describe them as white... like i said i dont have tonsils,, mine are yellowish/beige (but stink bad too ,,ick) so i wonder if mine are from my sinus' ??? i go to my ent tomorrow,,hopefully they may know.. 10 years ago i had sinus surgery,,, (that ent did not know what i was talking about) but he went in to fix my deviated septum and enlarge my sinus',,, still have sinus problems.. so that was not a great idea..
🙁
 
I discovered the term "tonsillolith" only a couple days ago. I've had them for six years but never knew they were something that other people actually experienced.

My first experiences with them were utter disgust. Now, however, it is a normal routine to clear them out every couple weeks. I've tried all sorts of instruments for this task, but I easily poke myself with anything sharp or oblong. I've found the best method is simply to apply a small amount of pressure in front of the ball with my finger, pull the tonsil flap back, and squeeze them out of the rift by pushing down. I've been doing this for years.
 
Not a medical doctor, my background is in mental health. I have however been dealing with these for a long time. Years ago I was very discouraged because neither my doctor nor my dentist believed me when I described this condition. This forced me to start my own study of the problem.

Anyhow… these are some thoughts and observations I have had over time.

They seem best removed with a gentle water jet. Sometimes you feel them for a couple days before they are exposed enough to be sprayed out.

I have NOT noticed an association between stone occurrence and illness.

They seem to occur more or less when changes happen to the chemistry of the oral cavity. When I was young, I did most of my breathing through my mouth. As I got older, I've gotten over that nasty habit, and as I've done so, I've had less of these little things. Friends and clients have reported an increase and decrease of these things with diet changes, new medications, puberty and pregnancy (It seems everybody is different, some get more and some get less with the same changes). I think these things may form like pearls. A spec of food gets stuck in the crypts and is then encapsulated by secretions of the tonsils and/or bacterial growth. Different chemical balances in the mouth make them grow at different paces. Thus there are 2 factors in their development. How many particles get trapped in the tonsil crypts, and how veraciously these particles are encapsulated.

One trick I have been trying lately that SEEMS to have helped is taking more care when eating. I've been taking smaller bites and swallowing more gently. The theory is that this way fewer bits of food are likely forced in to the tonsil crypts and thus fewer stones result.

Years ago I found several products on the internet that attempted to treat this condition with special tooth paste and mouth wash that were formulated to raise the Ph (base) of the mouth / saliva. This may work for some people, but I did not notice improvement.


I did begin using a tongue scrapper that removed material coated on my tongue (particular the back portion). Regular use of this has seemed to reduce the occurrence of stones. I believe the more over all bacteria of the proper kind in the mouth, the faster the stones grow in the crypts. I wish there were a way to clean the tongue farther back, I think that would be a huge improvement for me.

We know these things smell awful. I'm pretty sure I have chronic bad breath, though I do well to compensate with plenty of mouthwash and breath mints. I have always assumed these two were related. Though I can track frequency of stone occurrence, I can not reliably observe /track my own bad breath. What are other people's experiences with this condition correlating / causing bad breath? In all honestly, the stones I can deal with, it's the halitosis that causes me hardship.
 
I have found that an easy way to remove them is with a reversed, clean, glass eyedropper (opening diameter 1/4 inch) with a light suction such as can be generated from a plastic squeeze bottle - no poking or prodding necessary, nor reaching inside the cavity.

Solving post-nasal drip may slow occurrence as the tonsil may become less inflamed. Rinsing the mouth with a peroxide based wash after removal has been recommended to me and seems to work well, but is not a permanent solution.

I would be interested in more information concerning the laser smoothing treatment, as well as the others who have posted about it. Thanks in advance!
 
I am 42 years old, healthy as a horse...eat right, exercise, the whole nine yards and have been perplexed my entire adult life with this one issue. I've asked at least 5 different dentists and numerous drs...not one solid answer or solution that worked. Just knowing what this most likely is and that it is not as uncommon as I thought lifts a weight off my shoulders that I can not describe right now.

This condition creates some pretty serious issues...sexual, relationships, confidence, diet, obsession w/getting them out of your mouth!! I could go on and on. Certainly some smart drs could dig in and find out what is really causing this and provide some real solutions.

I have always had allergy problems, sinus issues, and a very weird condition that only my wife can describe...can hear me eating anything crunchy even with my mouth closed. As she describes it kind of like it being amplified from my moth and coming out of my nose and ears...very weird. Anyhow, I think somehow this is all connected to my bad breath problem.

On the positive side. I've been so obsessed with my breath that I have teeth, gums, tonge and throath that you could eat off 🙂. I brush, gargle, water pick and scrape my tongue more than any human being on the planet. That provides only temporary relief but my smile is great. Thanks for sharing everybody.
 
Just a thought; I wonder if there is any medical connection to folks that have a build up of these stones and cholesterol levels/arterial calcified plaque? I do remember my father complaining of this little problem and he had major problem with elevated bad cholesterol levels.
 
What a relief to find your website! I have suffered for many years with what I now know are "tonsilloliths". I only discovered the name by chance when reading a magazine in a waiting room and someone had written to ask why she had these weird things! Looked it up on Google, saw your website and - I'm not alone! Like many of the people who have posted their comments, I suffered with many bouts of tonsillitis when I was a child. I also wonder if there are many of you who had glandular fever? I had this when I was 17 and I sometimes think this affected my immune system a bit. I always get tonsilliloths if I am tired/a bit stressed and/overdo things physically. I have today finally got rid of one which I have had for two weeks. I find these things are confidence-sapping and I always wonder, if someone comes by my wp at work and says something to me, if I have awful breath when I answer them. I don't know what to do - I have tried gargling with soluble aspirin and I think that reduces the red inflammation I have around the "pocket" which juts out from the right side of my throat and where the tonsilliloths mainly seem to settle. I carry a small ******ex mouth spray in my bag and, when I am out, if I can tell that my breath is "off" then I can quickly spray this in my mouth and it does mask the problem of course, doesn't get rid of it.

I am interested in the laser treatment that several of you have mentioned and think I will ask my dentist when I go soon for a check up. Wonder how expensive this treatment is?

Thanks anyway to all of you - somehow feel better when I realise this is probably a lot more common than I thought and not just something odd with me and my system!
 
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