How are tonsil stones harmful to me?

4 Comments

1. WyldCherry says:

   September 8, 2009 at 6:18 am

   No, it’s not so much the tonsil stones that’s making you sick. Most times, they are harmless. Unless they get grotesquely big (see third link and scroll down for pics). I think (just my speculation) it’s when your tonsils reached it’s limit trying to filter out all the bad stuff. Then either your tonsil gets infected (tonsillitis) or the bug you caught spreads to the rest of your body.

   As for your tonsil, it’s basically doing it’s job (first line defense) by filtering out the junk (bad bacteria, dead white cells, food bits, etc…even the stuff we breath in), before it enters into the rest of your body. It gathers all that garbage forms into those little white ’stones’ in the crevices of your tonsils. When your tonsils gets full of those little buggers, it irritates your throat. At times making you cough/sneeze/gag so that the tonsil stones can dislodge from your tonsils. The tonsil also serves as a red light to show you that some bad funk just entered your body. Basically warning you to do something about it before it spreads to the rest of your body.

   I also get them, and the only way to lessen them is to gargle salt water. The rest I usually pick them out with a q-tip or my pinky finger. I heard a couple of people use water picks to flush them out. As for truly preventing them, maybe a tonsillectomy, but I wouldn’t do it because (as I said) your tonsils serve a good purpose. I’ve heard people who had the surgery still received white patches where the tonsils were.

   Anyways, you should visit you ENT (ear nose and throat doctor) to see what the rest of your choices are.
2. babyshoes says:

   September 8, 2009 at 6:18 am

   Never heard of tonsil stones.
3. dm41901 says:

   September 8, 2009 at 6:18 am

   Ever since I got really sick in December I have been getting them too. I am wondering the same thing you are asking…….