Tonsils are a pair of prominent masses of lymphoid tissue that lie on each side of the throat between two folds of soft tissue that bound the fauces. They are a part of the body’s immune system. Because of their location in the throat, they are able to stop infective agents from entering the body through the mouth or nose.
There are different types of tonsils:
- Palatine tonsils
- Pharyngeal tonsils or Adenoids
- Lingual tonsils
All these together are called Waldeyer’s ring as they form a ring around the opening to the throat and help to prevent the entry of bacteria or viruses from entering the body. The tonsils can become inflamed in this process, which is known as tonsillitis. There are 3 types of tonsillitis:
- Acute Tonsillitis: Symptoms lasts for mostly 3-4 days or up to 2 weeks
- Recurrent Tonsillitis: Tonsillitis occurring several times in a year. It is defined as:
- Sore throat or tonsillitis at least 5-7 times in 1 year
- Occurrences at least 5 times in each of the previous 2 years
- Occurrences at least 3 times in each of the previous 3 years
- Chronic Tonsillitis: Long standing tonsillitis with sore throat, bad breath and tender lymph nodes in neck.
Causes: Children are more prone to develop tonsillitis than adults. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 years are more likely to develop tonsillitis from bacterial infection. Children younger than 5 years of age have viral infection as the most common aetiology. Exposure to bacteria or viruses can occur very easily among children or from children to adults. Streptococcus is the commonest causative organism followed by adenoviruses, influenza virus, Epstein-Barr virus, parainfluenza virus, enteroviruses and Herpes simplex virus.
Genetics is known to have a role in the development of recurrent tonsillitis.
Signs and Symptoms: The primary symptom of tonsil infection is inflamed and swollen tonsils which can even make breathing difficult. Other symptoms found in tonsillitis are –
- Pain in throat which can extend to ears or tenderness
- Fever and chills
- Red or white- or yellow-coated tonsils
- Ulcers in throat
- Difficulty in swallowing
- Swollen lymph nodes in neck
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Children may present with vomiting, pain in stomach, drooling, and no desire to eat or swallow.
If left untreated, tonsillitis can develop complications like obstructive sleep apnoea, tonsillar cellulitis, and peritonsillar abscess.
Tonsil Aid helps in relieving Tonsilitis by:
- Reducing the size of the tonsils thus converting enlarged, unhealthy tonsils to healthy ones.
- Increasing the resistance (immunity) to repeated infections/exposure to allergens.
- Reducing the intensity and frequency of recurrent attack of cough and cold.
