what causes tonsil stones?

mr.wat?

New member
I used to get these on and off quite often and for me, they appeared to be caused by my allergies (or at least greatly affected by them). I had them almost non-stop while living in a different state for a year. After I moved, it seemed to get much better. I was allergic to a lot of the trees in the area. Now I just seem to get sinus issues and hardly ever get tonsil stones.

I remember seeing a doctor about it and I guess my doctor was NOT knowledgeable about them, because once they told me I had strep throat and gave me antibiotics (didn't help- don't think I had strep) and another time they said nothing was wrong and there was nothing they could do about it. They got pretty painful at times and I'd lose my voice very often. I also could try to reach back there and pick them out (I hardly have a gag reflex now from doing that so much!), but once they came off, I'd often taste blood and it would still hurt. To help with pain, I'd eat sugar-free throat drops and use throat sprays when it really bothered me. Other than that, I'd definitely try gargling to help as much as you can and maybe look into an allergy medication if yours is caused by that as well. It seemed to be trapped mucus/drainage that would ball up, and then food can get caught there too. They didn't really hurt for me unless they got up to pea-sized or larger. The very small ones simply felt annoying, like a popcorn kernel piece was stuck there.

Hope they eventually go away for you too! I am very glad to have them gone. What a pain! If they had stayed bad over the years, I'd probably look into getting your tonsils removed if that may help in the long run.
 
Most doctors would not advise getting tonsils out as an adult.
I get the little critters too. I try to stay one step ahead of them by "cleaning out" my tonsils after I eat, especially starchy foods.
The first time I noticed them, I saw white spots and thought I had strep and went to the dr. He swabbed my throat and said I didn't have strep but the spots were from sinus drainage. He sent me home with an
antibiotic. Looking back now, I realize they were tonsil stones because I tried and tried to scrape them off and they wouldnt come off
 
True... having tonsils removed can be quite painful I've heard, so I'd save that as a last resort! I sure was glad to not have to go through that.

My tonsil stones were somewhat difficult to remove. They often were too lodged in there to reach, and then it would usually bleed when removed. It was definitely frustrating and painful!
 
May I ask how old you are? I got mine out at age 36 and I am so glad I did it. I was so tired of the tonsil stones, and I was also getting sick a lot. I rarely get sick now. The recovery wasn't bad at all for me.
 
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