Tonsils are the “guardians” of the body
The pharynx is the common gate of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and the tonsils are a pair of loyal “guardians” of the pharynx. When bacteria and viruses try to enter the body from here and encounter the tonsils, the tonsils will respond by producing antibodies to try to resist and destroy them.
What people usually call tonsils actually refers to the palatine tonsils in medical terminology, a very familiar immune organ located in the triangular tonsillar fossa on both sides of the oropharynx.
Acute tonsillitis is a very common infectious disease of the pharynx, especially in children and adolescents. It tends to develop during the change of seasons and temperature changes. The pathogen is transmitted through droplets or direct contact. Cold, overexertion, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption, and irritation by harmful gases can all be triggers.
Repeated attacks of acute tonsillitis can easily lead to chronic tonsillitis. Chronic inflammation of the tonsils not only loses its resistance, but also becomes a shelter for invading bacteria and viruses, resulting in various associated diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, myocarditis, nephritis, and chronic low-grade fever.
The most common type of tonsillitis mentioned at the beginning of the article is tonsillitis. What should I do if I have recurrent attacks like this?
When should I consider removing my tonsils?
Tonsillectomy is recommended for recurrent acute attacks of chronic tonsillitis when the following conditions are met.
7 to 8 episodes in 1 year.
An average of 3 to 5 episodes per year within 2 years
an average of 2 to 4 episodes per year over a period of 3 years.
In more serious cases: chronic tonsillitis has become the cause of myocarditis, nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
Do children with enlarged tonsils need to be removed?
Mom and Dad brought their child to the hospital and asked, “Doctor, the doctor said that the child’s tonsils are so big, can you help me see if they need to be cut out?
Children’s tonsils are prone to inflammation and enlargement, which is a problem that plagues many parents.
Tonsils are the first line of immune defense in the throat, so removing them arbitrarily may reduce the local immunity of the respiratory tract, so there are strict indications for tonsillectomy surgery.
In children around 1 year old, their own immune system is not yet mature, and the defense role of the tonsils is particularly important. Stimulated by external infectious factors, the tonsils gradually strengthen their function and increase in size.
At the age of 3 to 5 years, the tonsils of basically every child become larger. After puberty, as the immune function continues to improve, the role of the tonsils gradually decreases and they gradually shrink. These are usually normal changes.
Therefore, enlarged tonsils are not a disease, but when they are excessively enlarged, children may have difficulty swallowing, resulting in low food intake, low weight, and slurred speech.
Some children between the ages of 3 and 10 years old may experience snoring with open-mouth breathing, or even breath-holding symptoms. There are usually three causes of snoring in normal-sized children: rhinitis, adenoid hypertrophy and tonsillar hypertrophy. When tonsillar hypertrophy constitutes one of the causes of sleep snoring with breath-holding in children, tonsillectomy can be performed on top of adenoidectomy to relieve the symptoms of oxygen deprivation in children at night.
What should I do if I have a growth on my tonsils?
“Doctor, I look in the mirror and I see a growth on my tonsils.
When a benign tumor is found on the tonsils, the tonsils can be removed along with the tumor. In the case of malignant tumors, the scope of surgery should be selected according to the advice of a professional ear, nose and throat surgeon.
When should tonsillectomy not be performed?
Tonsillectomy should be performed 2 to 3 weeks after the inflammation has subsided.
Patients with serious systemic diseases such as nephritis, arthritis, heart disease, uncontrolled coagulation disorders, or severe uncontrolled hypertension should not undergo surgery.
Women should not undergo surgery during menstruation, premenstruation and pregnancy.
Tonsil surgery and post-operative tips
Tonsil surgery is the most common minor surgery. Nowadays, with the development of science and technology, the surgical instruments are being updated and more frequently used are ultrasonic knife, radiofrequency knife and electric knife. These new surgical instruments can shorten the operation time, reduce intraoperative bleeding and damage to the surrounding mucosa.
A white film will appear on the surface of the tonsils the day after tonsil surgery, which is a normal reaction, not pus moss, and has a protective effect on the trauma.
Generally speaking, the first three days after tonsil surgery should be cold and liquid, and the next two weeks should be semi-liquid and soft, avoiding hot and hard food to avoid bruising the white membrane or causing it to shed early and cause post-tonsil surgery bleeding.