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Tonsilloliths / Tonsil Stones?

post #1 of 17
3/9/04 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Has anyone experienced this, and how did you deal with it? I cough these little white globs up every once in awhile, and I have a white coating on my tongue that persists no matter how much I brush and floss and rinse with Listerine, etc. My dentist told me to use a tongue scraper, which helps a little but hasn't cured the problem.

I did some research and found that this is actually fairly common especially in people who have allergies (I do). The white things are called "tonsil stones" or "tonsilloliths". The only treatment I've found is from this Dr. Katz guy (www.therabreath.com). I'm leary because this guy owns dozens of domains, all of them made up to appear like personal experiences ("This is how I fixed my tonsil stones") and linking to his products. It screams "shady business practices" to me.

If anyone here has experienced this and has any advice, I'd love to hear it.

Also of note is that I do occasionally have slight amounts of blood in my saliva. Apparently this is "normal", as the stones cause bleeding of the tonsils when they come out. Are there "tonsil specialists" I should be seeing here?
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post #2 of 17
3/9/04 at 4:30pm
I've had them in the past and never gave it much thought -- just coughed them up and out. I suppose it would be annoying if they appeared frequently. Just a side-effect of the old tonsils doing their job.

Here's a link with more info: http://www.drgreene.com/21_568.html
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post #3 of 17
3/9/04 at 5:50pm
I never knew they had a name, but I used to get them until I was about 13, and had my tonsils out.

That was 40 years or so ago.
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post #4 of 17
3/10/04 at 7:20am
These things are normal to have since the tonsils collect all kinds of stuff. If they become troublesome you can see a ENT doctor (Ear,Nose,Throat).


Jeff
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post #5 of 17
3/10/04 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
Buzz,

So do people with their tonsils get sick more than those without? I don't get sick that often, but I do catch something 2 - 3 times a year. My wife is hardly ever sick, and she doesn't have her tonsils.
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post #6 of 17
3/10/04 at 12:16pm
I used to be tounsil/throat infections AT LEAST once a month between the ages of 8-16, and I used to have those little white thingies also. I got my tonsils removed just before me freshman year of high school...that was 8 years ago now and I havnt had a tonsil/throat infection since and I'm rarely sick...
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post #7 of 17
3/10/04 at 1:59pm
What ever you do, don't squish them and smell them. Seriously.
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post #8 of 17
3/10/04 at 4:19pm
My tonsils are ENORMOUS. They have given me breathing problems while sleeping but I've just learned to live with it. I get tonsil stones too, along with my brothers. I've thought about getting a baby booger picker (bulb syringe) to suck em out.. but I haven't yet. I just cough them mofos up or pick em out.

http://www.buyemp.com/dept.asp?dept_id=1082201
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post #9 of 17
3/11/04 at 6:51am
Thanks! I always wondered what those white things were (and I second Terry's comment about not squishing or smelling them- YUK). I thought I had some strange disease when I was younger.

When I had my tonsils, I ended up getting eithr strep or bronchitis annually and they got so large that I ended up having Sleep Apnea, so I had them removed four years ago and havne't had any issues since (and I sleep like a baby now).

Rafael.
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post #10 of 17
3/11/04 at 10:33am
jeff, you may want to try gargling with hydrogen peroxide. that may sometimes decrease the frequency of the stone production. if that doesn't work your only choice is to either live with it or have your tonsils removed. depending on your insurance company a tonsillectomy may not be covered for that particular problem. it is usually covered for chronic infections or obstructive sleep apnea. the blood in your saliva may be do to the stone dislodging, but i do not know your age or smoking history. if you are older (40's+) and do smoke you may want to see an ear nose and throat surgeon to get checked out.
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post #11 of 17
3/11/04 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
What ever you do, don't squish them and smell them. Seriously.
Too late. Why do you think I'm worried about them?! I can spit them out just fine, but I'm paranoid that they're giving me bad breath and nobody has the guts to tell me.

They're not that frequent, actually. Only a few times a year. They used to come up a few times a month until I started using a tongue scraper, now they've really decreased in frequency. From what I understand they're a buildup of bacteria.

Gargling with peroxide doesn't sound fun.

Maybe I'll go talk to my doctor, just for the heck of it. Might be a good idea to have everything looked at anyway.
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post #12 of 17
3/11/04 at 2:34pm
My buddy used to call them bad breath mints! I haven't had them for very often but they do smell like concentrated bad breath. Yuk.
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post #13 of 17
7/29/04 at 6:44pm
I found that all you have to do is press the area next to them with a q-tip or something and they pop out. I used to think that I was weird and that I was the only one who had them. Now I know that I'm just weird.
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post #14 of 17
7/31/09 at 5:55pm
After reading some information online regarding the water pik method.  I gave it a shot.  The article suggest blasting them out.  Though I was a little anxious at first, it has gotten much easier for me.  It's the best way I know of to get rid of them.
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post #15 of 17
8/2/09 at 2:12am
I used to have tonsillitis constantly until I had mine out during the summer of 1985. I've had maybe two or three sore throats since then and am rarely sick.

My wife, on the other hand, still has her tonsils and has these "stones" frequently. She also has strep throat at least once a year and has had mono/Epstein-Barr virus twice since in the past 6 years. Our family doctor has no concerns about the "stones" as they do not pose a health risk, but he has suggested she see an ENT and discuss a tonsillectomy if it persists and she wants something done about it.
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post #16 of 17
9/2/09 at 3:49pm
I still have my tonsils, and I'm rarely sick. The only stones I've ever had were kidney stones. (ouch)
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post #17 of 17
9/3/09 at 8:38pm
Don't have any experience with this problem, I think my tonsils were taken out when I was 7 or 8 years old.

However, I've learned through the years that things like this start out small, may cause very minor, even unnoticeable problems, but later on can really come back to haunt you. Symptoms can be very minor, more of a nuisance than anything and you eventually just adjust to them.

The human body can do amazing things to take care of itself, but every once in a while needs a little boost from the medical profession. Could be completely harmless and nothing to worry about, or just the tiny beginnings of a much bigger reaction five years from now. Either way, wouldn't it be nice to have it taken care of and not always lurking in the background?
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