Tonsillitis – Causes And Symptoms
Tonsillitis means inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils. Simply put, it just means your tonsils are swollen. The swelling or inflammation may also include other areas of the back of the throat, such as the adenoids and the lingual tonsils. The tonsils are oval shaped masses of lymph gland tissue (called lymph nodes) seen on both sides of the throat. An infection of these tonsils is known as tonsillitis.
Common symptoms or characteristics of tonsillitis involve pain in the throat and trouble swallowing. It can be diagnosed only by checking the tonsils using a tongue depressor and spatula, used in collecting a sample.
The sample collected will determine if the infection is bacterial or viral. The most common type of bacteria that causes tonsillitis is streptococcus. Glandular fever is a viral illness that can cause tonsillitis, but other viral infections may cause it as well. Examples are: herpes simplex virus, the measles virus, adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, Streptococcus pyogenes (GABHS) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
Bacterial infections will require antibiotics, while viral infections won’t respond to it.
Normally, tonsillitis is a self-limiting condition. This just means it usually gets better without treatment, and usually there are no complications. It is a very common condition in children and young people, but it can occur at any age.
Tonsillitis may also be transmitted from person to person via social contact, like coughs, sneezes and nasal fluids.
Tonsillitis has several variations or kinds, namely acute, recurrent, and chronic tonsillitis and peritonsillar abscess.
Some common symptoms of tonsillitis are the following:
- Pain in the throat when swallowing
- Painful mouth opening
- Headache
- Fever or high temperatures
- Lack of appetite
- Vomiting
- Pain in the abdomen
- Yellow or white spots of pus on the tonsils
- Swollen lymph glands under either side of the jaw
Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the tonsils. It is recommended for those with recurrent tonsillitis, where the disease keeps happening over and over.
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