Tonsilitis - Symptoms, Causes, and Control
Friday 19 June 2015
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 | Tonsillitis is an infection of the tonsils. The tonsils are balls of lymph tissue on both sides of the |
Tonsillitis often goes away on its own after 4 to 10 days, as it is caused by a virus. Less often, it is caused by the same bacteria that cause strep throat. Tonsillitis is spread through the air in droplets when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. You then become infected after breathing in these droplets or getting them on your skin or on objects that come in contact with your mouth, nose, or eyes. The main symptom of tonsillitis is a sore throat. The throat and tonsils usually look red and swollen. The tonsils may have spots on them or pus that covers them completely or in patches. Fever is also common.
If you feel like you have a cold, with symptoms such as runny and stuffy nose, sneezing, and coughing, a virus is most likely the cause. If you have a sore throat plus a sudden and severe fever and swollen lymph nodes camera, but you do not have symptoms of a cold, the infection is more likely caused by bacteria. This means you need to see a doctor and probably need a strep test. Your doctor will look at your throat to see if you have red and swollen tonsils camera with spots or sores. These signs can mean you have tonsillitis. Your doctor may do a rapid strep test along with a throat culture. These will show whether the tonsillitis is caused by streptococcus bacteria. Your doctor may also ask about past throat infections. If you get tonsillitis often, it may affect the choice of treatment.
You may have a test for mononucleosis if your doctor thinks that you have mono. Tonsillitis caused by a virus will usually go away on its own. Treatment focuses on helping you feel better.
Home Treatment tips: This eases the discomfort of sore throat and symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and coughing. Things that may help you or your child feel better include: Gargling often with warm salt water if your child is age 8 or older. You can make your own salt water by mixing 1 tsp (5 g) salt with 8 floz (240 mL) warm water; Drinking warm or cool liquids (whichever feels better). These include tea, soup, juice, and rehydration drinks; Eating flavoured ice pops, such as Popsicles; Taking over-the-counter pain medicines (such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen) to help relieve sore throat pain. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
If you give medicine to your baby, follow your doctor’s advice about what amount to give. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20 because of its link to Reye syndrome, a serious but rare problem.
Getting plenty of rest: It involves, Using a vaporizer or humidifier in the bedroom; Using throat lozenges to help relieve sore throat symptoms. But lozenges should not be given to young children because of the risk of choking. Also, many lozenges contain unneeded ingredients that can be potentially harmful.
If your tonsillitis is caused by strep, you need treatment with antibiotics. Antibiotics can help prevent rare but serious problems caused by strep and can control the spread of infection. As a rule, doctors only advise surgery to remove tonsils (tonsillectomy) when there are serious problems with the tonsils. These include infections that happen again and again or long-lasting infections that do not get better after treatment and get in the way of daily activities. You and your doctor can decide if surgery is the right choice after a careful review of your or your child’s overall health.
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