Bleeding Tonsils
Causes of Bleeding Tonsils
One of the most frightening things to experience is to look into a mirror, open your mouth and see a stream of blood, but that is exactly what can happen if you have bleeding tonsils. While bleeding tonsils are not a common problem, you should still be aware of the types of situations where this symptom might develop.
If you look around some of the medical forums on the internet, you might really be surprised at how often someone says, “My tonsils are bleeding, what does it mean?” Or, “What can I do about it?” “Does anyone know if bleeding tonsils are normal?”
There are indeed a few reasons why you might have bleeding tonsils. Let’s take a look at three of them. First of all, you might have cut or injured a tonsil. This is not particularly easy to do but it could be accomplished. The most common way would be to swallow something sharp.
Your tonsils are located on both sides at the opening of your throat. There are all types of foods with sharp edges which could cut in the skin here as you are swallowing. Any kind of small, sharp bone, such as from chicken, could penetrate the skin in this area. It simply needs to hit the skin at a bad angle. A small puncture is all that it takes for bleeding tonsils. The mouth and throat are very sensitive areas when it comes to injury.
Other foods could also cause a puncture or a tear in the skin of the tonsils/throat area. Potato chips are one, particularly if you swallow one with a very pointed edge. Additional foods which can cause penetrate the skin and cause bleeding are popcorn, nuts, crackers, fish, shrimp, lobster and ribs. Always be careful when swallowing any of these foods.
Because tonsils are often removed with no aftereffects, many people think that tonsils have no purpose but they do have a job to do. Their role is to support the immune system by filtering out bacteria and germs that come into the body through the mouth and nose. Scientists believe it is their contact with bacteria which can lead them to become inflamed.
One of the surest causes of tonsil inflammation is cryptic tonsils and this problem more often than not becomes a chronic condition. Get a flashlight and look at your tonsils in a mirror. You can see them, one right and one left at the top of the throat. Healthy tonsils are very pink.
Cryptic tonsils are what occur when food and bacteria gets lodged in the folds of skin around your tonsils. If you have this condition, you often feel something weird in your throat only to find that when you look in the mirror, you can see something white hanging there in the throat. Sometimes the bacteria hardens into little particles which look like stones and these cause a sore throat.
You will also notice that there is a very foul smell coming from your open mouth. That is caused by the rotting food and bacteria. A lot of people are embarrassed by this condition and afraid to tell others about this problem. It happens often in teenagers who immediately think they must they must be the only person in the world with this problem.
Many people try to remove the white pouches with a cotton swab or other tool and end up with bleeding tonsils. Unless you are still a child, most doctors are unwilling to remove your tonsils solely because you have chronic cryptic tonsils.
The third cause of bleeding tonsils is a tonsillectomy. If you are still under the age of twelve and you are constantly having sore throats and swollen tonsils, your doctor may decide the best thing is to surgically remove your tonsils. This has always been a very simple surgery and today, many times it does not even require an overnight stay in the hospital.
As your tonsils heal up, small scabs form over the spot where the incision was made. When the skin cells first begin to be healed enough to flake off, you might have bleeding tonsils as scabs detach themselves from the incision. This will be short-lived and is entirely normal. Should you have prolonged bleeding, you will need to see a doctor.