White Stuff On Tonsils
What is With All that White Stuff on Your Tonsils?
Strep throat isn’t the only reason you get white stuff on your tonsils, and it may not be the most painful. Having a sore throat can make you feel pretty bad so if it isn’t necessary to have your tonsils why not just remove them?
Having surgery anytime it isn’t necessary is not recommended by any doctor, but having tonsils removed is usually due to a severe case of tonsillitis with repeated episodes which can be very frustrating. However, if it’s really all about preventing this white stuff from getting your tonsils than there is a simple solution.
The white stuff on your tonsils may just be debris from the food that you eat. Your tonsils have tiny crevices where food can get in and become trapped. If you have ever looked at your throat in the mirror you can see the pockets as the tonsils slightly come away from the back of the throat, and this is where the food ends up. It can easily get stuck there as you swallow, so it is hard to prevent it from happening.
Foods like popcorn and small pieces of bread or candy can easily get stuck behind your tonsils. It can cause your throat to feel sore when there is debris accumulating behind the tonsils and not getting removed properly. Since you can’t really rinse your tonsils, there is a simple quick fix if you have the patience.
The easiest way to remove the debris is to take a q-tip and push on the pocket of the tonsil just enough and the white debris will come out. You can certainly take a finger and peel the tonsil back enough just to see it, but that is probably going to be more painful. The tonsil tissue is very soft so it’s best if you can use the q-tip. You can also try to reach the q-tip around the back of the tonsil, but it’s very hard to see from that angle that you are looking in the mirror. If you can’t seem to get a good look at your tonsils, use a flashlight and try to shine it where you want to see. If your tonsils are severely impacted, then you may be able to see it without having to look.
The second reason that you may have white stuff on your tonsils is strep throat. This is the least common reason to find that stuff on your tonsils, but you will usually see this without having to look. When someone has strep throat, there will usually be pockets of white stuff on the tonsils that are fairly large, and you probably wouldn’t even need a flashlight to see it. If you aren’t really sure, or if what you see is covering more than your tonsils you might want to call your doctor right away. Something like strep throat would really need to be treated with antibiotics since it is a fungal infection.
There is another name for this crazy white stuff on your tonsils, and some refer to as tonsil stones. Tonsil stones are the term that this stuff usually gets if it becomes a little harder. The substance can harden a little and is what doctors refer to as “tonsil calculi”. This condition is usually a result of post nasal drip. As the sinuses drain the drainage comes from your head and impacted sinus cavities and has nowhere to go but down. As the post nasal drip comes down, it tends to go down the back of your throat and hides behind your tonsils and forms these little “stones”.
Don’t give too much thought to this white stuff on your tonsils, just know that you have an easy way to remove it, and if you feel like you are running a fever be sure to check with your doctor because in this case it may be strep throat.