Tonsils

October 31, 2001

The tonsils have " crypts " that are supposed to be there.

see:

http://www.ent-consult.com

the above site has info about

" Drugless Relief from Throat Disease with Pulsatile Throat Irrigation "

Here is what Dr. Grossan says about the

tonsil crypts on his website:

" A common cause of breath problems are the deep holes in the tonsils,

known as crypts. These holes are supposed to be there, they provide

areas where the good white cells of the body can fight the bad

bacteria. Then the dead bacteria and dead white cells are extruded

and swallowed. Sometimes the holes are too wide or crooked and the

material gets to accumulate and cause odor. Here, pulsatile throat

irrigation can be very effective because the pulsation removes the

dead material. " Murray Grossan M.D. ENTconsult@...

I have not used Dr Grossan's throat irrigator but I do use

his nasal irrigator to put salt water in my nose.

I had sinus problems

for years and his nasal irrigator helped me so much.

I had my tonsils removed many years ago.

Prior to that, I had tonsilitis often and

probably the throat irrigator would have helped me.

I think that

the repeated bouts of tonsilitis I had as a child

may have scarred my tonsil

" crypts " I ended up

having my tonsils removed at age 23.

Hope this helps!!

October 31, 2001

The tonsils have " crypts " that are supposed to be there.

see:

http://www.ent-consult.com

the above site has info about

" Drugless Relief from Throat Disease with Pulsatile Throat Irrigation "

Here is what Dr. Grossan says about the

tonsil crypts on his website:

" A common cause of breath problems are the deep holes in the tonsils,

known as crypts. These holes are supposed to be there, they provide

areas where the good white cells of the body can fight the bad

bacteria. Then the dead bacteria and dead white cells are extruded

and swallowed. Sometimes the holes are too wide or crooked and the

material gets to accumulate and cause odor. Here, pulsatile throat

irrigation can be very effective because the pulsation removes the

dead material. " Murray Grossan M.D. ENTconsult@...

I have not used Dr Grossan's throat irrigator but I do use

his nasal irrigator to put salt water in my nose.

I had sinus problems

for years and his nasal irrigator helped me so much.

I had my tonsils removed many years ago.

Prior to that, I had tonsilitis often and

probably the throat irrigator would have helped me.

I think that

the repeated bouts of tonsilitis I had as a child

may have scarred my tonsil

" crypts " I ended up

having my tonsils removed at age 23.

Hope this helps!!

November 6, 2002

In a message dated 11/05/2002 9:54:24 AM Eastern Standard Time,

writes:

> my new pediatrician is recommending that Sam have his tonsils

> removed because he keeps getting strep throat (4+ episodes a year). I was

> shocked b/c no one has recommended surgery before.

Hi Anne,

I can only tell you my personal experience. I had strep throat 2-6 times a

year, every year for as long as I could remember. When I was in college, I

had such a bad case that I could not eat, drink or even swallow. I was young

and stupid and hid in my room instead of asking for help to get to the

clinic. By time my friends decided I had gone " missing " long enough they ask

the RA to open my door to see if I was ok. I had to spend 3 days in the

hospital. While there, the doctor caring for me, stated that I was the

" Perfect example of a person who should have had their tonsils removed long

ago " . He arranged for me to have them removed asap and I haven't had a

single case of strep throat since then (14 years ago). Apparently, despite

antibiotic treatment, the bacteria can be harbored in the tonsil tissue and

creates a resovior for them to live in. The only way to eradicate these

resoviors of infections is to remove them. My son has just had his tonsils

out due to chronic night time snoring and chronic sinus and ear infections.

His night time sleeping has improved 10 fold. However, he started IVIG the

same time as his tonsilectomy so I can't tell you which one is responsible

for him having NO infections since then.

Hope that helped. I guess what I am saying, is that I would at least

consider the surgery because chronic antibiotic use can create serious

problems down the road with resistant bacterial infections.

Take Care and God Bless,

Mommy to Annette 12 (Selective Antibody Deficiency-IGG 2 and 4, CP,

Developmental Delay, g-tube, HIV+, IVIG x 3 years), 7 (CVID, brain

tumor survivor, severe hearing loss, chronic sinus and ear infections,

asthma, seizure disorder, GERD, IVIG x 6 monghs) and Trayvon 4 (Ivemark

Syndrome, severe congenital heart defects, asplenia, situs inversus) All

wonderful!!!!!

<A HREF= " http://www.caringbridge.com/ny/my2angels/ " >Click here: CaringBridge -

my2angels</A>

November 6, 2002

The more I think about this thread for me personally, I wonder about my

tonsils. Let me explain.

When I was younger, I would get strep or tonsillitis all the time. Then, I

went to the dr one time and he diagnosis pharangtis (sp?). When we asked

what it was, he said, " It's a throat infection similar to tonsillitis,

except you have no tonsils. "

I queried him further because just a month earlier HE had diagnosed me with

tonsillitis. He said mine had probably rotted out (yuck!). Since then, he

diagnosed several more bouts of this throat infection & then my senior year,

the tonsils were back & so were the infections. He told me they probably

just grew back. By then, my mother had no insurance for us, so removing

them was not an option.

As an adult, I've struggled with many strep infections, each one much more

painful than the last. I've never bothered to ask if removing my tonsils

(if they're still there) would help. Maybe I'll talk to my doctor the next

time I go in. (BTW, we can find no explanation for the mysterious bruising,

so I'm content to wait awhile to see what happens.)

Thought I'd throw in those random thoughts for you today

Ray, mother to Tabitha (age 7), Autumn, age 5 (IgG def., asthma,

chronic sinusitis, and allergies), and Duncan (17 months)

November 6, 2002

Ray,

I know what you mean about the tonsils " rotting out " . Imagine my surprise

when my doctor (not the one I've had forever, one that I had to use

occasionally while I lived in California) asked me, " When did you have your

tonsils out? " When I said that they should still be there, I was told that

it they had not been surgically removed, they had been eaten away by the

repeated throat infections. Like you, they did grow back. I never noticed

a difference in my susceptibility to throat problems when they were gone.

That's just where any infection I get goes. I've been told that it might

help if I had what is left of them removed, but we don't have medical

insurance on the adults, just the kids, so it's not real likely that will

happen anytime soon. I've been told it's a much more painful surgery for

adults than kids, but if I knew for sure that it would help and I had the

money, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I'm praying that the bruising had a very natural cause that maybe you were

just too busy to notice when they happened. I sometimes will bang my knee

when I'm in the middle of cleaning or taking care of the baby, and then

realize that it just didn't penetrate when it happened.

Later,

Wenoka

February 22, 2003

Lynn,

I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time. I also have a 13 yr. old,

Brook. My sons tonsillectomy was pretty awful too but luckily we scheduled

it when he already had a feeding tube or we would have been in your

situation. He was only 4 yrs at the time, but he was in a lot of pain. I'm

amazed that shots and blood draws don't phase and that he didn't want

to leave the hospital, he must love being pampered. Brook would be desperate

to get out of the hospital and I don't know what chance an IV would have.

Marisa

March 18, 2003

Hi Charlyne,

Hannah had her tonsils out too last year and I agree with Diane, days 7-10

were the worst. At first Hannah did great, eating french fries the very next

day while all the other little girls in her room were still barfing - it was

almost embarassing - like, don't you know you hurt?

But days 7-10 she totally shut down, but we had the g-tube to rely on and

we just tubed her until she could get back on her feet so to speak.

We'll pray Zeb comes to and won't need anymore intervention regarding is

surgery.

a

March 19, 2003

In a message dated 3/18/2003 11:15:25 PM Eastern Standard Time, kmh@...

writes:

> One suggestion that I found very very useful when my son had his tonsils

> out was to keep two spray bottles of ice water going(one for immediate use

> and one in the refrigerator).

Hi ,

Thanks for the tip! I think that may work with him.

Charlyne

Mom to Zeb 10 DS/OCD ?

January 17, 2009

Yes, I wonder often about this.

My father had terrible tonsils as a child, he was given so much penicillin he

actually became allergic to it (that was almost 60 years ago). Part of one of

his tonsils grew back, but he never had recurring problems. I do not know if he

had cyclic fevers.

I had my tonsils out when I was 5 due to a severe infection. I did not have the

recurring fevers our son has had - so I don't know how much of a connection

there is.

Tyler had fevers cycling every 2 weeks from the time he was 3 months old. We

went thru the original thinking it was teething, virus', then they were too high

and too often to not be unusual. After many tests, DNA and blood work, we had

his tonsils removed this past August. So far he has been fever free, but I

still notice other symptoms off and on. He had his first " normal " illness just

after Christmas. We travelled to visit family and he caught a cold with

congestion and coughing. Our younger son and I both also had it.

I wonder all the time if the T & A is going to be permanent for him. I wonder if

the fevers are a sign of other internal issues that we cannot detect that will

show up later when he becomes older (juvenile arthritis, etc). While I am

grateful that the fevers are gone for now, I worry that there are still other

issues happening inside him that he can't tell me about. He just turned 3 and

has had this for so long, everything probably seems normal to him.

I wonder all the time.....

Pruden

September 3, 2009

I was wondering how early can you have tonsils removed? My daughter had been

fevering since 6mths she is now 14mths. 28day cycle 105*+. We finally got a

diagnosis at 11mths. Her ID wants to keep a fever chart and gave her the

cimetidine. It did shorten her last fever to 3 days. I was thankful for that

,but if there is a chance they will stop if her tonsils are removed I want to do

that . It may save years of her being sick. Also I have noticed symptom my

daughter gets I have not read about on any blogs and if anyone else has similar

experience please respond It may not be related at all?? She breaks out with

what looks like a blister and it becomes hard and fades yet stays on her limbs

and face for days. They are sporadic (3-5,not all over). Maybe it is bug bites?

but I don't get her out much especially at night (we live in FL). I have only

seen one in her diaper area(trying to rule out bug bites again.) I haven't took

her to her pediatrician because the flu is so bad there are so many sick kid at

the Dr office that is the last place I want to go right now with a non

emergency. Thanks for any response

September 3, 2009

Hi,

Our son had his tonsils removed a week after his second birthday. Our

ENT does this as early at 18 months for severe cases, which he would consider

to be. I was not " sold " on T & A until was turning 2, but in

hindsight, seeing how dramatically this has helped him and completely changed

his quailty of life for the better, I would have done it earlier. Our ENT has

an excellent reputation in the DC area and fully understands , some say he

is the best pediatric ENT in the DC region, I certainly would not have done the

earlier surgery if I had not known we were in very good hands.

September 3, 2009