Tonsillitis becomes chronic if tonsils stay inflamed for an extended period, and treatment relieves the symptoms only for several weeks. Under certain circumstances, they start hurting and itching. So, a person gets a sore throat due to plugs in the tonsillar lacunae. Patients who suffer from this disease experience the same symptoms again under the following circumstances:
- hypothermia
- infection
- virus
- avitaminosis
- throat damage by something sharp like fish bones, hard, spicy, and hot meals
Tonsillar crypts are deep and are a bit hidden behind the uvula. Some of its parts are too narrow, so food and liquids can get stuck there and cause the accumulation of bacteria. A person cannot cleanse them independently, and food remnants lead to tissue suppuration, known as acute tonsillitis.
Why Do People Have Tonsillitis?
Health experts identify several reasons that can lead to tonsillitis. They are:
- bacteria, fungi, and viruses
- bad habits like alcohol consumption and smoking
- allergies
- severe intoxication with frequent vomiting
- nasal problems like a deviated septum, enlarged adenoids, or nasal concha
- untreated dental caries
- hypothermia or sudden body temperature changes
- low immune system resistance to diseases
- poorly treated sore throat and sinusitis
Experts recommend consulting health specialists at least once a year to avoid chronic tonsillitis. If one has one of the above-mentioned health problems, it is necessary to visit a doctor at least twice a year and take vitamins to strengthen the immune system.
What are the Symptoms of Chronic Tonsillitis?
The first symptom of chronic tonsillitis is frequent sore throats and pain in the throat when swallowing. A patient usually feels the presence of a foreign body inside the throat, which makes swallowing problematic and painful. If a patient examines a throat, he or she will see white plaque and plugs in the tonsillar cavities, which can be gray, white, or yellow.
A patient with tonsilitis has bad breath, frequent headaches, and feels sluggish and tired all the time. Subfebrile temperature can be 37℃, and one usually feels tingling in the dry throat. Painful feelings can also spread to the ears and cause otitis-like symptoms.
Home treatment recommendations
Chronic tonsillitis doesn’t always require hospitalization of a patient. Most patients have to keep to a certain regime to recover. The basic requirements include bed rest, eating soft and unspicy food, staying hydrated, walking in the fresh air, and taking the prescribed medicines. Patients should also gargle salt water to eliminate germs and bacteria that prevent fast recovery. If patients follow a health specialist’s recommendations, they will feel better soon.
Besides, a person with chronic tonsillitis should avoid hypothermia, irritating products (sour, hot, too sweet, and too spicy), dry air (better using humidifiers), and exhaustion. Moreover, a patient should not strain the voice. In case of acute pain, painkillers are recommended.
Common medicines used in the treatment
It is a list of top-used medicines against tonsillitis available in Canadianpharmacy, recognized for their efficacy and trusted by healthcare professionals across Canada and the US, these medications have garnered positive reviews from patients who have experienced swift relief from their symptoms. Here are the top picks for anyone seeking effective treatment for tonsillitis:
- Bequadin is released in three forms — liquid for gargling, lozenges, and sprays. Depending on the chosen release form, one should use it at the required frequency to get rid of throat bacteria.
- Penicillin antibiotics kill bacteria, the main reason for acute tonsillitis.
- Ibuprofen is a good painkiller in the form of pills and helps control body temperature.
- Kenalog is an injection for patients who can’t stand the pain and cannot swallow a pill because of that.
- Aspirin and its analogs help patients bring down high temperatures.
A person should follow a doctor’s recommendation to avoid overdose. Besides, a patient should visit a doctor again to make sure that everything is fine. If one doesn’t treat the disease till the end, it can return or become chronic.
How Do Healthcare Specialists Identify Tonsillitis?
There are three ways to identify tonsillitis.
Stationary examination
First, an otolaryngologist examines the throat visually with specific tools and palpation. Visually, a health expert can exclude scarlatina and mononucleosis. Then, a health expert uses other methods to diagnose tonsillitis or plugs in tonsillar lacunae.
CBC
Complete blood cell count shows the source of the infection due to the received indicators of platelets, red and white cells. A nurse or a doctor takes it with the help of a syringe and sends samples to the laboratory.
Swab
A doctor uses a stick with absorbent cotton on its end to get secretions from a patient’s throat. Then, lab assistants test the sample to identify the reason for tonsillitis.
How to Treat Chronic Tonsillitis?
Tonsillitis treatment depends on symptoms and their duration. If a person has acute symptoms like severe pain, purulent angina, and fever, it will be necessary to buy antibiotics to kill bacteria. Sometimes, doctors can combine several drugs and methods of their intake to improve the situation faster. For example, a patient can take antibiotic shots to kill bacteria, gargle to cleanse tonsillar lacunae, and take pills to kill the pain.
There are several popular methods of tonsillitis treatment.
Washing of the tonsils
As has already been mentioned, tonsillar lacunae are narrow and covered with palates, which create perfect conditions for food accumulation and rotting. Moreover, nasal mucus can also fill them and create favorable conditions for bacteria spreading. Consequently, health specialists often wash tonsillar lacunae to get rid of food remnants, mucus, and pus.
Experts can use special tools to wash the throat. Water does not fit the purpose because it doesn’t have antiseptic qualities. Besides, an otolaryngologist can prescribe other medicine to fasten the treatment process, including:
- antimicrobial agents to kill bacteria in the source of infection
- salt water gargle to get rid of food remnants and mucus
- lozenges to relieve swallowing
- antibiotics to kill bacteria
- medicine to bring down a high temperature
Surgery
It is an extreme measure that one should get in several cases. Removal of tonsils is called a tonsillectomy and is recommended for patients with chronic tonsilitis or conditions when antibiotics don’t help.
How to understand that one has chronic tonsillitis? Such patients have acute tonsillitis:
- 7 times a year
- 5 episodes a year during the last two years
- at least 3 cases a year during the last three years
Such frequent episodes weaken the immune system and can cause breathing difficulties, obstructive sleep apnea, and abscess. Consequently, removing tonsils can be the only solution to this problem.