Tonsil stones, also known as tonsilloliths, are calcified masses that can form on your palatine tonsils. There are three types of tonsils:. What most people call their tonsils are the palatine tonsils, which you can see at the back of your mouth or top of your throat. Tonsil stones are caused by food particles, bacteria, and mucus getting trapped in small pockets on your tonsils. When this trapped material builds up, it can cause swelling and soreness. Many people have tonsil stones removed when they become painful.
Some complications caused by tonsil stones may include:. Bacteria and infection are the primary issues behind tonsil stones, so antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatments may help to remove them. Shop for apple cider vinegar , essential oils , toothbrushes , and dental floss now. Most of these natural remedies may only work on smaller tonsil stones or to help prevent them from occurring. They may clear up or be removed in the normal course of eating, drinking, and good oral hygiene.
However, if they increase in size, you may notice the following symptoms:. If your tonsil stones are large, causing you excessive pain, or are obstructing your throat or airway, you should seek medical attention.
Trying to scrape them off with a cotton swab or your finger can sometimes make the infection worse. For those who have tonsil stones in addition to continuing tonsillitis, the tonsillectomy procedure can be effective in treating both problems at once.
So if you find that you have tonsil stones, and that they are a persistent problem, go ahead and contact a Houston ENT to see what may be done. While not harmful, frequent tonsil stones can be a nuisance — and one that has a few irritating side effects that you may want to deal with if they become too much of a problem.
Name required. Mail will not be published required. Book Online. Request An Appointment. My friend just had his tonsils out. He was in pain for two weeks after. This is one of my first experiences with one of these. They are pretty much behind the tonsil but I can see them.
Any suggestions of how to avoid the gag reflex? Use all finger but your thumb on your left hand. Take the tips of them an push into your palm. Almost squeeze really tight while creating pressure on your palm. Hope this helps. I finally found an easier way to get rid of the stones than having to push them out with a Q-tip.
Search Amazon. It also works great as a floss alternative. Basically this thing shoots a targeted stream of water out the tip at varying pressure.
At the highest setting it can be extremely powerful so I recommend setting it at 2 or 3 at the highest for the delicate tonsil. Then look in the mirror and squirt the little suckers out. You will be amazed at how easily they come out into the sink and it is so much more gentle on the tonsil and for those that have a bad gag reflex.
I just found that using a wash rag wet or dry works GREAT you take the rag and rub it against the white part. Hope this helps me like its help yall. I have a small white one on my tonsil. I it hurts when I swallow. So… we drink 11, gallons of liquid, produce 10, gallons out of our mouths, and… never pee? Well it all depends on how big your bladder is and how long a lifetime is!! But I think I manage about a pint a day approx.
Thank you, I went to any ears, nose and troat Doctor and asked him what they were a couple months ago and he said it was food.
I have had them since I was a Child. This makes me feel much better. I had asked by family and no one else had them. Drin more water — they are a symptom of dehydration. Just a small glass of water with your meals will do it. Just a guess. I am so glad to finally know what these little things are, I like a lot of others was scared to ask the Dr about them thinking it was something really bad.
I have had them since I was achild. Only when I have a real bad sore throat do I see whitish areas on the tonsils. Cough them up? I have lost my appetite for good. I have been blessed. Thank you GOD. The high pressure water could do damage to the soft tissue causing severe injuries to the tonsils. I wish the author would do a better job researching before posting bad advice.
It is however, good to spread information about this condition. However disgusting it may seem we are can all be affected by similar afflictions!
I get those nasty things often. I believe I usually get them from soft tortillas…so gross!!! I blame most of mine on Taco bell. Thanks for your info. I was scared I had Cancer of the Lungs. I have COPD real bad. Get your dentist to give you a syringe with a curved tip on it. My son started getting tonsil stones about a year ago at the age They made his breath stink and every morning he had to dislodge these things from his throat.
I took him to a ETN specialist who recommended a tonsillectomy. He does not regret he surgery. Tort I was d only one to get these! Ive been getin them for years and nevr thought to go to the doctor.
I use to try n poke dem out a toothpick!! But they use to irritate me so much I had to get them out. I stopped getting them for a while but recently started to get them again. Now im sitting here suffering frm tonsillitis. Doc prescribed me with antibiotics n today there are like millions of dese little things.
Im itching to get them out wiv my toothpick but it sometimes hurts but I dnt wanna irritate my already very sore toncils! Im glad its nothing serious but its not very pleasant. Nasty smelling too ewww but luckily dont have bad breath! Have had them for a while I was youn when I first got them started to get them often when I smoked marijuana the. While elements of the Marijuana may help with your breathing, smoking anything is not good for the lungs.
Try switching to vaporizing and see if that helps. There will less carcinogens and no smoke to inhale. Yes, this could be a contributing factor somehow. Do you eat really fast when you get the munchies? Maybe particles get stuck? I had this problem all through my late teens until I was about I thought I was going crazy. My mouth alway felt like I needed to brush my teeth, even after I had just brushed my teeth! But I never saw anything, It was always just a bad taste.
About a year later I got a white chunck out into the palm of my hand. I was freaking out. The Doc was very Ho-hum, no big deal…this stuff gets caught in your tonsils etc. I wanted those tonsils GONE. The following week, I had my tonsils out and it was like Nite and Day! I was so scared because I am a smoker and I thought it was a sure sign of cancer.
Then I tried to feel it and when I rubbed my nail against it it popped out and smelled awful!!! But I would love to know a suggestion on how to slow them down or make them stop besides getting my tonsils removed!
They seem to go hand in hand for me. If you want to figure it out, keep a food diary and see if cutting out certain foods helps. I recommend dairy first. Good luck! I am 49, I never had them until last month. I kept feeling like something was in my throat, and all I would do was try to clear my throat. Anyway I noticed I all of a sudden have a lot of sneezing, runny nose, type symtoms.
I sneezed so hard it came flying out. I was amazed at the most foul smelling thing ever. Yet curious. A few minutes later as I was clearing my throat, little pieces started coming out. Now, A month later the same thing the sneezing, ect. Feeling of something stuck in my throat. I started trying to cough it up, all of a sudden I saw something on the bathroom floor the size of a marble. I felt better. But now today I feel that something stuck again, not as bad, but annoying. I hope this is allergy related and not a new thing to stay.
I get them once every few months, but I am never sick and I also have never had tonsillitis. Glad to know what they are though. Due to my experiencing copious throat infections, my parents had my tonsils removed when I was nearly 5 years old. I am forever grateful for the attention and wonderful care my parents bestowed upon me. I get them solemnly, but I usually swallow them. When I actually got one, I smelled it and I almost passed out. For real ive been killing myself laughing here at these comments.
But this is serious.. He said it was rotten. And that was me with my back to him haha. Soooooo funny. To add to this. Im also a bit intolerant to milk.. I always thought it was just me and the other couple of people I knew that said they got them. God… I have been embarrassed for years and asked my doctor, who said that it was normal, what they are.
And he said the same thing this article said. I get a Q-tip and just pop them out. I sometimes have messed with it so much it bleeds.
Think what a weapon of mass destruction these things can be. Like, if you work as a food server, and have a particularly rude, hateful customer… pop one of these things out and hide in their food. Has anyone actually looked at these white bumps under a microscope because the image is bothersome.
I want to look at them under a microscope! Mine come and go over the years. I also told my doctor a few years ago and she said it was just food stuck in my throat. I never believed it. Oh holy crap… you people are funny! I think it is amazing to read your comments. I think the person who mentioned something about vitimins might be on to something. It seems to happen more if I use something high in vitimins… EX. I had an Emergen-C this morning, and then this happened out of the blue. Last time I had one I could feel it in the back of my throught.
Jeez this crappy smelling substance keeps on coming back and when I get rid of them its just so painstaking to scrape them off. I think 4 weeks on the process… Men the smell was terrible but you get used to them… But its so embrassing and kissing my bf is way too not to go..
Now I am just pissed off to the MAX. I have had this issue all my LIFE! I am 39 yrs old just now learning of this. Guess what I will be setting up an appointment for…. All the ear infections, strep, just sickly for all these years over my tonsils. I have been coughing up these things forever the gag me for like a good half hr before I finally cough them up and they smell horrible!
And then when I bring bring them up to people o just get a weird look but now I know they are normal. Its been bothering me for about 2 days now. I never had bad breath problems but mouth wash did help them from resurfacing. My doctor said they were mainly caused by dehydration! Water people! I had really bad tonsillitis when I was about 12 had to miss my school Christmas party!
Periods, my friend, periods. Went to docs with a sample and all he said was it was nothing.. It was always gross when i used to see these little crap things.. Thanks all for the funny funny comments. This made my day at work.. I spent my whole lunch hour reading and laughing at this stuff…. I too have had these since a teenager—always thought I was nuts. Over the last years I got so sick of them, so I let some dry and when dried up they look like dried mucous.
I get sick frequently bronchitis, pneumonia, colds, etc and wonder if these nasty things are contributing to it?? Anyone else tend to get sick frequently? Hello im 23 years old just started getting this shiet some months ago. I really hate them. I just want to remove them to fried them cook and eat those suckers. At first I thought it was oatmeal eaten from the day before. I get them during the Winter and these god awful little chunks are funkyyyyy! So glad I stumbled on this article..
I bearly got them,but I pushed them out with my finger tip,after that you can use hydrogen peroxide as mouth wash. Thank God for this website. Over the years of battering to get them out found out the best was is to get a flat-head precision screwdriver and scoop them out. Sounds nasty but it works! The first time I saw this big chunky white balls dropping out my throat I ran to the ER I was sooo freakin scared. Now I know I am not lone in my struggles.
My son and I alway get these things. I only get them when I smoke. And my son gets them when he drinks milk. You have to find out what it is that your eating drinking smoking or doing that causes the stinkers to come.
So glad to find this out. I thought I had some holes or pockets in my teeth that were creating these white balls. Due to its foul odor I thought it was just food. The reason I Googled this cos I have suffered for years from these small lumps,often coughing them up in the night…… But I had my tonsils out many years ago, which it says rarely happens.
Guys im pretty sure its milk. After coming in here n reading I thought maybe milk. Ive an intolerance to milk.. No more balls.. Defo milk guys. OMG i thought i was going out of my mind, forever brushing and eating mints or gums. First time I found one I was working out and I caughed really hard and passed gas at the same time. I thought I tasted the gas in my mouth and then I felt the pea sized particle in my mouth. I almost Puked instantly and spit It into my hand. I inspected it and showed my buddy and he almost puked too!
I had to leave my workout and really did think something was horribly wrong! So glad I finally found out after years!! I am so glad I stayed up to read all of these responses……I can so relate to all of this….
I had them for years, and dealt with the unbelievable stench that these things would emit…. Oh yeah and attempting to chew it to figure out what food it was was the worst idea ever! I just finished reading all the comments and literally have tears streaming down my face… So funny! I started getting them in college after getting mono. My bf noticed he had then and then soon after, i coughed one up. Now 15 years later I still get them. They are quite large every time like a marble.
They smell horrific! I also have bad breath and blame these chunks. The small ones are about the size of a pencil eraser and are very hard to get out. The hole is so large I can literally stick my middle finger in it.
I read through some of this comments and I was seriously cracking up, at work. Like many I am glad I am not the only one. Those little things stink like poop mixed with more poop…I will try some of the suggestions here. Pheeeew I am not the only one…hahaha thank you all for the input. After many bouts with ear and throat infections, i had my tonsils removed at 17 yrs old, and have never had another one since.
Im 40 now. I am amazed at how many had these and suffered with dread not knowing what it was! I had an issue with the gross smell in my throat, and a few times when id cough or sneeze, one of those stinky things came flying out, heres the catch… had my tonsils out at 3. I use to get these got my tonsils removed, and poof never had them again!!!
I was 26 when I had my tonsils removed it was very painful but it was worth it now because no more sore throat or tonsilitis!!! It literally took me 2 days to finish reading all these comments haha.
I always thought it was some leftover food but 2 nights ago I was laying in bed and felt the same discomfort in the back of my throat. I starter hacking away and this huge chunck came out flying. Since this was my first big one, I thought for sure I was getting closer to death so I did what any normal person would do in my situation to self diagnose and Googled it.
I think people are on to something when they say that milk and sugar makes it worse. Good luck to everyone on their quest to rid themselves of these balls from hell! I recall my first one coming up during class when I was in elementary. It was about as big as pinky nail.
I was freaked but to embarrassed to tell my teacher. So I wrapped it in some Kleenex but when I got home it was brownish n dried out. On many occasions growing up I would try to preserve one long enough for a doctor to examine it, but no luck. Im 39 now n eat things that i didnt for over 30 years, vegetables in particular.
I wonder if wat we eat plays any role in their forming. I still get them all the time. Now I know. I enjoy pushing it out with a cotton swab since I was Now I am I sometimes use it to annoy my elder sister.
I imagine. Just wanted to chime in here… Seems like significantly reducing dairy also minimized these tonsil stones for me. Looks like dairy is to blame for a heck of a lot of weird health maladies. Reduce your dairy intake for a period and see if that helps you. I first noticed one of those when I was about 8 years old. I suddenly found that I had to swallow something right at the back of my throut, yet I had not eaten anything. So I thought no, I want to know what this thing is.
With a herculean effort I managed not to swallow it and spit it out instead. It was a cream colour on the outside and darker towards the inside. Words fail me for the stink that came off that tiny thing.
The worst bit about it is that I was convinced there was more because you could see where it had cracked off from another piece. I have too much gag reflex to ever to much about it, but a sure fire way to get them out is to take a really fast hike up a really high mountain with a heavy back pack.
Just about when you think you are about to die and you are breathing so heavy that your throat sticks to itseft in pain from all the wheezing, they pop out. I know how you can get rid of them!!!! I had those too for several years and I was convinced that something in my diet had something to to with those white chunks, because at some point I had more than other times. The inconsistency in my diet matched the random burst of that crap.
I started to experiment with different things and sure enough when I went of caffeine coffee, tea and energy drinks for 2 months and they went away. I cheated a few time with coffee and they came back of course I quit coffee for good. So I would encourage you either try quitting the caffeine for a while and see where that takes you or experiment with your diet.
Also try to spread the word because I know its a HUGE inconvenience, and its easy and chip to get rid of it. I thought it was rice. It was my intention to take them to a doctor to show, because I was disturbed by it. The smell is unbelievable, and really wretched like something had curled up in my throat and died. My son came out after school today rolling one of these stink balls in his fingers after coughing it up asking me to take it and check out how it feels and how bad it smelt..
I find they are worse when I eat dairy products. Tonsil stones often smell bad and can make your tonsils swell. To understand what causes tonsil stones, it helps to know what tonsils look like.
Imagine small ball-like structures with lots of crevices, tunnels, and pits. When the bacteria and debris builds up, it forms tonsil stones in the crevices. The calcified stones can grow and multiply. Many people have no idea they have tonsil stones because they can be hard to see. However, tonsil stones cause some notable symptoms. If you notice a few of these symptoms happening at the same time, it could indicate tonsil stones.
For the most part, tonsilloliths are harmless, but they can be smelly, gross, or uncomfortable. If you have tonsil stones and want to get rid of them, you have several options. There are three main ways to address tonsil stones at home. You may need to use a combination of all three options to get rid of the tonsil stones.
Gargling Gargling effectively can help resolve several problems and improve your oral health. Some people manage to cough up the stones. If you cough enough that it reaches the tonsil, you can dislodge the tonsilloliths. Certain foods have properties that make them effective against tonsil stones. If you have tonsilloliths, try increasing your intake of the following foods.
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