Tonsil Stones - What Are They?
Tonsil stones can be a source of chronic bad breath and discomfort. People with tonsil stones often complain of actual pain and discomfort from these little hardened clumps that lodge in their throats. In addition to the pain caused by tonsil stones, the stench is awful, and often the cause of bad breath.
Understanding what tonsil stones or tonsilloliths are can help us to understand why they smell so bad and cause discomfort. Tonsil stones are tiny, hard stones that form in the pocket or crypts of the tonsils. They contain high quantities of sulfa and bacteria, and when crushed, produce the sulfuric smell of rotten eggs. The odor is truly horrible and it gives people who suffer from tonsil stones really bad breath.
Tonsil stones give people the sensation of something being caught in their throat, as those little hard stones are actually caught in the folds and tissue of the tonsils. Many sufferers resort to drastic measures to remove their tonsil stones, including using various instruments, cotton swabs, fingernails, and more to scratch them out. Unfortunately, they end up damaging the soft tissue of the tonsils, and breaking open the stinky tonsil stones.
Most dentists and physicians recommend using a water pick and salt water gargles to remove tonsil stones, and nothing else. Usage of foreign objects can cause scarring and discomfort. It just isn’t a good idea to jab pointed objects into your throat to pick out the stones. The water pick will send a gentle stream of water to push or wash the stones out of the crypts, without crushing them and releasing the foul smell.
Of course, smelly little tonsil stones will also leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Strong mouthwashes that are certified for use in eliminating bad breath, not just freshening bad breath, may be helpful to eliminate the bad taste as well as reducing the bacteria that cause the bad breath.
Many people who suffer with tonsil stones will find a white film builds up on their tongue. This is caused by too much bacteria and mucous. It may be useful to use a tongue scraper to gentle scrape away the film on the tongue itself, to reduce the cause of the bad breath.
Tonsil stones will only grow in the tonsils, so those individuals with chronic problems may benefit from a tonsillectomy. This surgical procedure is, of course, a last resort, and many physicians will not even to do it unless there are other serious symptoms and problems associated with recurring sore throats. It is worth discussing with your doctor.
While harmless in themselves, tonsil stones are an irritating, smelly problem for people who get them. They form in the crevices of the tonsils and are often hard to see, and not so easy to remove. Good hygiene, rinsing with a water pick, and salt water gargles can help eliminate the tonsil stones, and reduce the bad breath that they create.
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is 22 considered a young enough age to demand a tonsillectomy?
I’ve had tonsil stones for a couple of years now and generally I would just impatiently wait for them to work their way out and if they didn’t I resorted to wetting a q-tip and popping them out (it works but be warned it is mildly traumatic). I’m officially fed up with them so I went online and tried to find a solution. I ended up ordering the Therabreath Tonsil Stone Starter Kit and it should arrive in the next couple days (I pray it works because if not I’m going to my ENT and demanding a tonsillectomy). I’ll let you guys know how the starter kit works.
I always had this problem and dealt with it with a lot of different mouthwashes,strong ones.I wake up all in the morning with a lot of white stuff on my tongue and I always smelled something stinky deep down my throat.I had been complaining to my Dentist and in fact I blamed it on my tooth and wanted one out but the dentist always refused to do it for he sees no reason.Then just yesterday somebody asked me if I ate a rotten egg.I could not sleep thinking about all of this.Then I saw on the news just this morning that St.Luke is now doing the laser kind of treatment to kind of close the pocket which I gather has a very good result.Thank you so much for the information,I feel much better thinking there really is a diagnosis to all of this…
I got tonsils stones like seriously all the time i was pulling them out everyday!! I started using thera breath toothpaste and mouthwash (which i ordered from qvc)like a week ago and i seriously havnt had one since!! i thought therabreath was just a con but it actually does work i just wanted to let all you guys know because i know how horrible tonsil stones are!! i was worried i had smelly breath all the time but this has sorted all my problems!!!
It does taste wierd and takes a bit of getting used to but i promise its worth it!!!
I get tonsil stones from time to time, at first I just thought it was food lodged in my tonsils but after realizing they are tonsil stones I have been on a mission to get rid of them, and prevent them. Here are a few ideas to prevent and get rid of tonsil stones:
1. Buy a tongue scraper and when you brush your teeth scrape the bacteria off your tongue. Tongue scrapers are about 2 dollars and are available in the toothbrush aisle just about everywhere.
2. Buy Thera Breath oral rinse it is about $10 and available at Shoppers Drug Mart, simply use it as you would use any mouthwash. Thera Breath rinse bubbles in your mouth and cleans deep, make sure to gargle the solution so it gets inside your tonsils. This mouthwash not only seems to help loosen and prevent tonsil stones it makes my mouth feel cleaner than Scope or Listerine ever have.
3. A cheap bargain brand nasal spray is about $3 it cleared out my sinuses and also seemed to loosen the tonsil stones. If nothing else i was sure breathing easy afterwards.
4. To remove a tonsil stone skip the Q-Tip they are too big and just hurt when you try to fit them in your tonsil. Instead clean a pair of tweezers and insert them into the tonsil the tweezers have a curved end and pull the stone out much easier than an Q-Tip
I’ve had these for years and they just seem to get worse. I always havea sore throat and mild fever. Often a new crypt will open up, I stick the water pik in and an unbelievable number of these things come out. Having to irrigate mine every other day.
For those who pop out the odd stone from a hole, you could have ten times the amount in the crypt; the only way to get at them is to jet them out.
I want to see an ENT specialist I’m past the point where I’ve had enough, these things are really depressing me.
I just got a water pik yesterday and I am overjoyed! I irrigated my tonsils and I didn’t think it did anything until I turned the irrigator off and I felt like 3 tonsil stones on my tongue. It blasted the tonsil turds out so fast that I missed it! I highly recommend a waterpik to kill bad breath caused by tonsil stones.
I’ve had these stones for years and so does my sister. The bacteria that is inside them can spread to the tongue and, basically your whole mouth smells. If you’re young enough I would definitely get my tonsils removed. Otherwise, I bought an ‘oral irrigator’, its a jet spray system you use to clear the crap out of your tonsils. The first one I bought was a portable travel system, useless. Get one that stays in your bathroom, they are big but they are also electric toothbrushes and have heads for a familh of five I think. Theyre good. Also, I sometimes brush my teeth with baking soda and peroxide, that helps with all other bad bacteria too.
I have had tonsil stones for as long as I can remember. I had serious sore throats as a child and now that I am grown I know why. When I feel one coming on, I always look inside and find a stone or two. They are not easy to get out but I dig until the point of gagging. I really hope something is invented soon to help us out, or atleast more information to help us cope with this horrible curse!
I’m so glad to finally have a name for this condition!! I’ve had a large hole in my left tonsil for years (I’m 39) I was initially “freaked” out about the small, cauliflower looking”, beige, “ball” coming from my tonsil and the smell was awful once it discharged (although I did not experience the bad breath I’ve read so much about). The tonsilliths would appear without warning. At first, I would get a sore throat and would have to manually squeeze them out. I could only see the surface of the tonsillith when I opened my mouth, but was always surprised by the amount of the discharge. Now I don’t suffer the pain and the tonsilliths just discharge on their own, usually without any effort from me or just a contraction of my throat.
I too suffer from these grotesque formations