Today you will discover Why Do People Get Tonsil Stones!
If you are experiencing a case of bad breath with the uncontrollable urge to constantly clear your throat, it is possible that you may be suffering from tonsil stones.
Tonsil stones, also known as tonsilloliths, are hardened yellow or white (sometimes even dark red or black) balls that develop in the crypts or pockets on the outer film of your tonsils.
While they are typically located in the tonsils, it is possible for the calcified globules to collect in the back of the throat and on the top of a person’s mouth. If there are pockets around the mouth where mucus, dead cells and old food particles can collect, and enough bacteria available to feed on them, then tonsil stones can grow.
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This article will discuss tonsilloliths and provide information on why people get tonsil stones so that you can learn how to prevent ever getting them.
What Is The Function Of The Tonsils?
Several centuries ago, the tonsils performed essential immunological functions including the filtering of various harmful bacteria from the air before it reached the lungs. Despite the benefits of air filtering systems, nowadays the average individual’s tonsils must deal with numerous diverse bacteria as compared to our ancestors.
Consequentially, individuals who have not had their tonsils removed can experience swollen tonsils frequently because they are unable to cope with the number of viruses in the air. This tonsil-related illness is a common underlying cause of all tonsil stone formations.
What Are The Symptoms Of Tonsil Infections?
A highly common condition, many people will experience tonsil infection at some point in their lives. The common symptoms of this illness include the following:
- a sore throat
- inflamed lymph nodes
- an earache and fever
- bright red and swollen tonsils or tonsils that are coated with a yellow-tinged film
- bad breath, also known as halitosis
- In addition to tonsillitis, the presence of increased bacteria and tonsil stones can result in many other health conditions.
Factors That Contribute to Getting Tonsil Stones
So there isn’t exactly just one reason why people get tonsil stones. There are many factors that can contribute and in most cases it’s a combination of them all.
Poor Diet
If you’re not supplying your body with the nutrients it needs then your immune system will suffer. And when this happens it is less capable of treating and preventing infections. This is one of the main reasons why people with a high junk food diet struggle to keep away infection and disease.
Another reason is that this bad food incorporates a lot of bad bacteria into the environment of their mouth. This influx can often mean that there’s too much there for your saliva and immune system to handle and as a result, the bacteria will be free to do what it wants and cause infection.
If you are one of these people then I recommend taking a look at your eating habits and try to incorporate more fruits and veg into your diet.
Poor Oral Health
As you can expect, if you’re not making a good effort to clean out your mouth of bad bacteria and old food debris then you’re going to be more likely to get a tonsil stone infection.
Now, you may expect that you take good care of your oral health but you may not be doing enough to keep away infection. If like most people, you would have been told your entire life that all you need to do is brush twice per day to keep perfectly healthy.
Well that’s not necessarily true and even though that will probably prevent your teeth from rotting, you should actually be doing a little more to prevent infection. What I recommend you do is brush three times per day instead and make sure to floss as well.
This routine is much more effective at cleaning out the small pockets around your mouth where waste and food debris are likely to be sitting, just waiting to cause infection. It’ll also make sure the bacteria around your mouth is kept at bay.
Poor Hydration
Many people don’t know this but your salvia plays a very important in maintaining your oral health – it controls the activity of bacteria and fungi. Therefore, if you want to prevent infection you need to make sure your levels of salvia are high enough to work properly.
And to do this you need to drink enough water each. The exact amount you need each day is different for everyone. But as a good rule of thumb I recommend drinking about 8 glasses each day (however, make sure you look a little further into this just to be sure this is right for you).
You should also limit your consumption of tobacco and alcohol in order to maintain proper hydration.
Why Do Tonsil Stones Cause Halitosis?
It has been found that tonsil stones cause halitosis or bad breath because of the bacteria in the low-oxygen conditions.
For example, the bacteria excreted in and around the tonsil pockets will have a strong smell similar to rotting eggs and there is no way for the bacteria to be removed other than through the mouth.
People experiencing tonsil stones are particularly aware of this smell when the tonsil stone dislodges, is unintentionally chewed, or disintegrates.
If an individual suffers from dry mouth, this can make the situation more detrimental because the bacteria will have a chance for development. Without suitable levels of saliva which contains antibacterial components, the bacteria will be unchecked and contribute to bacteria growth.
Moreover, the absence of substantial saliva when combined with food and mucous contributes directly to halitosis and tonsil stone formation. These are some of the different reasons why people get tonsil stones.
What Treatment Is Available For Tonsil Stones?
One of the simplest and most well-known treatments for tonsil stones is to scrape the stones from the tonsils using a toothbrush. If this does not work, then there are many other ‘at-home’ alternatives including gargling with salt water.
The salt water is beneficial because it helps to dislodge the stone from the tonsil crevice. It is also possible to use a cotton swab to express the stone from smaller, more visible cavities.
If, however, the tonsil stones are embedded deeply into the tonsils and cannot be removed using at-home treatments, it may be necessary to opt for professional assistance. In this situation, an ear, nose, and throat physician can remove the tonsil stones surgically.
The surgery is known as a tonsillectomy; however, it should be used as a last resort because there are risks of pain and bleeding.
Final Words
As can be seen, tonsil stones are painful globules on the tonsils caused by bacteria in the mouth and small particles of food waste found within the pockets around your mouth.
Not that you’ve read through this article you should be able to determine when you have tonsil stones quickly by being aware of their symptoms, take the necessary steps to prevent ever getting them and treat them if you do, unfortunately, get them.
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