Tonsillolith
January 3, 2008
I have just learned about a medical condition which affects me: Tonsillolith. Well, not so much as a condition, but something which can affect you.
And here I was thinking this was just “a bit of food that got stuck in the back of my throat”.
Interesting.
No, I don’t normally have bad breath, but every once in a while I’ll have a feeling like there is something caught in my throat, and removing a bit of what I thought was just food sorts it out.
Huh. Wow.
Also known as: Tonsil Stones
See Also:
http://www.actaitalica.it/issues/2004/5-04/mesolella2.pdf
http://ask.metafilter.com/39213/Small-stinky-whitish-balls-coming-out-of-my-throat
I used the have very small deposits like that.
Once I got my tonsils removed, they stopped.
Yep, that makes sense… There’s nowhere for that stuff to hide. I’d rather just get the crap out instead, I think.
I get those – nothing that has to be medically removed, but it’s unpleasant getting them out on my own.
Now I’m going to go home and spend half an hour screwing with my tonsils, just to see if there is anything in there. Yay!
huh…learn something new every day. Sometimes when I cough really hard, things that look like those pictures come out…must have it too.
I’m glad to know that it’s common, there’s a name for it, and it can cause sore throats and such.
I figure something like an unbended hair pin (metal, but with a guarded end) would be good for getting them out. Oh, and a flashlight and dental mirror, of course.
Tonsilloliths are a regular topic of conversation on![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
tmi_chix. i’m almost envious of those that get them!
Huh. Weird. I guess I’m just misinformed…
I don’t think I really have bad breath, so I must not get them much (or very bad), but still…
On the left side of my throat there is a flap of skin over my tonsil caused by the removal of my wisdom teeth. If I don’t clean out the crevise weekly I get enormous amounts of build-up. So much so that the tonsiloliths, when combined, are as big as a nickle. Let me tell you, it was pretty alarming the first time I pulled that skin to the side and the pressure caused it all to come shooting out.
Huh, interesting. When I had my wisdom teeth out I’d get the same sort of thing, but slowly the holes filled in. During the time it was closing I was able to develop a technique for clenching my jaw which would empty it on demand. If I did that at the end of each meal, there was nothing decomposing in there.
It’s not a hole really, but a fold of skin partially covering that tonsil. I had holes too that healed and this is totally different. I think it gets so bad because the stones can’t be dislodged like they would if the tonsil were more exposed.
I’ve had those when I was getting sick, generally. They’re not a big deal (unless you get them all the time or they’re uncomfortable.) Sort of fascinating.
Yep, exactly. I feel really excited to know that there’s a term for them, which gives me a way to look up more info on them.
It’s good to know what I suspected: that they can also irritate things and cause a worse sore throat, or sometimes a sore throat in and of themselves.
Weird coincidence! I had never heard of this until just recently when my wife found she had them.
Like I said further up, I get it all the time on the left. I only get them on the right when my allergies are really bad and I have a lot of drainage.
So that’s what those things are. I did wonder.
I have the fantastic talent of being able to touch my tonsils with my tongue (in fact I can stick it quite far up the back of my nose) and generally wiggle them off.