What can swollen tonsils cause

The first thing that swollen tonsils will cause is pain. This pain is different from ordinary pain. If the skin is scratched, it will disappear after a while as long as it is not touched. The tonsils are at the bottom of the throat and will be touched when eating, drinking, and even talking, so the pain of the tonsils will make people feel very painful, and it will often cause respiratory tract infections, loss of appetite and other inflammatory diseases.

Grading

Clinically, tonsil enlargement is divided into three degrees:

Grade I: tonsil enlargement does not exceed the pharyngeal arch

II degree: beyond the pharyngeal palatine arch

Grade III: Swelling reaches the midline of the posterior pharyngeal wall.

Clinical manifestations

1. Ear symptoms: Due to the hypertrophy of tonsils and the accumulation of inflammatory secretions in the nasopharynx, the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube is blocked, which may be complicated by non-suppurative or suppurative otitis media, leading to hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear stuffiness.

2. Nasal symptoms: Enlarged tonsils are often complicated by rhinitis and sinusitis. The children have symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, mouth breathing, drooling, occlusive nasal sounds when speaking, and snoring during sleep.

3. Symptoms of respiratory tract infection: Due to the inflammation, secretions irritate the respiratory mucosa, often causing inflammation of the throat, trachea and bronchitis. Therefore, patients may experience symptoms such as throat discomfort, voice changes, coughing and spitting, asthma, low fever, etc.

4. "Adenoid facies": Due to long-term mouth breathing, the development of the child's facial bones is affected, the maxilla becomes long and narrow, and the hard palate becomes high and narrow. Protruding teeth, irregular dentition, poor bite, drooping mandible, thick lips, upturned upper lip, hanging lower lip, drooping outer canthus, and shallow nasolabial groove. If there is mental depression and dull and stupid facial expression, it becomes the so-called "adenoid facies".

symptom

Symptoms of swollen tonsils: Sometimes the lymphatic tissue will enlarge (due to chronic inflammation or allergic reactions), and then swollen tonsils will appear. When tonsils are swollen, they will block the respiratory tract, causing sinusitis, otitis media, or causing stubborn coughs. People with swollen tonsils often have to breathe only through their mouths.

The onset of tonsillitis is very direct and can be confirmed by visual inspection of the condition of the tonsils. Ask the child to open his mouth wide and observe the changes in the tonsils and oropharynx to determine whether he has tonsillitis. However, in addition to diagnosing whether it is tonsillitis, another important task for doctors is to distinguish whether it is a bacterial infection or a viral infection, whether there is a systemic infection, and whether there will be other complications. Usually bacterial diseases may require antibiotics for treatment, while viral diseases do not require antibiotics. If necessary, blood tests can be done to help with diagnosis.

Severity

Is having tonsillitis serious? Are there any adverse sequelae? Basically, tonsillitis itself is a very benign disease, but the problem lies in the pathogen itself, the severity of the infection and the strength of the body's resistance. If the pathogen only causes a local infection of the tonsils, the disease will be fine after the infection is over. However, some pathogens can have systemic effects, which may lead to a more complicated course of disease or adverse sequelae, such as arthritis, nephritis, myocarditis, endocarditis, etc.

Post-illness measures

Tonsillitis is contagious, so if a child has tonsillitis, he or she should try not to go out if possible. Children with severe symptoms should get more rest and drink adequate water. Some children have frequent and repeated infections, and their tonsils become larger than usual. Some people are born with larger tonsils, which become even larger after frequent infections. Sometimes it will affect breathing, or cause loud snoring while sleeping, and even affect the quality of sleep. You may consider a tonsillectomy.