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Print ArticleTonsillitis
Topic Overview
What is tonsillitis?
Tonsillitis is an infection
or inflammation of the
tonsils
. The tonsils are balls of
lymphatic tissue on both sides of the throat, above
and behind the tongue. They are part of the
immune system, which helps the body fight
infection.
Tonsillitis often goes away on its own after 4 to 10 days.
What causes tonsillitis?
Most often, tonsillitis is caused by a virus. Less often, it is caused by the same bacteria that cause strep throat. In rare cases, a fungus or a parasite can cause it.
Tonsillitis is spread through the air in droplets when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. You may then become infected after breathing in these droplets or getting them on your skin or on objects that come in contact with your mouth, nose, or eyes.
What are the symptoms?
The main symptom of
tonsillitis is a sore throat. The throat and
tonsils usually look red and swollen. The tonsils may
have spots on them or pus that covers them completely or in patches. Fever is
also common.
If you feel like you have a cold, with symptoms such as runny and stuffy nose, sneezing, and coughing, a virus is most likely the cause.
If you have a sore throat plus a sudden and severe fever
and swollen lymph nodes, but you do not have symptoms of a
cold, the infection is more likely caused by bacteria. This means you need to
see a doctor and probably need a strep test.
How is tonsillitis diagnosed?
Your doctor will
look at your throat to see if you have
red and swollen tonsils with spots or sores. These signs can mean you have
tonsillitis.
Your doctor may do a rapid strep test along with a throat culture. These will show whether the tonsillitis is caused by streptococcus bacteria.
Your doctor may also ask about past throat infections. If you get tonsillitis often, it may affect the choice of treatment.
You may have a test for mononucleosis if your doctor thinks that you have mono.
How is it treated?
Tonsillitis caused by a virus will usually go away on its own. Treatment focuses on helping you feel better. You may be able to ease throat pain by gargling with salt water, drinking warm tea, and using other home treatments. Over-the-counter pain medicines, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, for example), may also be used by adults and children age 6 months and older. But do not give aspirin to anyone age 20 or younger. It is linked to a serious disease called Reye syndrome.
If your tonsillitis is caused by strep, you need treatment with antibiotics. Antibiotics can help prevent rare but serious problems caused by strep and can control the spread of infection.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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