How To Treat Tonsils!

What is tonsilitis?

• Tonsils are two oval-shaped tissue pads at the back of the throat (one on each side) which act as the first line of defence against bacterias and viruses that enter the mouth and thus make tonsils vulnerable to catch infection and get inflamed which decreases as the child grows up thus the chances of infection also decrease with age.
• Thus tonsils are tissue on both sides of the back of the throat that help the body fight infection. They trap bacteria and viruses entering through the throat and produce antibodies to fight infection.
• tonsilitis means inflammation of tonsils when tonsils are infected. Tonsils become infected by bacteria or viruses, which causes them to swell.
• tonsilitis can be caused by infections such as viruses (ie. Cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr) or bacteria such as streptococcus. tonsilitis occurs more commonly in children than in adults but does not typically affect children under the age of 2.

Tonsillitis is divided into three types, which is dependent upon the frequency of times tonsilitis occurs and how long it lasts:

• Acute tonsilitis includes cases where symptoms last anywhere from three days to about two weeks.
• Recurrent tonsilitis occurs when a person suffers from multiple episodes of tonsilitis in a year. 
• Chronic tonsilitis cases have symptoms that persist beyond two weeks.
• Frequent or recurrent tonsilitis is generally defined as:
• More than 7 episodes in 1 year
• More than 5 episodes a year during a 2-year period
• More than 3 episodes a year during a 3-year period
• tonsilitis most commonly affects children between preschool ages to mid-teenage years. Recurrent tonsilitis has become one of the major causes for the absence of children from school nowadays. Parents visit the pediatrician frequently due to their child falling sick every fortnight.
• tonsilitis may or may not be contagious, depending on the cause. If the cause is viral or bacterial, it is usually contagious.
• If the tonsilitis is caused by a chronic condition, such as sinusitis or allergies, it is likely not contagious.

Risk factors of tonsilitis include young age (5-15 years) and during school years as exposure to germs is maximum during school age due to close contact to other children.

Symptoms & causes

Symptoms

•  sore throat
•  difficulty or painful swallowing
•  fever
•  bad breath
•  hoarseness of voice
•  on examination tonsils are red, swollen and white or yellow coating or patches may be seen on the tonsils along with enlarged lymph nodes in the neck regio
• The child would refuse food on account of pain while swallowing.

Causes of tonsillitis:

• Viral
• Bacterial (most common streptococcus pyrogens)

Diagnosis & treatment

• Symptoms are enough to diagnose the test.
• Further throat swab can be done to confirm the diagnosis and see the causative microorganism.

Treatment

• Treatment usually includes antibiotics in allopathy and recurrent infections are seen.

Management

• Gargles with warm water.
• Ask the child to avoid cold water and drinks.
• Ask the child to drink normal or warm water.
• Give the child a healthy diet to boost immunity.
• Ask the child to be playful and active.
• Proper hygiene should be maintained.
• Homeopathic medicines.

Homeopathic management
Homeopathy is a rapid, gentle way to health and is very effective in treating diseases of children. There are many homeopathic medicines that not only help the child getting relieved from the current infection but also would boost his immunity and prevent from recurrent infection. Thus the child is able to live a healthy life, is able to grow and develop well.
Homeopathic medicines which are very effective in the treatment of recurrent tonsilitis include- baryta carb, merc sol, silica, sulfur, graphites, graphics, hear sulph, psorinum, Calcarea carb, tuberculum, etc.
Medicines often help the child to lead a near-normal life and medicines are chosen depending on the presenting case.

Do’s and don’ts

Do’s

• The child should stay active.
• The child should take healthy diet to have good immunity.
• Hygiene should be maintained.

Don’ts

• Avoid too much of candies.
• Avoid chilled water.
• Avoid very sour food items.