Diseases Treatment

What is this Condition?

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils. It can be acute or chronic. The uncomplicated acute form usually lasts 4 to 6 days and commonly affects children between ages 5 and 10. The presence of proven chronic tonsillitis justifies surgical removal (tonsillectomy), the only effective treatment. Tonsils tend to grow during childhood and shrink after puberry.

What Causes it?

Tonsillitis usually is caused by infection with bacteria known as group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. It may result from other bacteria or viruses or from oral anaerobes.

What are its Symptoms?

Acute tonsillitis commonly begins with a mild to severe sore throat. A very young child, unable to complain about a sore throat, may stop eating. Tonsillitis may also produce difficulty swallowing, fever, swelling and tenderness of the lymph glands in the submandibular area, muscle and joint pain, chills, malaise, headache, and pain (frequently felt in the ears). Excess secretions may cause the child to complain of a constant urge to swallow; the back of the throat may feel constricted. Such discomfort usually subsides after 72 hours.

Chronic tonsillitis produces a recurrent sore throat and pus-filled drainage in the tonsillar crypts. Frequent attacks of acute tonsillitis may also occur. Complications include obstruction from swollen tonsils and an abscess around the tonsils.

How is it Diagnosed?

Diagnostic confirmation requires a thorough throat exam. The doctor notes generalized inflammation of the pharyngeal wall, swollen tonsils, and the presence of drainage with pus. The person may also have a swollen, inflamed uvula (the small, fleshy mass hanging down in the back of the mouth).

Lab tests are also important in making a diagnosis. Cultures may determine the infecting organism and indicate appropriate antibiotic therapy.

How is it Treated?

To treat acute tonsillitis, the doctor will prescribe rest, adequate fluid intake, aspirin or Tylenol and, if the person has a bacterial infection, antibiotics. If the organism causing tonsillitis is a group A beta­hemolytic streptococci, the doctor will usually prescribe penicillin, although another antibiotic may be substituted.

To prevent complications, antibiotic therapy should continue for 10 to 14 days. Chronic tonsillitis or the development of complications (obstructions from swollen tonsils or abscess around the tonsils) may require surgical removal of the tonsils. This operation should take place only after the person has been free of tonsillar or respiratory tract infections for 3 to 4 weeks.