White spots on tonsils is a complaint sometimes expressed by people who still have their tonsils. This is a fairly common complaint and white spots on tonsils can have a broad variety of causes ranging from tonsil stones to tonsillitis and even a strep infection.

If tonsil stones are your problem, they’ll generally look like small, hard stone-like objects that are white or yellow-white in color. As they increase in size and protrude from the tonsil crypts, they can easily look like white spots on the tonsils. The stones originate in the tonsil crypts, small pockets in the tonsils that collect microbes, dead cells, food particles and mucus resulting from post nasal drip.

How many people actually have tonsil stones remains somewhat uncertain. A recent article in the New York Times referred to a 2007 French study in which circa six percent of those taking part had tonsil stones.

Most likely, however, the population of adults with tonsil stones is higher than indicated by the French study. The percentage of adults is probably higher because the number of tonsillectomies performed has plummeted precipitously since the 1950s and 1960s, when the operation was a virtual rite of passage for young Americans. Because more people still have their tonsils, there are more people who have tonsil stones.

A tonsillectomy not only puts an end to bacterial or viral infections of the tonsils, it also is a sure-fire way to stop tonsil stones. But because the risk of surgical complications goes up as we grow older, most physicians demur at the idea of removing an adult’s tonsils soley for the purpose of eliminating tonsil stones. Still, most patients who have the stones are anxious or even desperate for a remedy because the stones have an unbelievably disagreeable odor.

Non-surgical treatment methods range from vigorous gargling with a non-alcoholic mouthwash to dislodging the stones with an oral irrigator like a WaterPik. Non-surgical but effective treatment methods prescribe flushing the mouth with an oxygenating rinse that kills anaerobic germs that play a role in the formation of the stones, along with a nasal sinus spray that cuts the production of mucus that drains into the tonsillar pockets.

Remember: Just because tonsil stones commonly present as white spots on the tonsils, don’t overlook other possible causes that might include chronic tonsillitis or strep infections. If in doubt, be sure to consult a doctor or ENT, especially if you have a fever, about those white spots on your tonsils.

Written by Toronto Escorts