Tonsil Stones (Tonsilloliths): Are They A Danger Or The Cause Of Bad Breath?

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The tonsils that we have are really the first thing we have to defend ourselves from illnesses. How the operate in this aspect is by acting like a net, ensnaring bacteria as they pass through the area of the throat. In some instances, mucus and dead cells will become trapped in the nooks of your tonsils where they collect and harden into small tonsils stones that will look either white or yellow.

Tonsil stones, which are also known as tonsilloliths, will occur because of the calcification of postnasal drip, bacteria, and chunks of food that will accumulate around the area of the crypts of your tonsils. In much more serious instances some people will even have them form at the mouths roof, the major downside to this condition would have to be the embarrassment that can be caused by one or more tonsils exiting your mouth from coughing.

For a while, most people just chalked these yellowish stones up to just being pieces of food that were stuck at the back of your throat. These tonsil stones can be overlooked very easily since they can be very small; there are many people who did not know they had them until an x-ray and or a CT scan. There have been cases however, of very large stones in these crevices where they needed to be removed even though this does not happen a lot.

So how would a person know if he or she had tonsil stones?

The symptoms that can occur are not fun and can be very embarrassing to someone. Mostly, a person will feel as if something is always stuck in the back of your throat along side of a tightening feeling in your throat.

Generally, people experience an aftertaste that is quite metallic that does not leave, and having very bad breath.

Medical studies have been done showing that 75% of individuals who are afflicted by bad breathe or even halitosis will also have tonsil stones. If you have tried taking one of these stones and breaking it in half you have most defiantly noticed that very bad smell it contains.

The horrible smell is caused from postnasal drip, bacteria, and a sulphur compound of methyl mercapten and hydrogen sulfide.

Tonsilloliths will tend to form in a person's tonsil crypts so, that means only people who still posses their tonsils can be affected from this condition.

Many fantastic treatments work well and can be found on the market for dealing with tonsil stones nevertheless, there is no urgent need to run to your doctor and ask for a tonsillectomy.

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