Hi,
Does anyone know why the doctors wait until the kids have atleast five tonsil infections in one year before taking them out???My son has had tonsil infections but not five times in one year, i don't think....I took him to one doctor and he told me that they don't take them out anymore....So i took him to a ears and throat specialist, he said that it looks as if my son had many infections but they never have been recorded due to other doctor over looking them....The only reason i'm concened is that the tonsils are so large that they almost meet each other, is that normal??I feel sometimes when you ask a doctor they kind of blow you off, like your over reacting....Also my son will never tell you if he is not feeling well unless he is throwing up, so it's hard to know if he has a sore throat....Right now he has an infection in his throat and i only noticed because he was talking funny...Looking to the back of his throat i couldn't see the back of his throat that's how large his tonsils are...Am i just over reacting????

Basicly, some kids outgrow the infections, and it's not always a necessary procedure, while we can live without our tonisls they do have a purpose.
At the age of about 6 i noticed my son's tonsils were touching (literaly, not almost they were), i took him to the doctors, we were refered to a specialist who said they had to come out, they were too big. The doctor had noticed they were big for quite some time, but they always give it atleast 6 months to see if the kids grow into them. Aparently it is quite normal for a child to have large and noticable tonsils, generaly they grow into them. At 7 years old my son had his tonsils and adeniods out. He gained weight after(i don't think he was eating well due to the size, he never complained but it can't be easy to eat with two huge lumps in your throat), started sleeping better, he was snoring quite loud and i would imagine had some apnea too (due to him sleeping on his back and the tonsils falling to the back of his throat). My son did not have that many throat infections, he had 3-4 in one year due to me making the mistake of letting a family friend babysit him who chain smoked..i still wonder to this day if that had something to do with the size of his tonsils, he has not had an infection in his throat since then (other than a normal sore throat that lasts afew days with a cold).
How big are his tonsils when they aren't infected? are they still large? also, has he been tested for strep or does the doctor just give out the meds? it's important that you know exactly what is going on. I used to (haven't in the past 2 years) get strep throat every year, i asked my doctor about it and she said that it's because mine are a bit larger than normal (you can see them pretty good when not infected) but not so big they bother me on a regular basis, but she said larger tonsils pick up more infections than smaller ones.
Keep an eye on him, check his tonsils about once a month when not infected, make follow up appointments with the ent specialist. It's important that you stay on top of it, large tonsils (and large adenoids usually go along with large tonsils) can cause problems, not only with sleep, but because of the lack of sleep the kids don't do as well at school, and with my son he had problems eating (he gained about 6-7lbs in 4 months, which is unusual for him) and he also talked funny (i thought it was normal untill he had them out).
You may find within the next year or so that he's growing into them, so keep an eye on them, if you don't notice a difference in size or that they seem to be getting larger (not including when they are not infected) than take him back to the specialist..find another one for a second opinion if the first one isn't helpful.

Hi,
His tonsil are large all the time the almost touch when not infected....This has been like this for over a year now....When his tonsils are infected like this time they were so large i couldn't see the back of his throat, they were touching....My original doctor that i have been taking him to would never look at his throat, he always told me that in time they will shrink....I took him to a specialist[ear and throat doctor] he said that his tonsils looked scarred from prevouis infections....Then i would never now because my sons doctor would never look at him....Now i take him to my doctor who has looked at his throat[only because i couldn't get him into the specialist for that week]....He said that he has mucas sacs in the back of his throat so they gave him some kind of penicillin....As for strep throat know one has ever checked for that.....Thank you for the advice....

I had numerous bouts of tonsillitis as a small child, which left my tonsils enlarged, scarred and chronically infected. I finally had them removed 4 years ago at the age of 34. DS and several of his relatives, all had theirs removed at a young age, which ended the constant infections -- including ear infections, sinus infections. Still it’s major surgery and there are risks involved. I’d suggest talking to an ENT.

Daystar91, I would strongly suggest you find another dr. My son had all the same symptoms everyone is describing here and the ENT took one look and said, yep, let's get them out of there. I see no reason for anyone to be miserable and you can't tell me it doesn't hurt them. Dylan has his out on 6/9 and he is wonderful, back in the game and playing. You'd never know he had it done and is a happier kid!! It's worth the fight.

Plus, if you're like me and wait until you're in your in your mid-30s -- the recovery period is a LOT worse. IMO get rid of those nasty infected things.

Look up tonsil stones or tonsoliths (sp) on this site. There are lots of people who have chronically infected tonsils and who opted to have surgery. Mine never did shrink. They were scarred and full of infection that went deep.

As several people on here have mentioned, I would suggest finding another doctor or being more persistent with the one you currently have. Earlier this year I took my almost 3 year old son to the doctor because I noticed his tonsils were touching but the worrisome issue was his snoring. He was snoring very loud and would often sound like he was choking while sleeping. His pediatrician recommend blood tests initially to rule out infection and when those came back negative he was referred to an ENT. After asking several questions regarding my sons sleeping habits, eating habits, behavior, general health and looking at his tonsils he diagnosed my son with obstructive sleep apnea and scheduled an appointment to have his tonsils and adenoids taken out 2 weeks later. It's truly amazing the changes since the surgery. My son now sleeps through the night, doesn't sound "nasely" when he talks, and has gained 5 pounds since February. If your son has any sleeping problems due to his enlarged tonsils I would definitely get it checked out soon, it will probably make a world of difference for your son (and YOU) :)

DH not only had problems with his tonsils, but he would get ear infections constantly. Had to have tubes in his ears. Lost a good percentage of his hearing. His mother fought to have his tonsils removed when he was three and once they were removed, he was a completely different child. No longer sick all the time. Could hear. It had even affected his speech.

I haven't read the other posts so you may have already had this said, but be sure to not only take him to the doctor, but to get a throat culture everytime they suspect an infection. We were told that our dd had to have four cases of strep before they would remove them. She had four in three months so of course they came out in February. Unfortunately I think a lot of the reason is that most insurance companies will not cover it unless they have a certain number of infections in a certain amount of time.
Nancy

HI,
I agree with most of the other posts. Our son had an allergic reaction and swelled up like a tick. Anyway the only thing that did not go back down were his tonsils. Poor thing could hardly eat w/o choking and eventually throwing up. We begged our doc to take out his tonsils. Doc said they were not that big and it was not an issue. Finally I demanded he give us a referral to an ENT doc. Went to the ENT and he gave me the speech about waiting. I told the doc that our son can't eat and is miserable. Doc scheduled to take them out with in 2 weeks. Our son now eats just fine. ENT said they were the biggest tonsils he had seen on a 5 year old. We now go to a new children's doc. He is a firm believer that mom's know best. :D I wish we had met him a long time ago.