posted 05-16-2003 12:36 AM            

Yes, they're gross!

You might get some answers in this thread I've listed.

posted 05-16-2003 11:50 PM            

Alright, so they are "tonsiliths". Some kind of residue(plaque, saliva, bacteria by-product) that accumulate in the crevacies in the tonsils. I had inspected my own tonsils a couple days ago and noticed large holes in the sides of them, but assumed that was the natural anatomy.

posted 05-17-2003 04:13 AM            

Why not try it and then let us know how it works.

I don't have a waterpic, but I recall someone from the thread I gave you in my previous posting tried it. I have to check.

Tonsil blasting...interesting concept. Could work. I still like the idea of vaccuuming them out..but now I'd have to invent a teeny tiny vaccuum. Maybe in my senior years.

Doctors...what do they know ;-)

We're still left up to our own devices to find what works. I still use the "squeezeing method" I've perfected.

As an aside, I do it after my toothbrushing. I use a small flashlight -- every morning, my cat could be in a cold sleep, but the moment I put my toothbrush away and get the flashlight, she's waiting. It's then my cue to shine it on the floor and have her chase it.
Hmph, ya think I'm a bit predictable?

Anyway, I hope you find some relief from the tonsilith woes!

quincy

posted 08-16-2003 12:52 AM            

Tonsilliths are cause by "bacterial and epithelial debris" that accumulate in tonsil crypts. That means that they are made out of the tissue that forms the crypt--skin and mucus! That's just normal stuff found everywhere in your mouth; but in a crypt, sometimes the skin cells that are shed and mucus that is excreted can't get out and instead forms a little ball. Bacteria then mix with the skin and mucus cells and that what makes them smelly. Notice that they are definitely NOT simply particles of food that have lodged in your tonsils! They are formed inside the tonsil.

Here's something important and I think new to this thread: Some tonsilliths calcify. That means that "phosphate and carbonate of lime and magnesia" from your saliva (some people have more of these minerals in their saliva than other people do) mix with the ball of skin cells and bacteria. This makes the tonsillith get hard. They can even be seen on an ex-ray.

Some of us can push our tonsilliths out of the crypts. Others may have calcified tonsilliths that cannot be pushed out. Though they are medically harmless, they can get annoying and maybe kinda big. Several internet articles discuss curretage or surgery to remove the tonsillith itself, but not the tonsil! Maybe that is the answer for some of you that can feel a large mass in your tonsil but can't get it out. One internet article mentioned a tonsillith that was 7 cm long! Certainly not the norm!

Also, looks like tonsilloliths can form in the eustachian tube of the ear as well as on the back of your tongue--not always in your tonsils! That may be where they are coming from in some of you who can't see them forming in your tonsils.

It appears that 2-3% of the population gets tonsilloliths.

Also, as one article said, "because people often squeeze the stones between their fingers and become horrified by the smell, tonsilloliths may lead to halitophobia." It seems that just because you have tonsilloliths, that doesn't mean your breath smells the same way the tonsilloliths do! Notice that they really smell horrible only after you squish them.

So I think many of you should take heart. Be wary of "halitophobia." You probably don't have breath that smells nearly as bad as a squished up tonsillolith.