Today’s message comes courtesy of a member of the Rader household again experiencing something kinda embarrassing. The lengths we go to in writing this blog….
QOTPE came to me the other evening with a complaint. Bad breath. No pain. No fever. No outward signs I could see. You see, she has always been obsessive about her oral hygiene, brushing for at least 4 minutes every morning and evening. The dental hygienists and dentists always compliment her, and her teeth and smile are truly gorgeous. I figured she was being a little hypersensitive because she’s getting married soon. Like maybe, it was all in her head, like so many doctors do with us.
It turns out, she wasn’t imagining things. I was wrong. Ouch.
She had a tonsil stone, something quite real.
Was it dangerous? Hardly. Painful? Hers wasn’t, though some can be. Embarrassing? A bit.
Is it a topic for medical care in TEOTWAWKI? It’s definitely not in any of my off-grid medicine texts. But what if you spotted the stones in a family member’s mouth? What if you or s/he started to freak out a little bit? And make mountains out of molehills? Then it becomes real serious.
When she dislodged it and googled again with the right search terms, she got her answer. Doc, her fiancé and first-year med school student, then shared a little more info with her. And she shared the diagnosis with me and suggested it as a blog topic. So here we are.
Tonsils, the oval-shaped pads of tissue on each side of the back of the throat, are part of the immune system working to filter bacteria and viruses. Tonsil stones develop when food particles, saliva, bacteria, or mucus become lodged in the crevices of the tonsils.[1] These then become calcified and hard. Usually, they look like small white or yellow pebbles on the surface of the tonsils. However, they may also develop deep in the tonsil tissue where they cannot be seen. There may be one or several. And they are usually small as a grain of rice but may also become as large as a grape. [2] [3]
Tonsil stones are common, affecting about 5% of the population, and are more common in Caucasians and Hispanics. Many people have them without knowing it.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
- Bad breath[4] [5]
- Feeling a constant need to swallow[6]
- Cough[7] [8]
- Earache[9] [10]
- Sore throat[11]
- Tonsil redness and irritation
- Difficulty swallowing (less common)[12]
- Feeling like something is stuck in your throat (less common)[13]
RISK FACTORS
- Chronic dehydration (just don’t drink enough water) [14]
- Chronic mouth breathing, day or night[15]
- Hormonal changes, like during pregnancy[16]
- Large tonsils (more surface area=more risk) [17]
- Poor oral hygiene[18]
- Tonsillitis history[19]
- Being a teenager[20]
- Or being over 40[21]
- Male[22]
- Too much calcium in the blood without enough vitamins D3 or K2[23]
PREVENTION
- Gargle with salt water after eating[24]
- Good oral hygiene, including brushing the tongue[25]
- Use a non-alcoholic mouthwash
- Stay hydrated[26]
- Quit smoking[27]
TREATMENT
If the stone isn’t bothering the patient, it will often fall out on its own. Doing nothing is completely normal and acceptable.[28] However, the patient should seek medical care for tonsil stones if the tonsils look red, bleed easily, or if there is sore throat or ear pain associated with the stone.[29] Stubborn tonsil stones may require a doctor or dentist’s help for surgical removal. [30] Untreated, tonsil stones may develop into tonsillitis or chronic tonsil inflammation.
For the more run of the mill tonsil stones, the following treatments are effective.
- Cough vigorously to try to dislodge it[31] [32]
- Gargle with salt water after eating[33] [34]
- Gently press on the stone with a Q-tip[35] [36]
- Use a Water-Pik to dislodge the stone [37] [38]
- Use OTC pain relievers for discomfort[39]
It would be nice if all our post-collapse medical issues could be so benign and easily treated.
