Tonsillitis

Approximately 6-10% of the adult population of the planet and 12-15% of children today face inflammation of the tonsils. In medical practice, this disease is known as tonsillitis, the symptoms and treatment of which we will consider today. By the way, this pathology is also called angina.

Tonsillitis: who is at risk?

Symptoms and treatment of tonsillitis in adults have their own specifics. First of all, the course of treatment is chosen in accordance with the form of development of the pathology. Symptoms are also usually classified according to the types of tonsillitis. We will talk about this a little later, but now let's find out why there is inflammation of the tonsils.

Profile doctors identify various causes of this disease:

• the development of infectious processes caused by harmful microorganisms;
• caries;
• sinusitis;
• chronic adenoids;
• contaminated air;
• excessive hypothermia;
• lack of vitamin reserve;
• weakened immune defenses;
• mechanical damage to the tonsils;
• exposure to high temperatures, etc.

Often, infectious processes occurring in the oral cavity, can cause tonsillitis. Initially, this pathology develops in an acute form. If it is not treated, it will turn into a chronic form, from which it is impossible to get rid of forever. Chronic tonsillitis can only heal and achieve long-term remission, which will periodically be followed by a relapse of the disease.

What you need to know about acute tonsillitis?

Let's talk about acute tonsillitis. In particular, many people are interested in the symptoms and treatment of this pathology. So, as already mentioned, the treatment tactics are determined by the form of tonsillitis that develops in the acute stage. And depending on the type of illness, the symptoms also change.

In medical practice, acute tonsillitis can be classified into several forms:

• catarrhal;
• phlegmonous;
• follicular.

Tonsillitis catarrhal type is characterized by the following symptoms:

• migraine;
• increase in low-grade temperature to 38 °;
• sore throat;
• pain when swallowing food or fluids;
• an increase in the size of the cervical lymph nodes;
• swelling of the tonsils.

The follicular form of tonsillitis that develops in the acute stage has the following symptoms:

• increase of low-grade temperature to the level of 40 ° and above;
• feeling of pathological weakness and pain in the joint tissues;
• excessive sweating;
• accumulation of pus on the tonsils;
• chills;
• pronounced headache;
• complete lack of appetite.

As for phlegmonous tonsillitis, it is characterized by the following symptoms:

• sharp pain in the throat;
• fever;
• increase in low-grade temperature to 39 °;
• unpleasant smell from the mouth;
• nasal voice;
• bouts of severe headache.

If the development of acute tonsillitis was caused by a herpetic virus, then along with the above symptoms in humans, bubbles appear on the surface of the tonsils filled with fluid.

The realities of chronic ailments

Symptoms and treatment of chronic tonsillitis are not very different from the acute form of the development of the disease. As already mentioned, the chronic stage occurs in cases where the original form of the pathology was not diagnosed in a timely manner and completely cured. As medical practice shows, it is impossible to get rid of tonsillitis of the chronic type, and through treatment the illness only goes into a stage of long-term remission.

When exposed to negative factors that threaten health, a relapse period occurs again, during which systematic and complex treatment must be carried out exclusively under the supervision of a specialized doctor.

Let's discuss the symptoms of chronic tonsillitis in adults, and then we will deal with the main aspects of the treatment of this disease. So, this form of the inflammatory process in the palatine tonsils is characterized by the following symptoms:

• pain when swallowing;
• an increase in the size and tenderness of the lymph nodes;
• tickle;
• an increase in subfebrile temperature, sometimes to critical points;
• cough up pus;
• unpleasant smell from the mouth.

A few words about the treatment

After diagnosing a form of tonsillitis that develops in the acute or chronic phase, the doctor prescribes treatment. Most often, all conservative methods are used initially, and only then more radical ones. Surgery is a radical treatment for tonsillitis. During this operation, the tonsils can be removed completely or cuts can be made. In the second case, laser therapy is most often used. Tonsillectomy is performed only in the absence of effectiveness from conservative methods of treating the disease.

And what about the conservative methods of treatment of pathology? The profile doctor must compile the treatment tactics in accordance with the form of the development of the disease, the patient's age and his physiological features. The treatment course includes the following aspects:

• local therapy;
• taking oral pharmacological agents;
• physiotherapy.

Local therapy speaks for itself. Throat and oral cavity should be rinsed with special solutions and pharmacological agents containing antiseptics. As for taking medications, the list of necessary medicines is only a doctor. It can be antibiotic, antifungal, antihistamine, antiviral, anti-inflammatory drugs, and a number of other drugs. It is necessary to support the intestinal microflora, for which pro-and prebiotics are prescribed.

Immunomodulating and immunostimulating pharmacological preparations are used to strengthen the immunity. The patient may also be prescribed physiotherapy procedures, in particular:

• electrophoresis;
• warming up;
• laser therapy;
• wave therapy, etc.

Tonsillitis in a child: how to help the crumbs?

Symptoms and treatment of tonsillitis in children, as you know, have their own specifics. Often, such a disease develops against the background of previously transferred respiratory, viral or infectious pathologies. The characteristic symptoms of tonsillitis that develops in a child in the acute stage, profile doctors believe:

• pain and burning sensation in the region of the tonsils;
• increased low-grade fever;
• pain in the ears;
• hoarse voice;
• difficulty swallowing liquids and food;
• loss of appetite;
• vomiting;
• pain in the peritoneal cavity;
• convulsive phenomena;
• dry cough.

If you do not take timely measures to treat this disease, then chronic tonsillitis can develop. Its symptoms are similar to the above symptoms, but the treatment for children will have its own characteristics. The doctor will prescribe a complex of necessary physiotherapeutic procedures, as well as effective and, most importantly, safe pharmacological preparations.

When the primary symptoms of tonsillitis appear, do not try to self-medicate. Contact your doctor, go through a comprehensive treatment and get rid of this disease at an early stage in order to prevent its development into a chronic form. Be healthy!