If you or your child have frequent throat pain, then it may be due to an underlying condition as opposed to allergies or pollution. Chronic throat pain means you should visit a doctor for an examination, as this is something that can negatively impact your everyday life.
One of the issues that could be behind your aching throat is called tonsillitis.
Tonsillitis occurs when the tonsils located at the back of your throat become engulfed in inflammation. The tonsils are two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat, and they are part of the immune system and help stop germs from entering the body through the mouth or the nose.
While they are part of the immune system, these two pads of tissue are not necessary; the body can prevent infection and fight off viruses without the tonsils.
Sometimes, these tonsils cannot do their job properly and they have to be removed. Any pediatric ENT doctor can tell you how common this is.
Signs that you or your child may have tonsillitis include:
Tonsilitis may also be associated with fatigue, bad breath, fever, or stomach ache. In young children who cannot verbally communicate how they feel, signs of they have tonsillitis may include:
Most cases of tonsillitis are caused by infection with a common virus, but bacterial infections also may cause tonsillitis. The appropriate treatment depends on the cause.
In order to get your tonsillitis diagnosed, you should make an appointment to meet with an ENT specialist from Westside Head & Neck. A prompt and accurate diagnosis is crucial to treating this condition, and you can get that from one of our experienced throat specialists.
Tonsillitis has a number of causes, ranging from viral, environmental, and internal.
If the case of tonsilitis is caused by a virus, there’s no specific medicine to treat it. You just need to nurture your immune system and rest.
If the cause is bacterial, then it may be due to step throat. In this case, you’d take prescription antibiotics. Even if you start feeling better, keep up the use of the antibiotics until the prescription runs out.
Your chronic sore throat specialist may recommend surgery to remove tonsils if this condition occurs multiple times per year. This is only done in cases where the inflammation is serious and it doesn’t respond to other kinds of treatments. The procedure to remove tonsils is fairly simple, so the surgery is nothing to worry about.
Whatever is causing the tonsillitis, throat doctors recommend using holistic remedies to try to help ease symptoms and get you and your child to feel better. Some holistic remedies to ease the symptoms of tonsilitis include:
The board-certified ENT doctors of Westside Head & Neck treat all general conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. Every doctor under Westside Head & Neck has extensive training in the treatment of:
Even more serious conditions such as neck, mouth, and throat cancer can also be diagnosed and operated on by ENTs. We accept most PPO insurance plans, Medicare, and select HMO’s to keep hearing, swallowing, and breathing relief open to more Los Angelenos. Our two offices are located in Santa Monica and Culver City. To set up an appointment to discuss your ENT issues with any of our physicians at either location, please call (310) 361-5128 or email appointments@westsidehn.com.