Tonsillectomy
Tonsils act as filters, trapping germs from entering your airways preventing infections. However, sometimes tonsils get infected themselves, swell and become inflamed causing tonsillitis.
Symptoms include:
- Ear pain
- Fever, chills
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing through the mouth
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Painful blisters or ulcers on the throat
- Redness of the tonsils
- Swollen glands in the neck or jaw area
- Throat pain or tenderness
- Children may also experience nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain
Tonsillitis, especially in children, is common. Most of the time, it can be treated with antibiotics. However, a tonsillectomy may be needed if tonsillitis is recurrent or persistent or if the enlarged tonsils cause upper airway obstruction or difficulty eating.
