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Tonsillitis treatment and prevention for children and adults

An infection or inflammation of a tonsil caused by a virus or bacteria. Acute tonsillitis is often caused by a STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTION. If tonsillitis caused by a strep infection is untreated, it may lead to rheumatic fever or kidney disease.

Symptoms

Symptoms includes:

• severe sore throat
• fever
• headache
• fatigue
• swallowing problems
• earache and enlarged tender lymph nodes in the neck.

Acute cases may also be accompanied by SCARLET FEVER.

Treatment

Tonsillitis can be treated with systemic antibiotics and painkillers, together with warm liquids and soft foods. While a tonsillectomy is still sometimes performed for recurrent cases, this surgical procedure is done much less often today than in earlier decades.

Tonsils A mass of lymphoid tissue on either side of the back of the mouth that is one of the body’s ways of dealing with invading infections. The tonsils make up part of the lymphatic system, which is an important part of the body’s defense system against infection. Along with the adenoids at the base of the tongue, the tonsils protect against upper respiratory tract infections. They gradually get bigger after birth, reaching full size at about age seven; after that, they shrink substantially.

An infection of the tonsils is called TONSILLITIS, a common infectious disease of childhood. Although the removal of tonsils during childhood to treat infection was once a common treatment, it is rarely performed today.