My Tonsils Were Removed But I’m Still Having Bouts of Tonsillitis

A few months after I graduated from college, I started to experience a monthly bout of swollen tonsils.  It will last for a few days as I dealt with it by gargling on warm salt water solution. Two more bouts of tonsillitis later, I resorted to antibiotics. I was taking a different kind of antibiotic every month until by the sixth month I noticed that the pus no longer goes away. Also, I no longer was experiencing any fever and inflamed lymph nodes, as if my body no longer considers the bacteria as invaders. It was during this time that I decided to consult an Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat (EENT) specialist. The doctor said that I would need tonsillectomy, the removal of tonsils. He also reminded me to refrain from eating sweets as well as refrain from drinking cold drinks since these two are really what causes the infection. Added to that was the expensive broad spectrum antibiotics to be taken orally for seven days.

Two months later, my tonsils went under the knife. I was thinking I could eat sweets again and drink cold drinks to my heart’s content and never again worry about having bouts of infected tonsils. In fact, the very first food I was advised to eat was ice cream, to calm my traumatized upper throat. 

More than a year later, I started to feel pain in my throat whenever I swallow. Wasn’t my tonsils removed already? How come I felt like I’m having a bacteria attack on it again? I tried peeking at my throat on the mirror but can’t see any inflammation. The two bumps where the two tonsils used to be were apparently no longer there.

I went back to my doctor. He explained that we actually have three sets of tonsils: the palatine, lingual and adenoids (pharyngeal). The palatine tonsils were the removed pair while the lingual is located at the base of the tongue and the adenoids high in the throat, behind the nose. What I’m having is lingual tonsillitis. I was on broad spectrum antibiotics again.

After that infection, I swore to myself I will avoid sweets and cold drinks forever. Should it can’t be avoided I will only gargle on salt water solution. My long term antibiotic use sort of made me paranoid. I know it will also kill the good bacteria in my body.

It’s been eight years after my tonsillectomy. Once in a while,  an irritation would still resurface, but the moment I feel the slightest tingling sensation, I’d run to the kitchen to reach for a warm salt water solution. I’d gargle this for about a minute every hour for the fastest relief. Usually, I’d wake up the following day lingual tonsillitis free.

Until now, I still refrain from eating sweets and drinking cold drinks including water. Occasionally, I’d have some cold soda and chocolates are really my guilty pleasure, but I must follow it with warm water to ensure I wouldn’t awaken any oral bacteria and put it into action.

Like other organs of the lymphatic system, the tonsils act as part of the immune system to help protect our bodies against infection. In particular, they are believed to be involved in helping fight off pharyngeal and upper respiratory tract infections.

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