Causes of Tonsil Stones & What To Do About It
The source of what causes tonsil stones elude medical researchers for quite some time. Even now there is still some debate over it’s causes and the best way to treat tonsilloliths. Part of the confusion on how to treat tonsil stones arises from the fact that fact that the condition is not lethal or pose any serious health problems. Consequently, medical researchers and scientists really didn’t pay much attention into what causes tonsil stones or the best way to treat the condition. However, medical professionals and experts began looking into the condition more as they realized the discomforts and social impact tonsil stones have on their patient’s lives and well-being. In this article, I’m going to answer the question, what causes tonsil stones.
The tonsil stones, otherwise called tonsilloliths, are a part of the human body that is usually ignored because it does not really serve any vital purpose. It is composed of crannies and hidden corners where objects like mucous, dead cells and bacteria can accumulate and eventually build up. Once this build up od mucous, dead cells and bacteria occurs white objects start to form in those nooks. Think of it as a softer version of plaque that builds up in blood vessels, or those that are found in the crevices of the teeth. In this case, the debris accumulates and calcifies until it makes formations that can be as large as peas.
So what causes tonsil stones is the calcification of the trapped debris. This condition happens to a lot of people, but a majority of people tend to cough out these tonsil stones or scrape it out in time. There are a lot of people that develop these small deposits, but in a small number of cases, people do get larger and harder tonsil stones.
Those with small tonsil stones, or small deposits, may not suffer from the noticeable or adverse symptoms. Small tonsil stones are not easily detectable. Even large tonsilloliths can remain undetected by physicians. Often, tonsil stones are detected accidentally in CT scans or X-rays.
People who suffer from post nasal drip or allergic rhinitis may also ‘cultivate’ tonsilloliths because of the excess mucus they produce in their nasal cavities that come down to their tonsils. This accumulates and creates tonsil stones.
People who develop larger tonsil stones suffer more of the symptoms of tonsil stones such as really bad breath and pain during swallowing.
The smell from bad breath, or halitosis, is similar to the smell that comes with a chronic tonsil infection. In many instances, tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils caused by bacteria streptococcus) and tonsil stones happen at the same time, and it would be difficult to determine whether the odor is coming from tonsil stones or from an inflamed tonsil. Confusing I know!
To add to the confusion, tonsillitis also produces sore throat, which also brings about bad breath. And what could this lead to? Yep, tonsil stones! So when it comes down to the question of which causes which, tonsil stones and tonsillitis, it becomes more of a chicken and egg dilemma of which comes first or which causes what.
Regardless, of what causes tonsil stones, there is a way to cure tonsil stones permanently without surgery.
Click here to find out more about how to cure Tonsil Stones fast.