Symptoms of Tonsillitis - Information about Chronic Tonsillitis and Sore Throat
by Ask a Healer
Suggested Resource:
Natural Remedies for Tonsillitis
This health article covers a question asked about two different subjects, tonsillitis and psoriasis. Part one deals with throat issues. If you came here looking for information on the skin disorder, psoriasis, then skip to part two: About psoriasis
Sore Throat Symptoms:
* Itchy or scratchy feeling in throat
* Pain on swallowing
* Swelling of the neck lymph nodes
* Itchy feeling inside ears or ear pain
* Fever and chills or achiness
* Headache
* Inflammation in throat area
* Phlegm in throat
However, by the time you develop all those sore throat symptoms, you usually already have a medical condition on your hands.
The good news is that very subtle versions of those same symptoms happen about 24 hours before they get to be bothersome for you and end up landing you in bed for a few days. Learning to notice the subtle signs of tonsillitis or sore throat and treating aggressively at the first appearance of pre-tonsillitis symptoms may often ward off a full-blown and painful sore throat.
What to Notice BEFORE You Feel Sick - Recognizing the Onset of Tonsillitis
Before I talk about symptoms of tonsillitis, let's talk about the signs that almost everybody misses. I call these early warning signs "pre-symptoms" because they happen about 24 hours before you actually feel sick.
Pre-Symptoms of Tonsillitis and/or Sore Throat:
* Scratchy feeling in throat - It isn't pain, exactly, and it could just be that you didn't drink enough water or that there's something in the air. It could also be an important pre-symptom.
* Not quite clear-thinking - This is one I almost always notice. It isn't that I can't function ok, it's just that I can't quite think as clear as I normally do. Big warning pre-symptom.
* A slight bit of drag and fatique - Again, easy to overlook. Maybe I worked a little harder than I thought I did. Nope, if you don't think you should be that tired, you probably should not be that tired.
* It's not an earache but - A lot of colds flu and sore throats find their way in as airborne particles thru the ear canal. This is why one of the earliest symptoms we may feel is just this sort of funny kind of itchy feeling in the ears. It doesn't hurt, yet, and it's easy to ignore until it isn't.
The earliest warning signs of tonsillitis, colds and flu are all easy to dismiss and most people do. I've learned (the hard way) that catching a cold, flu, sore throat, ear infection or tonsillitis is a LOT easier if I don't assume those early pre-symptoms are just fatique or feeling "a little under the weather".
Long before you come down with a cold, your body tries to warn you that something is attempting to attack your system but these pre-symptoms are often not so bad that you can't keep working....at least for one day. So....pay attention to the pre-symptoms and you may seldom need the next list, which is symptoms that come after that early warning period. If you wait til you have these symptoms to treat tonsillitis, in my opinion, you've waited too long.
Symptoms of Tonsillitis
* Sore throat
* Difficulty swallowing
* Red, swollen tonsils
* Feeling like you have a lump in your throat
* White patches on tonsils or around tonsils
* Headache
* Eye Fatique or feeling of pressure
* Moderate to significant loss of voice
* Fever and chills
* Swollen lymph glands in the neck
* Shooting pain in ear that runs into jaw
* Blisters in the mouth (may indicate that the condition is caused by the Coxsackie virus).
See your doctor any time a sore throat lasts more than a few days or whenever your symptoms include very high fever that does not respond to aspirin or other OTC treatments. Also see your doctor if you experience vomiting from a sore throat.
Thinking of having your tonsils out because of chronic sore throat?
As a child, I had horrible sore throats, thrash, tonsillitis, etc. I know it was terrible cause I blocked it out, or tried to ..... I remember misery, though, vaguely, even decades later. My tonsils were taken out, which was pretty much the medical solution to chronic sore throats at the time.
If I knew then what I know now (and could have convinced my parents about it) I'd have suffered through those sore throats and left those tonsils in place. I now know that tonsils filter bacteria and viruses that could cause even more harmful infections so best to leave them in tact.
I would focus on boosting immune system function and detoxing parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungal growth in the body.
Consider the benefits of keeping your tonsils and the risks of having them removed. It may be necessary in some cases; talk strong with your doctor to make sure it is absolutely necessary in your case.
Health Care Disclaimer: If you have one or more symptoms of tonsillitis, please see your doctor to both access the severity of the infection and to rule out potentially more serious infection such as strep throat, thrash or viral pharyngitis.
