In a recent study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stewart surveyed parents of 154 children between the ages of 2 and 16. Stewart and his colleagues found the impact of tonsil and adenoid disease on overall health to be quite significant and that many children suffer a reduced quality of life. The survey showed that children with tonsil and adenoid disease scored significantly lower than healthy children. The data revealed that the mean scores for children with tonsil and adenoid disease were especially low in areas related to emotional impact, behavior and parental impact. Tonsils, which have no known function, are two groups of fleshy tissue on either side of the throat.
Tonsillitis occurs when the tonsils become inflamed.
Symptoms include throat pain, difficulty swallowing and fever. Lymph glands in the neck tend to swell and become tender. In some cases, children can suffer from a headache or a middle ear or sinus infection. Adenoids are lymph tissues found at the back of the nasal passage above the tonsils. Abnormally enlarged adenoids can cause nasal obstruction, postnasal drainage or sinus infections.