Talk:Tonsil stones

message: Small white or tan foul smelling balls found in tonsils. These form in many pockets of which are called crypts located in the tonsil on ether side of the tonsils. The most probably make up are bacteria and white blood cells, the inner lining of the tonsils. The patient typically notices something like a stuck piece of food or something hard within the back of their mouth. If that is the case then the stone is probably protruding from a crypt. Typically these will self extract and will be digested by the patient. To ease the irritation you can take a flashlight and a cotton tipped stick and "pop" out the tonsillolith by forcing from the side like popping a pimple. Some may be behind areas not easily accessable depending how your parents designed your tonsil. You can design a paperclip bend banded to a pen so it can enter the crypts or around corners. Over time, you will be able to control the gag reflex. Please be gentle and if there is bleeding, stop immediately and try another time.
Another option is to have a tonsillectomy which is a complete removal of the tonsils. This will solve the problem completely. I would only considered this if it were a very serious issue, damaging your well being. Otherwise, it can just be a daily routine like brushing your teeth.
This information comes from hours of studying the internet and personal experience. Remember, we are not dying from tonsilloliths, we are suffering with it.
:Tonsilolliths are NOT food I have talked with many ENTs and they all say it is the inner lining of the tonsil that is sluffed off, it gets stuck in the crypts and when it has become big enough it pushes its way out.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Hughpine89 (talk • contribs) 21:53, 13 June 2007
::Hughpine89 - re edit to above, this is the talk page to discuss the article, not the article itself.David Ruben  Talk  21:06, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Cryptic tonsillitis

message: In order to get rid of or at least decrease the production
of the Tonsilloliths 
it is important to do a NASAL WASH with saltwater each time before you brush your teeth ( and tongue !).
To make the saltwater solution, mix one-half teaspoon unionized salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water. Unionized salt is used because iodized salt may be irritating when used over a long period of time.
Sniff the liquid up your nose, one nostril
at a time and allow the fluid to run out of your mouth
Then brush your teeth and tongue with toothpaste as usual.
After a few  days the Tonsilloliths will start to come loose and
a few days later their production will become less and less.
Many doctors tell their patients to gargle with salt water in order to get rid of the Tonsilloliths.
But gargling is simply not enough.
You have to do the Nasal Wash with the saltwater aswell.
At least once or twice a day.
I wouldn't suggest snorting salt water- Whatever the reason.
: See neti pot — Omegatron 01:47, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Possible alternative treatment 

message: I just aquired an Interplak dental water jet from W**mart to try out the forced flush method.  You must buy the adjustable one, like Interplak model WJ6RW, the other ones are to powerful and will injure your tonsils bad.  With the water jet turned almost to its lowest, it is pretty gentle.  Mix in a salty water solution or mouthwash or clean water (make sure when you are done you run 1 tank to rinse the system with warm regular water).  You should get a rubber tipped tip or use the regular tip.  If you are not use to swabbing your tonsils with a cotton tipped stick, you may get a gag reflex, so turn the water even lower and bear with it.  The trick is to find the crypts and almost put the tip inside them.  An explosion of tonsil stones will be flushed out of your most trouble-some crypts.  I guess with the salty water solution you can try the nose flush like the above friend said.  
Good luck, and remember...we are not dying from tonsilloliths, we are living with them.
Update:  I have been using it everyday just before bed for a few weeks now since the first initial flush(quite the purge). Well almost everyday, I went away for a weekend, and when I came back I found one tiny bugger. Other than that, I havent seen one yet. Yes its a pain to do it everyday, but you are going to have to do it anyway when you get that annoying itch and stinky breath; I have no itch anymore and NO STINKY breath. The reason I purchased it was cause I was fed up with cotton swabs and gagging trying to get the real tricky ones.  I also had a chronic low level sore throat for almost 2 weeks before this (btw chronic means to last long).  My throat feels better now when I wake up (even though I was on meds, this helped I know).  A lot of research I did concludes that tonsilloliths can contribute to chronic low level sore throats.  Try this salt water jet before cutting out your tonsils.
* I'd like to add my support for the oral irrigator as treatment (initial usage) and as prevention (with daily use). I think the key to preventing tonsilloliths is mechanically cleaning out the tonsils everyday as you would clean your teeth.
* I would like to add support for oral irrigator as well. I used the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser on the lowest setting possible (it allows adjustment from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least amount of pressure). It is important to note the technique used, which is not on the Wikipedia page. The technique to use it to spray the stone directly (head on) which then builds water pressure all around the stone and slowly forces it to pop out of the crypt. It is helpful to tell people the method they should use, because otherwise they may try to spray the stone at an angle or directly around the stone, both of which are less effective. Also, people need to know which type of oral irrigator to buy -- one that is readily available at stores like Walmart and Target -- which is why you should list the "Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser" on the page somewhere, to save people a lot of money of buying the wrong ones. I am in no way affiliated with Waterpik, but their product has worked great for me, so I want to help others by sharing this information.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.89.190.124 (talk) 19:20, 15 June 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dental Water Jet 

message: I clean my own tonsils with an extended toothpick BEFORE they calcify into stones. During this time they are actually fairly soft, like tooth plaque. I can very well prevent the accumulated material from building up to levels mentioned in this article. I am not sure whether to recommend a process such as this though. One must have a VERY steady hand to prevent injury, to expose the tonsils in the mouth requires one to not breath at all, and excessive pressure on the tonsils with such devices may cause nausea.
A mobile phone stylus works well instead of a toothpick.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.154.102.182 (talk) 22:06, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternate treatment 2 

message: Some people may find it possible to bend their tongue around enough to touch their tonsils. I can get a massaging action going that eventually dislodges the tonsillolith. I now do this sporadically out of habit (when I am concentrating intensely, for example), which prevents the tonsillolith from forming to a significant size in the first place (just try not to show your ugly face while your doing it). Curiously though, tonsilloliths only ever seem to form on my right tonsil...
Enigma 0Z 21:07, 19 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternate treatment 3 

message: Regarding the origin of stones, I have a few interesting observations. I usually try to get rid of them before they calcify into anything large as discussed here, using an extending toothpick as described above. Observation 1: my mother, sister, and I all experience stones, and none of my close friends (that i feel comfortable discussing this with) do. This poses the question, is it genetic? Observation 2: The stones always seem to 'appear' in the deeper crypts, as though they are forming inside the tonsils. I check and wash/cleanse every day, and somehow the little buggers re-appear out of the blue. My diet changes often (i'm in college...) so I haven't noticed a correlation between certain foods and their production. Observation 3: My left tonsil seems to produce twice as many...and I only ever find 'big ones' on the left. Research shows much of this occurance, with people experiencing stones usually on just the one side. I'm not sure what this may mean....any comments?
:perhaps this is caused by an increased presence/absence of saliva during sleep, due to sleeping on a particular side of the body?
:I also have asked a few close friends and family about them, but the only other person who gets them is my dad, which supports the genetics theory. But we also both had a lot of throat infections in the past (I had a lot of strep throat as a kid, he got tonsillitis almost every year until he turned 65). I get more on the left too, but I can tell from digging around back there getting them out that my left tonsil crypt is a lot bigger than the right one, which is probably why there are more there.
:: the reason might be asymetric tonsils, do you have deviated septum?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.120.161.68 (talk) 01:54, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I get "stones" mainly on the left side too. I think part of this may deal with how a person swallows. Regarding what causes them, I have come to the conclusion that it is partly food based. For example, I may get larger and harder "stones" after having "sharp" food like corn flakes or frosted flakes. I have had less problems when I lived off of liquids for about a week. Ice cream, yogurt, milk, orange juice, they don't seem to be problem foods, with the exception of creating mucus as other people have suggested. The only problem though with liquid "diets" is that your body need solid foods, otherwise you could wind up with headaches all the time among other health problems   —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.91.90 (talk) 05:51, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I haven't asked any relatives about these, but me, my brother, and my dad all remember tonsil stones appearing during mid/late puberty. We didn't even know about them before, and my mom never knew anyone who had those, even while knowing some people who work in a hospital. I'm practically sure it's genetic. I was actually thinking if there are other people on the discussion page who thought so. -80.66.241.208 (talk) 07:21, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternate Treatment 4 

message: The article states that "another remedy for removing them, without stimulating the gag reflex,(in most people) is to simply flex the throat, this causes the tonsils to tense up and will often result in the tonsil stone popping out."
Could someone please describe what constitutes "simply flexing the throat"?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Taxee (talk • contribs) 21:46, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Flexing the Throat 

message: You need to open up the back as wide as possible by moving the jaw to it's widest and the tongue down as far as you can and spreading it out and then moving your head around  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.151.173.229 (talk) 08:50, 1 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  What it is 

message: As part of a weight loss regime I cut grains out of my diet and my tonsil stones stopped entirely.  Now the only grain I eat is brown rice and I can go as long as I want without a tonsil stone but as soon as I cave in and have some pasta, bread, cookies, etc. a new stone forms within days.  If you think about flour of any type it's the perfect substance to form into a paste that can not only get into a tiny crevice but also stay there and attract other substances to stick to it which is how these horrible stank social-life ruining things come to be.  I believe the reason brown rice doesn't contribute to stones is because of it still having the bran intact like a thin shell over the grain.  This shell keeps the grain relatively intact as I chew and swallow and so it does not find its way into a crack in the surface of my tonsils.  I believe that white rice would break down quickly upon exposure to saliva and turn into a paste just like flour does.  I have not experimented yet but I think probably eating corn meal (Fritos, cornbread, tortillas, etc.) also would lead to the development of a tonsil stone in those of us who have the tendency (the tendency being crevices in our tonsils).  It's pretty hard to avoid processed grains but if you want to be free of tonsil stones it's certainly worth a try.  Flour, whole grain or not, is not good for you anyway no matter what the USDA tries to tell you.Etsybad 23:49, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dietary Considerations 

message: The result was merge Cryptic tonsillitis into this article. -- David Ruben  Talk  12:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: As per WP:Merge#Proposing a merger that where "silence (at least 10 days), proceed with the merger". I have proceeded to merge. I found nothing in Cryptic tonsillitis not already in this article and so have switched it to be a redirect. David Ruben  Talk  12:59, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Merge proposal

message: ::This page is truly excellent! I'm really looking forward to having a go at this and sorting out this problem. Has anybody got a recommendation for where to get hold of a suitable waterpik type device in the UK?
::Also, when performing the proceedure described above, do you recommend shining the light off the bathroom mirror into one's mouth, and looking in the smaller mirror? Or the other way around?
::Many thanks.  —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.211.95.178 (talk) 13:17, August 21, 2007 (UTC) 
::I would suggest using a wall mounted mirror of some sorts, preferably one that has a high level "zoom", this way you can "dig out" the "stones" much easier. Also, you want to shine the flashlight INTO your mouth, not into the mirror  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.91.90 (talk) 05:59, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: UK sources?

message: any info out there on different colors? either broccoli stains it or i need to make an appointment.  68.78.26.171 15:34, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Colors

message: Does anyone know if there are any links between this and other conditions such as allergies, skin disorders (acne), swollen glands, white tongue, etc?
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.17.45.119 (talk • contribs) 17:09, 6 June 2007
I started getting tonsil stones when I moved back home from college. I think a pet allergy caused me to have extra mucus, and this has lead to the tonsil stones. I think allergies should be considered.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.154.102.182 (talk) 22:14, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Connections with other conditions? 

message: Hi,
I picked my tonsils with a small ear-stick, and after a few months, unfortunately, injured my tonsil. since then - my tonsil bleeds almost each time I have a Tonsillolith !
So I would advice on adding, in the suggestion part of the article - to be VERY careful when picking the tonsils...
Talgalili 21:52, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  note risk of injury 

message: I noticed that drinking hot drinks (especially coffee) can make the foreign-object-in-my-throat feeling go away almost instantly for a long period of time. My guess is that heat causes the tonsil to become less sensitive to stimuli--193.188.115.248 08:15, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Relieve the foreign-object feeling 

message: I lack the time or knowledge to fix the references for this article, however two of the footnotes are listed as 4, and the link from [5] in the article seems to point to the third footnote.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.77.55.100 (talk) 01:17, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: For those of you who don't have access to a WaterPik, you can irrigate your tonsils with a rubber ear syringe bulb purchased from your local pharmacy (like this - http://img.alibaba.com/photo/10881884/Ear_Syringe_Ball.jpg)
I had tried using one of these several times over the past few weeks with little success, but last night I must have found the perfect angle, flushing out a half dozen or more match-head sized nuggets - all from my right tonsil.
When I woke up this morning I had almost no hint of my usual morning breath, although this could just be coincidence.
Another thing... I find that if I loosely pinch my nostrils shut and then gently force air through my nose in quick bursts (not using my lungs but rather by flexing my throat/palate) I can often smell a fairly rank sulfurous odour, which I presume indicates the presence of tonsilloliths. I guess this works because it's forcing air from the stone-zone directly up and over the smell receptors. However, after last night's efforts there is no smell at all when I do this.
WIN.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sirgarence (talk • contribs) 03:36, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Treatment with ear syringe bulb, and other thoughts 

message: The self-treatment section is wholy without citations, let alone from reliable sources per WP:MEDRS. It has been tagged since May 2008, so if suitable sources not found soon, then per WP:NOT#HOWTO and WP:MADEUP (ie WP:OR) I think section should be deleted. David Ruben  Talk  20:26, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Self treatment time to remove?

message: Ever since I first understood what tonsil stones were, I developed the habit of management by massaging my tonsils with my tongue, what seems to be most effective is applying presssure from the bottom of the tonsils upwards - this seems to help dislodge the deeeper stones.  
In my personal experience the majority of my stones seem to develop during a throat infection and shortly emerge just after recovery.  In my case, I think my breath is largely affected by the accumulation of tonsil stones.
Because I regularly brush the deep end of my tongue, my gag reflex urge is not that strong which allows me to press my tonsils with the back end of my toothbrush.  This seems to help break up larger impacted stones into smaller pieces which then come out easier by simply flexing my throat (swallowing) or continued massaging with my tongue.
I agree that using a waterpik device is probably the easiest way to manage tonsil stones using the lowest presssure setting -  the goal is irrigation to dislodge.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.155.178 (talk) 22:17, 11 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Learn to use your tongue to massage the stones out 

message: I had a stone for years thinking it was just a sesame seed lodged in my tonsil because I didn't see it all the time. Recently while I was sick, my tonsils swelled as per normal and I noticed it again. This time I looked it up and found what it was. My solution was to poke at it with a long club sandwich stick. Once I had managed to touch it, a simple gargle for a few seconds with regular water managed to knock it out. Phoenix (talk) 05:31, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  May need to just disturb the stone 

message: Cutting out dairy products from the diet can cure some people (although it can take up to several months).
Does this mean that consuming non-dairy milks and their products such rice or soy milk is safe for tonsilloith patients?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.96.226.25 (talk) 00:58, 29 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cutting out dairy products 

message: I use Hydrogen Peroxide, purchased from local pharmacy, diluted as directed as a mouth wash/gargle. Use twice a day after brushing and flossing and seems to keep the little blighters at bay. If I miss a day they begin to come back so it does work. This was recomended by my ENT surgeon. He did not recommend a mouth wash containing alcohol (most mouth washes do I think) as it dries out the mouth/throat which may make things worse. Hope that helps somebody.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 20.133.0.13 (talk) 13:33, 13 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hydrogen Peroxide 

message: In addition to a metalic taste...
The taste of peardrops(sweets)
The smell of gloss paint 
82.14.70.149 (talk) 11:26, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. —KuyaBriBriTalk 15:34, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request on 23 May 2013 

message: I'm not sure exactly where to put this as one clearly can't put such a link in an encyclopaedia, but this manually pumped oral irrigator was perfect for blasting out the horrible things. (In fact, they have have stopped forming now - perhaps it cleared whatever enabled nucleation?)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000YER2LM
Cambion (talk) 21:55, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Useful Oral irrigator 

message: Please create the page tonsillolithaiasis and link it to this page. TY. 188.30.204.87 (talk) 23:18, 7 August 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: That doesn't appear to be a word? Googling it gets zero responses. Stickee (talk) 02:34, 8 August 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: , sorry, it should be tonsillolithiasis not tonsillolithaiasis. It is a lesser used medical synonym for this condition. One of the references in the current article use the term in the title for example , as do a handful of other reliable scientific publications  94.196.238.233 (talk) 05:24, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

text: Not done: - You are not required to use  template to initiate a discussion on the article's talk page. However, the page is no longer protected and open to be edited by any person. Anupmehra -Let's talk! 18:10, 8 August 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: , sorry I used the wrong thing. I cannot make new pages, this is why I asked if someone would create tonsillolithiasis and link it here. 92.41.80.253 (talk) 05:31, 9 August 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edit request 

message: iik 2001:14BB:67C:8C6D:C0BD:9E25:7F81:F70E (talk) 22:13, 16 April 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  lll 

message: What are tonsil 2601:344:100:35D0:0:0:0:47F5 (talk) 22:41, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tonsils 

message: — Assignment last updated by Yp337 (talk) 20:14, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki Education assignment: The Microbiology of College Life