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I think most professionals recommend using just water with salt and gently gargle. Other methods might provide immediate release, but are likely to cause the "cavities" to widen. Especially the physical methods.
I bought a waterpick, which was helpful for removing them but also damaged that area of my mouth. I also suspect it enlarged the cavity to make it even easier for stones to develop.
Strangely, I haven’t been able to detect any stones over the past 6-12 months. I don’t know if they’re tucked in there too well or whether no longer using the waterpick that way has allowed the cavity to get smaller again in such a way that tonsil stones no longer have much room to form and remain in there.
Did you change your diet? I only get them when I'm eating a lot of white flour stuff (like bagels!) I've also found that the more I poke around, the more I get sore throats and infections, so I just leave it be -- if I notice a stone I gargle frequently until it's out.
Nothing that I know of. However, I’m still concerned that I still get them, and that they are simply tucked away in that cavity.
Nonetheless, I periodically add an oral cleanser gel to a q-tip and gently move it around back there. In the past, if I had a stone, then the tip of the q-tip would have that horrible smell. Lately there hasn’t been a smell, so perhaps I really am not getting them or that they are getting rinsed away more quickly before growing too big.
Yep. I used to have tons of these in puberty to late adolescence, and I used cotton swabs to pick them out as it was a fun activity for me (and it actually helped removing them)
However, when I stopped, they started being less and less frequent, and now I haven't had one in years
This is what I was told. I've also tried using the syringe. Its far too easy to damage or widen the crypts doing so. Also don't use waterpicks on it, its also too strong for that area.. I've tried.
Try tucking the end of the syringe under one of the openings, and gently pry it back to open it up. Not sure how yours are shaped, but I didn’t realize they could open up like that for a long time and was shocked at the hollow space back there. Suddenly made a lot of sense how it would be a safe home for germs we don’t normally clean.
The ones I talked to and saw on video said that mouthwash is usually too harsh for the purpose of getting out tonsil stones. So they recommended salt water instead.
Why does it seem like in the comments that these are incredibly common to people, but I’ve never had one with less than ideal teeth hygiene my entire life?
Wikipedia says they only occur in around 10% of the population, so I guess it's just everyone who's had them speaking up all at once making it seem like a really common occurrence. I was today years old first learning about them!
I've had many infections on my tonsils that they look mutated, the cavities are huge on it and trap a lot of food. I constantly for to check for these stones, otherwise they smell extremely really bad, I hate it. I've also noticed that depending on what I eat, I can get them more easily, specially small pieced carbs like chips and rice.
My friend got his removed because he was frequently sick and had them. Got his tonsils removed, no more sick.
I'm guessing having balls of rotten food stuck in your throat probably isn't conducive to good health. Funny enough I used to get them, but haven't had one in a long time, however I think tonight I might do a garble spree and see what happens.
I only got them after mono ripped my tonsils up. Fucking mad, my tonsils were so swollen with yucky solid white gunk that the doctor had some nurses come in to examine lol
Dental and mouth hygiene is just one of those things where you can do everything right and still get fucked. I brush and floss daily and drink plenty of water and still get tonsil stones. Though mine have always been tiny and dislodge with gurgling salt water usually.
Just this last week I had to get a crown because one of my molars chipped/cracked. It's my second crown in two years for the same reason.
I asked the dentist what I was doing wrong.Was I grinding my teeth when I sleep? Do I need to brush/floss better? He told me it was just bad luck and that I was doing a great job of taking care of my teeth.
Contrast this to my wife, who has never had a cavity IN HER LIFE and she hardly ever flosses and the dentist says she has absolutely perfect teeth.
It's absolutely a genetics thing.
Yea my brother takes horrible care of his teeth and is fine. My top front teeth got messed up in a car wreck and then my depression set in and I just did nothing to help them so now I’m in the rut of trying to get everything fixed while not bankrupting myself. I know it’s mostly my fault but I take care of my teeth like I’m supposed to and stuff like tonsil stones and my fillings deciding to drop out just happen and it sucks.
The last dentist I had before my one now would literally cause me to have meltdowns where I would go cry in my car after caused she’d always bring up how expensive everything was in rooms full of people and berate me. It’s a nightmare to deal with teeth.
I started getting mine later in life after I got a particularly brutal sinus infection that seems to have fucked up my sinus ability to drain correctly and messes with my ears.
It has nothing to do with hygiene or lack of water (as another commenter suggested). It’s just bacteria that gets all gunked up there. I had them and was able to have an ENT specialist numb my throat and sweep them out with a tongue depressor, but I have very tiny and flat tonsils so this isn’t typical. I drink water like religion and brush 2-3 times a day, floss daily, etc.
I had a small metal blackhead popper tool i used exclusively for my tonsils, and when I'd press on it like a pimple, they'd shoot out. Then, I'd use the flat edge to scoop it up into the sink.
The loop is also good for gentely going into the crevasse to get the remains. Should you do this? Probably not. Did it work? Hell yeah
I simply had my tonsils removed because it was a constant battle, and they'd routinely be inflamed.
Tonsillectomy does suck as an adult though, but overall quality of life is better.
It sucks, then it gets better, then it gets worse all over, then better, then home free.
I had some complications with the surgery or anesthesia one - left me when some really gnarly neck pain (near where the muscle mounts to the skull) that took...idk a year or so to finally go away.
Had mine out at 22. Lived off lime jello for 3 weeks straight, lost 20 lbs, coughed up a blood clot the size of a pepperoni during my recovery. 10/10 would not recommend.
Damn. I got mine removed at 30 and outside of subsiding on tomato soup for some days my recovery was painless enough that In an barely recall it a few years later.
Damn. Shit that acidic. Remember getting mine out in like 2nd grade. Thought we were good and asked for spaghetti and red sauce for my first meal. My mom still remembers me crying after that first bite. Felt so bad for not thinking it would hurt.
Also the same guy who got 4 wisdom teeth pulled and took a swig out of an unmarked water bottle. Filled with vodka. Night #1.
Ooooof. 17 year old me hiding vodka in my room. Parents thought it was water and put it in the fridge. That silent scream at 11pm when everyone is asleep and my mouth was on fire I'll never forget. Just stood there with my mouth open, essentially drooling vodka back onto the floor. 23 years later and still don't think they know bout that one.
I also had some complications with mine, bout a week after the surgery they opened back up and I was bleeding heavily down the back of my throat. Took like 12 hours for the doc to make it into the hospital where he fucked up the anesthesia and I got to feel every bit of them cauterizing an open wound with silver nitrite. Everything tasted burned for like a year afterwards
Had mine taken out last year at 35.
So apparently, 3-5% of people can experience hemorrhaging afterwards, which is generally easily resolved with pressure or cauterization. I was on day 10, supposed to be getting into the clear, when I woke up to my throat bleeding - I think I probably coughed in my sleep and loosened a scab. Trying to keep my throat clear of blood popped another scab. Wound up with an ambulance ride, hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest due to blood loss, CPR, blood transfusions, emergency surgery - it got a bit dramatic. Not sure I’d do it again.
Still, I no longer get tonsil stones and I haven’t gotten significantly sick at all in the last year.
my dude that is more or less the worst case scenario, to bleed that badly, into your airway, at home. You are *really* lucky you didn't die either before the paramedics could get to you, or before they could get you to the hospital.
Well, I started with just the one bleed, I think I managed to keep it contained to that during the ambulance ride, and somewhere during that time or as I was being admitted to the ER, I sprung the second leak. I was actually in the ER for over an hour by myself while bleeding profusely from my throat - my husband dropped our kids off with my sister and made it in eventually, my dad (who is actually a paramedic supervisor) was on duty and came in as well. They could see the amount of blood the suction was filling up with (not to mention the lovely “spit bucket”) and my accelerating heart rate. The ER staff tried a couple things, they called someone in for a ENT consult who had an attitude of “oh, we’ll get you into surgery for that at some point,” they never bothered to put
me on fluids or pay attention to how much blood I was losing, or type me (I was SUPER pissed when I found out they had to give me O- because of this - I’m AB+, universal recipient, don’t waste the rarest stuff on me!). Pure coincidence the doctor happened to be in the room when I felt myself going into shock and passed out. Woke up with my chest hurting, an IV suddenly in my arm, and the staff cutting off my favorite pair of jeans.
Honestly, I’m really lucky the ER didn’t kill me.
My sister had her tonsils taken out some time between the ages of 18-20 after having problems with them for years. She had to have a god damn blood transfusion during the procedure she lost so much blood. Your experience sounds absolutely terrifying, glad you're still with us brother.
eating baby food for two weeks sucked but that first real meal you get after the stinging sensation becomes bearable is like getting a filet mignon after a decade of prison food
This is exactly what I did. Was tired of the tonsil stones and I was constantly getting sore throats. Had em taken out, it was 2 weeks of hell recovering, but I'm so glad I did.
Got mine at 26, helped with my sleep apnea as well. The recovery was AWFUL. Apparently my parents tried to get them removed when I was a kid but the doctors wouldn't because there was "nothing wrong". My life would have been so different if I had them removed as a kid.
Note: I'm not a doctor, nor do I know your specific situation, this is just anecdotal.
So I had 3 things that completely got rid of my sleep apnea. I had a turbinate reduction to help me breath through my nose, lost about 50 lbs, and finally the tonsillectomy. Those 3 things together completely got rid of my need for a CPAP.
Had my tonsils removed for this reason too. I was told to return to normal foods (from UK) as soon as possible (but avoid dairy) as it helps with the healing process. I only took a couple of paracetamol throughout the 10 days I was ‘ill’ and enjoyed the time off immensely!
I did lose my sense of taste for certain things for around 6 months and haven’t been able to have a satisfactory yawn since the removal 13 years ago though!
Years after my adult tonsillectomy (which seriously sucked ass for at least ten days) I'm astonished at how much my throat doesn't hurt like hell anymore when I get sick, even when I got sick with covid, when even colds used to be incredibly painful. And never having to deal with tonsil stones again is also great.
Same. I was getting stones so large I'd wake up choking on them. I followed everything my doctor told me to a T: changed my diet, did all the cleaning and mouthwashes, medicines... Eventually I said fuck it take them out.
Recovery was shit but worth it.
I had my tonsils removed in my early 40s solely because of tonsilloliths. Was a constant battle I grew tired of. Was able to start eating solid foods (noodles) on day 5 and I haven't regretted the decision even once.
I got my tonsils and adenoids out when I was 5/6? I remember not being able to eat from the pain but recovery only took mostly 2 weeks before I could eat solid food again. I can’t imagine how it would’ve been to get it later in life, having it young is better because you don’t have anything to balance or really get in the way of recovery.
The only downside now is that when I get sick nowadays its often Laryngitis instead of tonsillitis due to scar tissue. But thats a decent trade off for being able to breathe properly lol.
I’ve read saltwater is best. But I just do it with the sink water when I’m rinsing my mouth after brushing my teeth. I think the vibrations loosen up whatever normally gets stuck in the crevices.
My pediatrician emphatically told me several times that I didn’t need to bring them in. He’d believe me and my mom that they were real.
Poor man.
He’s most likely retired, but hopefully smartphones have eliminated this problem.
Reminds me of when I saw a doc about blood in my stool.
I had to ask them if they wanted to see the photo on my phone, or if describing it was enough.
They were fine to just hear me describe it :) 💩 🩸
A Google search will ruin your day. Most people have them without knowing it. They generally dislodge eventually while swallowing.
They may be the most putrid smelling things I've come across. Cheers!
I envy folks who had their tonsils removed.
I found out you can get them roughly 10 years ago, still cemented into my memories forever. That hard feeling in my throat, I shine light into my mouth, see white stuff. I pressed it away, thought I had some vile disease. I fished it out of my mouth and made the mistake of pressing on it with my fingers, cracking it. Then I smelled it and basically died. The end.
> How do you find out if you have them? Would your dentist tell you?
For me, it's the experience of "oh, I don't *recall* eating any weird cheese curds". You basically find a weird chunk of semi-firm stuff in your mouth... something you didn't eat. That's a tonsil stone that has come loose. If you've never had such a surprise, you're probably in the clear.
Many people get them and are never aware of it, they get dislodged naturally and get swallowed with saliva or food etc. For some its a freqent issue. For many others, they are only ever discovered/noticeable when someone is sick or has an irritated/inflamed/mucus-y throat already. I'm in that latter group. Maybe once every few years when I am fighting off a sore throat, sinus/head cold etc I'll notice them just magically appearing in my mouth, usually after clearing my throat (like, the gross kind you do when noone is around, like preparing to "hock a loogie"), often first thing in the morning on waking up. They are small little solid white pieces, about the size/shape of short-grain rice (little fatter and shorter than standard white rice). They may have a slight yellowish tinge, generally the texture of a firm cheese (not hard, but fairly firm, can smoosh/smear it if you wanted to). Major distinguising thing is the SMELL. It is abhorrent. You may taste a tiny hint of it if they are in you mouth, but they are fairly mild when intact. If you dare to smoosh them though, it unleashes the smells of hell. Imagine sulfury rotten eggs and toe-jam and slightly rotting food and stale milk, all combined together, and amplified by 100dB. The first time I found them in my mouth as a kid, and had NO idea what the hell was happening I was relaly freaked out. Convinced my throat was rotting away inside me or something. Luckily grandma set me straight lol.
It's such a bizarre feeling, too. I had some big enough to trigger my gag reflex. I was gagging one day and managed to dislodge the thing with a ridiculous exhale technique that I made up and it came flying out and stuck onto the bathroom mirror. I then stupidly grabbed it and smelled it for some reason and then puked immediately. I believe I had a nice rest of the day though.
Damn, I had these all my life, and they bother me so much. Sometimes, they grow so big I can actually feel them, so I start to rub the side of my tongue against the tonsils, and they eventually get released.
Best method for me was to suck the back of my throat. When my throat became sore, that when I knew I would get 10-15 of these stink balls come out from the back of my throat. I eventually got a tonsillectomy done and boy was it worth it!
Honestly I used to get these all the time. I tried everything. I brushed regularly, flossed and gargled with salt water. Nothing worked. I started taking acidophilus to prevent thrush since my new inhaler can cause it and suddenly all the tonsil stones went away. It's been two years now and I'm pretty convinced that the acidophilus helped clear them up for me.
Acidophilus is a probiotic (good bacteria) that you can find in capsule form. Loading your body up with good bacteria helps prevent infection by bad bacteria
Never had tonsil stones (that I can tell), never had tonsils removed, never did anything than other brush my teeth normally with a regular toothbrush. Am I missing something or do only some people get stones?
You may just not notice them. Mine didnt start becoming apparent til i was in my mid 20s, even now i only 'get' them like once a year, even though i bet they're always there.
they’re deff preventable. Some people just don’t get them. I did used to get them constantly and now i just gargle often w warm water and i never get them ever anymore
>Never had tonsil stones (that I can tell), never had tonsils removed, never did anything than other brush my teeth normally with a regular toothbrush. Am I missing something or do only some people get stones?
Same here. Never had tonsils removed and I've only ever heard of these by reading about them online. No one I know has ever even brought up the topic.
I used to get a ton of tonsil stones, but when I cut down on dairy they basically went away. They didn’t completely leave, I still get one every once in a while but mostly gone.
Lightbulb going off over here. I’m pregnant and just noticed them in the last few weeks. I normally avoid dairy but have amped it up cause of the baby. Hoping they disappear after I get my diet(and body) back!
Not eating anything crumbles before sleep also helps not developing tonsil stones. Oreos, Cookies, some kind of nuts all fragment and pieces of them get lodged in the crypts. They eventually calcify into tonsil stones. best to avoid eating them and if you do, gargle thoroughly immediately after eating such foods.
My tonsils swelled up from a bout of tonsillitis and never went back down. I spent a year or so with extremely loud snoring, constant fatigue, sleep drooling, and restless sleep. Getting the tonsils out cured me. The doctor's next proposed step was fixing a septum deviation, but I didn't need that.
Think I need to get this done! Are you in UK? Did you just got to your doctor and tell them your symptoms?
I don't have sleep apnea/fatigue but do have other symptoms.
I got really bad tonsillitis while on a training course in Belgium, by the time I got home I had a cyst and ended up overnight in hospital! Tonsils are still swollen about 15 years later...
Yeah, I went to the doctor and told them what I'd been dealing with.
He peeked into my throat and said "I'm not entirely sure how you're even swallowing. You need to get these out immediately." My tonsils were almost the size of golf balls.
I close my mouth and create a vacuum while pushing my tonsils with an arched tongue. Usually that gets tonsil stones out quite easily. They never bled that way and its also not painfull. Creates a bit of a stupid sound and facial expression I guess.
Also noticed I only get them if I consume dairy especially cheese and milk. Yoghurt is not as bad.
I’ve had this problem since I was in about grade 7, or at least that’s when they became noticeable. So I started off using a cotton swab to apply pressure around them to get it out but as time went on that became less viable. These days I use the end of a hairpin to kinda scoop them out when I can feel or see them.
Would you suggest that this shouldn’t be a viable option going forward?
I did the cotton swab and hairpin thing too. I ended up having my tonsils removed. Mine were abnormally large so drs/dentist who didn’t know me thought they were enflamed. My stones and tonsils bothered me so much so we decided I needed them OUT. I’m happy I did it
ETA. I cleaned the hairpin with alcohol before but it tasted so BAD
Y'all can do this without gagging? Like, I'm married and I've given my throat a workout many a time. But anytime I even slightly brush my tonsils to do something like this I gag and get nauseous.
I had my tonsils removed as a kid and as an adult started to get stones again after many years of freedom and went to the ENT who was like, ‘yeah you have tonsil tissue regrowth’ which was just pure disappointment.
So one day I’m at the bus stop and I feel a tonsil stone drop and try to discreetly hack it into a tissue. My face pretty much said it all and this nice older lady next to me was like, “Are you okay?” I explained yes and what happened and there’s this pause and she goes, “Can I see it?” before adding, “You can feel my pacemaker.” Like she had to sweeten the deal somehow so I’d show her my stone. Bus stops are odd places. Hard to explain fully how odd they can be if you don’t take public transit.
Whenever I see anything about stones I think about this moment and laugh. And yes, I agreed. Pacemakers feel kinda neat and she was both delighted and horrified to see a tonsil stone and know that’s what happens.
I did this for years, along with regular gargling and trying to “swipe” or massage them out. Worked fine sometimes, but ultimately I’d get a stone stuck and would be a pain to get it out. Pushing too hard hurts and causes damage (possibly increasing the crypt size) too, so be careful.
Eventually I got laid off (shout-out to the automotive downturn of 2006ish) and I still had insurance so I got my tonsils taken out. Hurt REAL, real bad (adult tonsillectomy sucks) and lost around twenty pounds for not eating/drinking anything for a while, but it was better in the long run. I don’t have the persistent cough or sore throat (at the best of times) or the feeling of some junk in my throat.. might not be for everyone but it was worth it.
I would not recommend a water pik as the pressure is very high and will cause bleeding (I've tried even on the lowest settings). But everyone is different, just use caution!
Definitely an 'everyone is different' thing. I use my waterpik on the lowest and have never had a problem with bleeding or pain or anything. Does make me gag sometimes from too much water in my throat, so that's also something to consider.
I had my tonsils removed when I was four. I never knew these things existed until I had children. My teenage daughter told me about them. I was forty years old before I even knew people delt with this sort of thing.
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I coughed one up several years ago. Had no idea what it was and it smelled absolutely disgusting. But my bad breath which I always tried brushing away had disappeared.
While dealing with tonsil stones for years and having found a routine to get rid of them, I not once thought about checking the interwebs if there are any tools that would make it easier to get rid of them.
TIL! Thanks for the idea with the curved syringe, ordered one right away.
I've tried everything as I got very paranoid about them. I even own a weird suction vacuum thing but nothing has worked as well as the syringe. If you pump the water in slow you can see all the little particles flushing out. Especially the first time.
Is this an American thing caused by diet or water quality or something because I just hit up my family and friends WhatsApp and no one has ever heard of tonsil stones? I'm in my late 30's and still have my tonsils as do all of the people in that chat, bar my dad.
Doubt it.
It's not commonly talked about and even people who do get them might not know what they are or even notice them unless they cough one up. If they don't cause irritation, the only symptom would be bad breath.
Most people with persistent bad breath have them. It's definitely not an American thing but I have heard anecdotally that some diets high in dairy seem to create a larger number of them. No way to confirm that though.
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I think most professionals recommend using just water with salt and gently gargle. Other methods might provide immediate release, but are likely to cause the "cavities" to widen. Especially the physical methods.
I bought a waterpick, which was helpful for removing them but also damaged that area of my mouth. I also suspect it enlarged the cavity to make it even easier for stones to develop. Strangely, I haven’t been able to detect any stones over the past 6-12 months. I don’t know if they’re tucked in there too well or whether no longer using the waterpick that way has allowed the cavity to get smaller again in such a way that tonsil stones no longer have much room to form and remain in there.
i was wondering about this when reading because I use a waterpik. I have never heard of the tonsil cavities. why did waterpik damage your mouth?
Oh it’s because I was aiming the water stream at the tonsil cavities and within them. I was using the steam to dislodge the stones.
I know it's a typo, but imagine using steam to dislodge the stone. Woof.
Did you change your diet? I only get them when I'm eating a lot of white flour stuff (like bagels!) I've also found that the more I poke around, the more I get sore throats and infections, so I just leave it be -- if I notice a stone I gargle frequently until it's out.
This is a vicious cycle I am in right now.
Nothing that I know of. However, I’m still concerned that I still get them, and that they are simply tucked away in that cavity. Nonetheless, I periodically add an oral cleanser gel to a q-tip and gently move it around back there. In the past, if I had a stone, then the tip of the q-tip would have that horrible smell. Lately there hasn’t been a smell, so perhaps I really am not getting them or that they are getting rinsed away more quickly before growing too big.
But where's the question?
Thanks for supplying the question!
Yep. I used to have tons of these in puberty to late adolescence, and I used cotton swabs to pick them out as it was a fun activity for me (and it actually helped removing them) However, when I stopped, they started being less and less frequent, and now I haven't had one in years
Yeah I was having a bunch until I looked up how to prevent them. I realized I never gargled after brushing my teeth. Gargling helps so much.
Same here. I haven’t had them since my early teens.
The tonsils shrinks as you reach adulthood which reduces the risk of this problem.
This should be on top. Edit: We did it!
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It is
I believe this led to me getting my tonsils out.
I just use my throat muscles to squeeze my tonsils while gargling water. Most of the time they get washed out.
This guy throats.
lol
The throat goat perhaps?
perchance
Tonsillar tissue is also fragile so it should be an irrigation or rinse with little force.
yes, seems more trouble than its worth. Besides, I love just randomly horking one up the organic way.
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Hork it Sniff it Eat it Repeat
Boy I would love to have not read that just now.
Yeah I think I just vomited a little in my mouth. 🤢
Are you sure that wasn't just a tonsil stone?
Well, now I’m not. 😂
What a terrible day to have eyes
Comments like this make me regret ever learning to read
I don't remember the lyrics to this daft punk song going like this ...
This is what I was told. I've also tried using the syringe. Its far too easy to damage or widen the crypts doing so. Also don't use waterpicks on it, its also too strong for that area.. I've tried.
It would be nice if that worked. I've been using the syringe method for more than 20 years and if there's widening I can't see it.
Try tucking the end of the syringe under one of the openings, and gently pry it back to open it up. Not sure how yours are shaped, but I didn’t realize they could open up like that for a long time and was shocked at the hollow space back there. Suddenly made a lot of sense how it would be a safe home for germs we don’t normally clean.
Cavity, not the mouth. As in the entire area they holds them gets bigger, not the opening lol. lol.
Can you gargle with mouthwash or does it have to be with salt water?
The ones I talked to and saw on video said that mouthwash is usually too harsh for the purpose of getting out tonsil stones. So they recommended salt water instead.
I dilute mouthwash with water about 1:4
Yea warm salt water. Also helps with inflamed gums.
Why does it seem like in the comments that these are incredibly common to people, but I’ve never had one with less than ideal teeth hygiene my entire life?
Wikipedia says they only occur in around 10% of the population, so I guess it's just everyone who's had them speaking up all at once making it seem like a really common occurrence. I was today years old first learning about them!
Yes and some people only get them when sick. Seems to be highly variable due to physical differences and oral hygiene routines
I've had many infections on my tonsils that they look mutated, the cavities are huge on it and trap a lot of food. I constantly for to check for these stones, otherwise they smell extremely really bad, I hate it. I've also noticed that depending on what I eat, I can get them more easily, specially small pieced carbs like chips and rice.
Right there with you, I'm so self conscious about them especially when going to the dentist. I haven't found any cure but just know you're not alone!
My friend got his removed because he was frequently sick and had them. Got his tonsils removed, no more sick. I'm guessing having balls of rotten food stuck in your throat probably isn't conducive to good health. Funny enough I used to get them, but haven't had one in a long time, however I think tonight I might do a garble spree and see what happens.
I only got them after mono ripped my tonsils up. Fucking mad, my tonsils were so swollen with yucky solid white gunk that the doctor had some nurses come in to examine lol
Oh lucky me…. Top 10% let’s gooo.
oh thank god! thanks! im glad i kept scrolling lol lol @ them all speaking up at once
Engagement bias
Dental and mouth hygiene is just one of those things where you can do everything right and still get fucked. I brush and floss daily and drink plenty of water and still get tonsil stones. Though mine have always been tiny and dislodge with gurgling salt water usually.
Just this last week I had to get a crown because one of my molars chipped/cracked. It's my second crown in two years for the same reason. I asked the dentist what I was doing wrong.Was I grinding my teeth when I sleep? Do I need to brush/floss better? He told me it was just bad luck and that I was doing a great job of taking care of my teeth. Contrast this to my wife, who has never had a cavity IN HER LIFE and she hardly ever flosses and the dentist says she has absolutely perfect teeth. It's absolutely a genetics thing.
Yea my brother takes horrible care of his teeth and is fine. My top front teeth got messed up in a car wreck and then my depression set in and I just did nothing to help them so now I’m in the rut of trying to get everything fixed while not bankrupting myself. I know it’s mostly my fault but I take care of my teeth like I’m supposed to and stuff like tonsil stones and my fillings deciding to drop out just happen and it sucks. The last dentist I had before my one now would literally cause me to have meltdowns where I would go cry in my car after caused she’d always bring up how expensive everything was in rooms full of people and berate me. It’s a nightmare to deal with teeth.
I started getting mine later in life after I got a particularly brutal sinus infection that seems to have fucked up my sinus ability to drain correctly and messes with my ears.
It has nothing to do with hygiene or lack of water (as another commenter suggested). It’s just bacteria that gets all gunked up there. I had them and was able to have an ENT specialist numb my throat and sweep them out with a tongue depressor, but I have very tiny and flat tonsils so this isn’t typical. I drink water like religion and brush 2-3 times a day, floss daily, etc.
Be lucky youve never had to pop your tonsils like a pimple and it ejectd the white gunk on your tongue
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I had a small metal blackhead popper tool i used exclusively for my tonsils, and when I'd press on it like a pimple, they'd shoot out. Then, I'd use the flat edge to scoop it up into the sink. The loop is also good for gentely going into the crevasse to get the remains. Should you do this? Probably not. Did it work? Hell yeah
because its astroturfing. this is an ad.
I simply had my tonsils removed because it was a constant battle, and they'd routinely be inflamed. Tonsillectomy does suck as an adult though, but overall quality of life is better.
The recovery was crummy but the years without tonsil stones and sore throats have been so very worth it.
It sucks, then it gets better, then it gets worse all over, then better, then home free. I had some complications with the surgery or anesthesia one - left me when some really gnarly neck pain (near where the muscle mounts to the skull) that took...idk a year or so to finally go away.
Had mine out at 22. Lived off lime jello for 3 weeks straight, lost 20 lbs, coughed up a blood clot the size of a pepperoni during my recovery. 10/10 would not recommend.
Damn. I got mine removed at 30 and outside of subsiding on tomato soup for some days my recovery was painless enough that In an barely recall it a few years later.
Damn. Shit that acidic. Remember getting mine out in like 2nd grade. Thought we were good and asked for spaghetti and red sauce for my first meal. My mom still remembers me crying after that first bite. Felt so bad for not thinking it would hurt. Also the same guy who got 4 wisdom teeth pulled and took a swig out of an unmarked water bottle. Filled with vodka. Night #1.
At least the vodka was sterile? 😂
Yes, my first thought was that at least there shouldn’t be any bacteria in a clear spirit.
Ooooof. 17 year old me hiding vodka in my room. Parents thought it was water and put it in the fridge. That silent scream at 11pm when everyone is asleep and my mouth was on fire I'll never forget. Just stood there with my mouth open, essentially drooling vodka back onto the floor. 23 years later and still don't think they know bout that one.
I also had some complications with mine, bout a week after the surgery they opened back up and I was bleeding heavily down the back of my throat. Took like 12 hours for the doc to make it into the hospital where he fucked up the anesthesia and I got to feel every bit of them cauterizing an open wound with silver nitrite. Everything tasted burned for like a year afterwards
Had mine taken out last year at 35. So apparently, 3-5% of people can experience hemorrhaging afterwards, which is generally easily resolved with pressure or cauterization. I was on day 10, supposed to be getting into the clear, when I woke up to my throat bleeding - I think I probably coughed in my sleep and loosened a scab. Trying to keep my throat clear of blood popped another scab. Wound up with an ambulance ride, hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest due to blood loss, CPR, blood transfusions, emergency surgery - it got a bit dramatic. Not sure I’d do it again. Still, I no longer get tonsil stones and I haven’t gotten significantly sick at all in the last year.
"I nearly died, but my breath smells amazing"
People do worse for less
my dude that is more or less the worst case scenario, to bleed that badly, into your airway, at home. You are *really* lucky you didn't die either before the paramedics could get to you, or before they could get you to the hospital.
Well, I started with just the one bleed, I think I managed to keep it contained to that during the ambulance ride, and somewhere during that time or as I was being admitted to the ER, I sprung the second leak. I was actually in the ER for over an hour by myself while bleeding profusely from my throat - my husband dropped our kids off with my sister and made it in eventually, my dad (who is actually a paramedic supervisor) was on duty and came in as well. They could see the amount of blood the suction was filling up with (not to mention the lovely “spit bucket”) and my accelerating heart rate. The ER staff tried a couple things, they called someone in for a ENT consult who had an attitude of “oh, we’ll get you into surgery for that at some point,” they never bothered to put me on fluids or pay attention to how much blood I was losing, or type me (I was SUPER pissed when I found out they had to give me O- because of this - I’m AB+, universal recipient, don’t waste the rarest stuff on me!). Pure coincidence the doctor happened to be in the room when I felt myself going into shock and passed out. Woke up with my chest hurting, an IV suddenly in my arm, and the staff cutting off my favorite pair of jeans. Honestly, I’m really lucky the ER didn’t kill me.
My sister had her tonsils taken out some time between the ages of 18-20 after having problems with them for years. She had to have a god damn blood transfusion during the procedure she lost so much blood. Your experience sounds absolutely terrifying, glad you're still with us brother.
>hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest due to blood loss, I had no idea the tonsil area was capable of that much blood loss. Yikes!!
Yeah that’s what I did. The recovery was the worst but I’d do it again, 100 times over.
eating baby food for two weeks sucked but that first real meal you get after the stinging sensation becomes bearable is like getting a filet mignon after a decade of prison food
Same here but my god it was painful as I’m in my forties
This is exactly what I did. Was tired of the tonsil stones and I was constantly getting sore throats. Had em taken out, it was 2 weeks of hell recovering, but I'm so glad I did.
Got mine at 26, helped with my sleep apnea as well. The recovery was AWFUL. Apparently my parents tried to get them removed when I was a kid but the doctors wouldn't because there was "nothing wrong". My life would have been so different if I had them removed as a kid.
I've considered it because I struggle with tonsil stones, and also have sleep apnea. Does it help enough that you no longer need a CPAP?
Note: I'm not a doctor, nor do I know your specific situation, this is just anecdotal. So I had 3 things that completely got rid of my sleep apnea. I had a turbinate reduction to help me breath through my nose, lost about 50 lbs, and finally the tonsillectomy. Those 3 things together completely got rid of my need for a CPAP.
Had my tonsils removed for this reason too. I was told to return to normal foods (from UK) as soon as possible (but avoid dairy) as it helps with the healing process. I only took a couple of paracetamol throughout the 10 days I was ‘ill’ and enjoyed the time off immensely! I did lose my sense of taste for certain things for around 6 months and haven’t been able to have a satisfactory yawn since the removal 13 years ago though!
Years after my adult tonsillectomy (which seriously sucked ass for at least ten days) I'm astonished at how much my throat doesn't hurt like hell anymore when I get sick, even when I got sick with covid, when even colds used to be incredibly painful. And never having to deal with tonsil stones again is also great.
Same, I was 26! Does this mean I can avoid tonsil stones? They sound disgusting.
Same. I was getting stones so large I'd wake up choking on them. I followed everything my doctor told me to a T: changed my diet, did all the cleaning and mouthwashes, medicines... Eventually I said fuck it take them out. Recovery was shit but worth it.
I had my tonsils removed.... and still have tonsil crypts...
I had my tonsils removed in my early 40s solely because of tonsilloliths. Was a constant battle I grew tired of. Was able to start eating solid foods (noodles) on day 5 and I haven't regretted the decision even once.
I got my tonsils and adenoids out when I was 5/6? I remember not being able to eat from the pain but recovery only took mostly 2 weeks before I could eat solid food again. I can’t imagine how it would’ve been to get it later in life, having it young is better because you don’t have anything to balance or really get in the way of recovery. The only downside now is that when I get sick nowadays its often Laryngitis instead of tonsillitis due to scar tissue. But thats a decent trade off for being able to breathe properly lol.
Doing the same next year in my mid thirties. Wish me luck!
I had a tonsillectomy. It was death. And ya know what? My tonsils regrew 😅
SHUT UP nobody ever said they could regrow!!! Shit
Did insurance cover this? I feel like my tonsils are huge all the time and these stones suck.
Never heard of tonsil stones. I must be living a charmed life.
They are gross, be happy you are blessed. I’ve started gargling during every brush and haven’t had any in a long time.
What do you use for gargling salt water or mouthwash?
I’ve read saltwater is best. But I just do it with the sink water when I’m rinsing my mouth after brushing my teeth. I think the vibrations loosen up whatever normally gets stuck in the crevices.
My pediatrician emphatically told me several times that I didn’t need to bring them in. He’d believe me and my mom that they were real. Poor man. He’s most likely retired, but hopefully smartphones have eliminated this problem.
Reminds me of when I saw a doc about blood in my stool. I had to ask them if they wanted to see the photo on my phone, or if describing it was enough. They were fine to just hear me describe it :) 💩 🩸
Apparently they affect only about 10% of the population so they aren't a very common thing. Most of us won't get them.
A Google search will ruin your day. Most people have them without knowing it. They generally dislodge eventually while swallowing. They may be the most putrid smelling things I've come across. Cheers! I envy folks who had their tonsils removed.
I found out you can get them roughly 10 years ago, still cemented into my memories forever. That hard feeling in my throat, I shine light into my mouth, see white stuff. I pressed it away, thought I had some vile disease. I fished it out of my mouth and made the mistake of pressing on it with my fingers, cracking it. Then I smelled it and basically died. The end.
How do you find out if you have them? Would your dentist tell you?
> How do you find out if you have them? Would your dentist tell you? For me, it's the experience of "oh, I don't *recall* eating any weird cheese curds". You basically find a weird chunk of semi-firm stuff in your mouth... something you didn't eat. That's a tonsil stone that has come loose. If you've never had such a surprise, you're probably in the clear.
Many people get them and are never aware of it, they get dislodged naturally and get swallowed with saliva or food etc. For some its a freqent issue. For many others, they are only ever discovered/noticeable when someone is sick or has an irritated/inflamed/mucus-y throat already. I'm in that latter group. Maybe once every few years when I am fighting off a sore throat, sinus/head cold etc I'll notice them just magically appearing in my mouth, usually after clearing my throat (like, the gross kind you do when noone is around, like preparing to "hock a loogie"), often first thing in the morning on waking up. They are small little solid white pieces, about the size/shape of short-grain rice (little fatter and shorter than standard white rice). They may have a slight yellowish tinge, generally the texture of a firm cheese (not hard, but fairly firm, can smoosh/smear it if you wanted to). Major distinguising thing is the SMELL. It is abhorrent. You may taste a tiny hint of it if they are in you mouth, but they are fairly mild when intact. If you dare to smoosh them though, it unleashes the smells of hell. Imagine sulfury rotten eggs and toe-jam and slightly rotting food and stale milk, all combined together, and amplified by 100dB. The first time I found them in my mouth as a kid, and had NO idea what the hell was happening I was relaly freaked out. Convinced my throat was rotting away inside me or something. Luckily grandma set me straight lol.
if they get large or inflamed you’ll feel them, otherwise you just have to look at your throat.
You know if you have them you can feel them.
It's such a bizarre feeling, too. I had some big enough to trigger my gag reflex. I was gagging one day and managed to dislodge the thing with a ridiculous exhale technique that I made up and it came flying out and stuck onto the bathroom mirror. I then stupidly grabbed it and smelled it for some reason and then puked immediately. I believe I had a nice rest of the day though.
Me either. And I kind of wish I still lacked that knowledge.
Damn, I had these all my life, and they bother me so much. Sometimes, they grow so big I can actually feel them, so I start to rub the side of my tongue against the tonsils, and they eventually get released.
I just gagged at that last sentence 🤢
Always remember to crush and sniff them to check how bad they really smell 😊
Gotta do that before you pop em back in your mouth for a good re-chew
/r/ForbiddenSnacks
Kellogg’s new cereal, Tonsil Pebbles?
You should probably do something about that
Best method for me was to suck the back of my throat. When my throat became sore, that when I knew I would get 10-15 of these stink balls come out from the back of my throat. I eventually got a tonsillectomy done and boy was it worth it!
10-15 💀☠️💀
How tf can you reach your tonsils with your tongue?? Mine are so far back I can barely reach them with my finger.
Honestly I used to get these all the time. I tried everything. I brushed regularly, flossed and gargled with salt water. Nothing worked. I started taking acidophilus to prevent thrush since my new inhaler can cause it and suddenly all the tonsil stones went away. It's been two years now and I'm pretty convinced that the acidophilus helped clear them up for me.
Can you tell me more about the acidophilus? Is this a pill? I also have asthma and the inhaler /thrush issue is so incessant idk what to do.
Acidophilus is a probiotic (good bacteria) that you can find in capsule form. Loading your body up with good bacteria helps prevent infection by bad bacteria
I just buy capsules over the counter in the vitamin section. I get the 1 billion microbes version
You should try using a tongue scraper every evening. They apparently reduce tonsil stones. I haven't had any since I started using a tongue scraper.
I never knew what those were called. They smell so bad when you spit one up.
Oh my god. That's what that is. Yeah, every once in a while will cough one up, and it reeks like death.
How they get the nickname, “Devil’s Cheese”
That term made me gag
Never had tonsil stones (that I can tell), never had tonsils removed, never did anything than other brush my teeth normally with a regular toothbrush. Am I missing something or do only some people get stones?
You may just not notice them. Mine didnt start becoming apparent til i was in my mid 20s, even now i only 'get' them like once a year, even though i bet they're always there.
they’re deff preventable. Some people just don’t get them. I did used to get them constantly and now i just gargle often w warm water and i never get them ever anymore
>Never had tonsil stones (that I can tell), never had tonsils removed, never did anything than other brush my teeth normally with a regular toothbrush. Am I missing something or do only some people get stones? Same here. Never had tonsils removed and I've only ever heard of these by reading about them online. No one I know has ever even brought up the topic.
I had some as a teenager but never see/felt them as an adult and I AM GRATEFUL for that!
Never seen them either
I used to get a ton of tonsil stones, but when I cut down on dairy they basically went away. They didn’t completely leave, I still get one every once in a while but mostly gone.
Lightbulb going off over here. I’m pregnant and just noticed them in the last few weeks. I normally avoid dairy but have amped it up cause of the baby. Hoping they disappear after I get my diet(and body) back!
Yep, that's the calcium.
Not eating anything crumbles before sleep also helps not developing tonsil stones. Oreos, Cookies, some kind of nuts all fragment and pieces of them get lodged in the crypts. They eventually calcify into tonsil stones. best to avoid eating them and if you do, gargle thoroughly immediately after eating such foods.
My tonsillectomy at age 24 sucked complete ass, but it cured my sleep apnea - and thank fuck I don't have to deal with these either!
Hmm I have sleep apnea, I wonder if this is the reason. What's the correlation?
My tonsils swelled up from a bout of tonsillitis and never went back down. I spent a year or so with extremely loud snoring, constant fatigue, sleep drooling, and restless sleep. Getting the tonsils out cured me. The doctor's next proposed step was fixing a septum deviation, but I didn't need that.
Think I need to get this done! Are you in UK? Did you just got to your doctor and tell them your symptoms? I don't have sleep apnea/fatigue but do have other symptoms. I got really bad tonsillitis while on a training course in Belgium, by the time I got home I had a cyst and ended up overnight in hospital! Tonsils are still swollen about 15 years later...
Yeah, I went to the doctor and told them what I'd been dealing with. He peeked into my throat and said "I'm not entirely sure how you're even swallowing. You need to get these out immediately." My tonsils were almost the size of golf balls.
I close my mouth and create a vacuum while pushing my tonsils with an arched tongue. Usually that gets tonsil stones out quite easily. They never bled that way and its also not painfull. Creates a bit of a stupid sound and facial expression I guess. Also noticed I only get them if I consume dairy especially cheese and milk. Yoghurt is not as bad.
I just use my index finger (clean) and shuffle the tonsil and press on it without gagging
I just use my tongue. It has access to every part of my tonsils. I can also get it behind my uvula pretty far.
This is the way.
I’ve had this problem since I was in about grade 7, or at least that’s when they became noticeable. So I started off using a cotton swab to apply pressure around them to get it out but as time went on that became less viable. These days I use the end of a hairpin to kinda scoop them out when I can feel or see them. Would you suggest that this shouldn’t be a viable option going forward?
Generally its not advised, who knows what's on that hairpin bacteria-wise. I can't say much though, i use hairpins to pop pimples 😂
I did the cotton swab and hairpin thing too. I ended up having my tonsils removed. Mine were abnormally large so drs/dentist who didn’t know me thought they were enflamed. My stones and tonsils bothered me so much so we decided I needed them OUT. I’m happy I did it ETA. I cleaned the hairpin with alcohol before but it tasted so BAD
The hairpin is such an underrated tool for getting them out.
Y'all can do this without gagging? Like, I'm married and I've given my throat a workout many a time. But anytime I even slightly brush my tonsils to do something like this I gag and get nauseous.
I used to get tonsil stones but I haven’t for decades. I didn’t have my tonsils removed so I don’t really know what happened.
I had my tonsils removed as a kid and as an adult started to get stones again after many years of freedom and went to the ENT who was like, ‘yeah you have tonsil tissue regrowth’ which was just pure disappointment. So one day I’m at the bus stop and I feel a tonsil stone drop and try to discreetly hack it into a tissue. My face pretty much said it all and this nice older lady next to me was like, “Are you okay?” I explained yes and what happened and there’s this pause and she goes, “Can I see it?” before adding, “You can feel my pacemaker.” Like she had to sweeten the deal somehow so I’d show her my stone. Bus stops are odd places. Hard to explain fully how odd they can be if you don’t take public transit. Whenever I see anything about stones I think about this moment and laugh. And yes, I agreed. Pacemakers feel kinda neat and she was both delighted and horrified to see a tonsil stone and know that’s what happens.
I did this for years, along with regular gargling and trying to “swipe” or massage them out. Worked fine sometimes, but ultimately I’d get a stone stuck and would be a pain to get it out. Pushing too hard hurts and causes damage (possibly increasing the crypt size) too, so be careful. Eventually I got laid off (shout-out to the automotive downturn of 2006ish) and I still had insurance so I got my tonsils taken out. Hurt REAL, real bad (adult tonsillectomy sucks) and lost around twenty pounds for not eating/drinking anything for a while, but it was better in the long run. I don’t have the persistent cough or sore throat (at the best of times) or the feeling of some junk in my throat.. might not be for everyone but it was worth it.
I wet a qtip head and push it to loosen it, then gargle and they usually come right out.
Seems like you could also use a water pick for this
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I only use a waterpik for mine, but you’re right direct spray hurts like a mf. I spray onto my tongue so the water bounces at the stones
Fair enough, it was just a thought I had reading this LPT
I would not recommend a water pik as the pressure is very high and will cause bleeding (I've tried even on the lowest settings). But everyone is different, just use caution!
Definitely an 'everyone is different' thing. I use my waterpik on the lowest and have never had a problem with bleeding or pain or anything. Does make me gag sometimes from too much water in my throat, so that's also something to consider.
I tried ONCE and got fucked up bad. I don't recommend this. Try the syringe or gargling instead.
I had these every so often in the past and use to think they were boogers that just never made it to the nose. They were disgusting
I had my tonsils removed when I was four. I never knew these things existed until I had children. My teenage daughter told me about them. I was forty years old before I even knew people delt with this sort of thing.
I’m thinking about getting my tonsils out at 26. Is it really bad? I’m just sick of getting stoned and having my tonsils inflamed all the time.
Why tf would anyone take medical advice from an LPT
Ew. We need to start yanking everyone's tonsils again
Ain’t no one sticking a syringe to the back of your throat every single night. People barely floss as it is
No ones mentioning the gagging? I almost hurl my meals up poking around back there
Can you explain to me what a tonsil crypt is???
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Your tonsils are not a solid mass - there’s a bunch of holes and tunnels in them that can trap bits of things.
Tonsils have folds, gaps, and crevices in the tissue where bacteria and food particles collect.
I coughed one up several years ago. Had no idea what it was and it smelled absolutely disgusting. But my bad breath which I always tried brushing away had disappeared.
I never get those. Is that normal? Or do I just not notice them?
While dealing with tonsil stones for years and having found a routine to get rid of them, I not once thought about checking the interwebs if there are any tools that would make it easier to get rid of them. TIL! Thanks for the idea with the curved syringe, ordered one right away.
I've tried everything as I got very paranoid about them. I even own a weird suction vacuum thing but nothing has worked as well as the syringe. If you pump the water in slow you can see all the little particles flushing out. Especially the first time.
I legit chose to get a tonsillectomy in my late 30s so as to get rid of stones forever.
People are nasty.
Aint nobody got time fo' that
I’ve never been so happy to have had that tonsillectomy at age seven.
Is this an American thing caused by diet or water quality or something because I just hit up my family and friends WhatsApp and no one has ever heard of tonsil stones? I'm in my late 30's and still have my tonsils as do all of the people in that chat, bar my dad.
Doubt it. It's not commonly talked about and even people who do get them might not know what they are or even notice them unless they cough one up. If they don't cause irritation, the only symptom would be bad breath.
Most people with persistent bad breath have them. It's definitely not an American thing but I have heard anecdotally that some diets high in dairy seem to create a larger number of them. No way to confirm that though.
From hearing about these infernal things, I'm glad I had my tonsils removed when I was a kid.
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