Is it necessary to always remove tonsils or adenoids when problems arise? Perhaps not. Tonsils, adenoids and Peyer’s patches are small masses of lymphatic tissue in the body (some sources consider them specialized lymph nodes). These tissues serve to prevent infection in the body in areas where bacteria is abundant. There are five tonsils that form a “ring” around the throat that helps trap and remove any bacteria or other foreign pathogens entering the throat through breathing, eating, or drinking. Peyer’s patches, which resemble tonsils, are located in the small intestine. The macrophages of Peyer’s patches prevent infection of the intestinal wall by destroying the bacteria always present in the moist environment of the intestine.
Certainly, there are times it makes sense to remove tonsils and adenoids even though they are an integral part of the lymph/immune system. When they are removed, the body adapts and moves functions elsewhere; however, there are cases when natural alternatives are enough to relieve the problem. It’s also important to remember that unless the problem is, in fact, naturally large tonsils that restrict the throat, removing the tonsils doesn’t actually get rid of the problem – merely the place it’s manifesting.
When dealing with enlarged tonsils, then, the key question you need to ask is whether the problem is intrinsic or extrinsic. Are you actually dealing with very large tonsils, or are the tonsils merely continuously enlarged because of immune and lymph problems? If the latter, removing the tonsils and adenoids won’t get rid of the problem — it merely removes one location the symptoms manifest. You might want to see what happens short term if you try and boost the immune system. Do the tonsils shrink at all? If so, then you know that the problem is changeable. If improving immunity has no effect on the tonsil size, then they may indeed be abnormally large and need to come out. If the size of the tonsils changes from day to day, that means you most likely have an immune system problem. If so, the key focus for tonsil and adenoid health is improving immunity by following some general guidelines:
- Removing dairy from the diet has also been shown to shrink enlarged tonsils and adenoids, indicating relief for the immune system by reducing Circulating Immune Complexes.
- Using digestive enzymes with meals to help break down proteins that contribute to Circulating Immune Complexes can also be helpful.
- You might want to see what happens short term if you use immune boosters and pathogen destroyers.
- And finally, if you’re old enough, you can work on cleaning out and optimizing your lymph system.
I JUST VISITED A SPECIALIST FOR ON ONGOING PAIN IN MY RT EAR. AFTER SCOPING MY THROAT I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TONSILITIS. I WAS CONFUSED DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAD THEM REMOVED AS A CHILD. I THOUGHT THAT THIS ONGOING PERSISTANT PAIN WAS AN EAR PROBLEM NOT A THROAT PROBLEM.. I’M BEING TREATED WITH ANTIOBIOTICS FOR TWO WEEKS TO CLEAR UP MY THROAT. I’M CONFUSED ABOUT THIS. DOES THSI MEAN THAT THE SURGERY DONE IN THE 1950’S DID,T REMOVE ALL OF MY TONSILS? KNOWING HOW LONG I’VE DEALT WITH PAIN IN MY RT EAR WOULD THIS MEAN THAT I MIGHT NEED SURGERY FOR TONSIL REMOVAL AGAIN? CONFUSED IN PA SHERI
hi i would like to ask you aquestion about removing my tonsil four years ago. after removing tonsil ihave found so much problem such as bad smell and so much pain in upper erea of my throat and my tong always put spot around. i went to see the consultant and he suggested me doing another operation from nose side but unfortunatly his idea was arong ihave found second problem in nose and now iam so soffering from pain can’t eat any thing after eatting food pain stert from my nose and throat and gose around my neck and sholdderand my ear start iching all my body start sheaking. could you tell me wich things improve the tonsil in throat because i have another small tonsil at the back side my throat three years ago one docter sad me this tonsil will get bigger after three years and then you shuold remove it again and your problem will finsh because tafter operation the didn’t stitch the tonsil erea properly. could you help me.thanks
Hi Doctor, My baby was diagonised with adenoids and tonsilitis one and a half years ago. treatment has been going on for an year now and the specialist is suggesting that the same be removed as they have greatly enlarged. is there any other remedy when treatment has failed?? am not for the idea of removing them since they can dissappear after 5 years. natural methods or herbs? please advise.
Mercy
My brother had his adenoids removed in elementary school and has had no side effects from it. If you are worried about them getting removed, just focus on some immune boosting activities such as diet, exercise, supplements, etc. Adenoids really don’t have as much impact on adults as they do on children anyway.
Hi! What will happen to the child if his or her tonsils and adenoids were removed?
Just came for the ENT and she recommends removing both the tonsils and adenoids from my 5 year old daughter. Her tonsils are so large that they are causing problems for her in swallowing and breathing at night. I really DO NOT want to remove anything from her unless it is absolutely necessary. Any suggestions???
My 15 year son has
My 15 year son has tonsillitis. Dr has recommended to remove by operation.. But we don’t want operation.. Pl tell some secure alternatives n what should we do
Just an FYI…I’m no doctor but
Just an FYI…I’m no doctor but I? did have a bunch of sore throat and tonsil issues for the better part of 8 years. Did the whole medicine, doctor trips thing..etc, etc. After I got fed up and researched a little, I found out it was something called tonsil stones. Before you do surgery, you should SURE research this a bit.
Very good write up. My
Very good write up. My son’s dentist actually recommended that his enlarged tonsil be removed since it affect development of the teeth. He is 9 years old and I did remove milk from his diet but no reduction. Sometimes the removal of the tonsils trumps everything else because dental development is so important. He does grind his teeth at night and I was told that he does this because he is not getting enough air intake.
10 years ago i got surgery in
10 years ago i got surgery in my tonsil.after that operation my digest problem was start.i think this problem is caused for taking antibiotic.day by day this problem is going difficult for me..how can i solve this problem….
Before going for an operation
Before going for an operation we have to research on this tonsil stones .we have to know pros and cons of tronsilectomy ,there are so many natural treatements and remedies for tonsils,go through them.Very nice article keep sharing.