What is enlarged tonsils?

Tonsillar hypertrophy is a common throat disease. The reason for this disease is mostly due to the patient's decreased resistance or the invasion of bacteria into the tonsils.

Tonsillar hypertrophy is a common throat disease. When the tonsils are swollen, patients will experience obvious discomfort when drinking water or eating. The inconvenience caused to patients cannot be ignored. Early treatment is needed to alleviate the symptoms. The cause of swollen tonsils is of great concern to everyone. So why do tonsils swell?

1. Decreased resistance: When the body's ability to resist germs is reduced, such as when the body is overworked, lacks exercise, and is malnourished, the defense ability of the tonsils will be weakened, and various bacteria and viruses will be introduced into the tonsils, causing tonsillitis, which in turn causes swollen tonsils. Early treatment is needed to relieve symptoms.

2. Other diseases cause bacteria to invade the tonsils: When inflammation caused by other diseases in the body invades the tonsils, it may cause tonsillitis, such as influenza and acute nasopharyngitis. Tonsillitis causes redness, swelling, pain, and suppuration. Mild cases include low fever, cough, and throat discomfort; severe cases include persistent high fever, rapid breathing, and even high fever convulsions, which require timely treatment. Tonsillitis caused by other diseases is one of the reasons why tonsils swell.

What causes enlarged tonsils?

(1) Caused by viral or bacterial infection: There are many pathogenic microorganisms that invade the body and cause tonsil hypertrophy. Seventy percent of them are viral infections, such as rhinovirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, enterovirus, etc. The remaining few are caused by bacterial infections. Viral infection is prone to secondary bacterial infection, resulting in more severe clinical manifestations.

(2) Repeated inflammatory stimulation: Tonsillar hypertrophy is often secondary to acute tonsillitis or acute attacks of chronic tonsillitis, pharyngeal infection and repeated inflammatory stimulation. So what causes enlarged tonsils? Experts say that it is caused by blockage of the tonsillar crypts, especially the supra-tonsilar crypts, which lead to poor drainage, and the infection develops deep into the tonsillar capsule and invades the space around the tonsils. Common pathogens are mostly hemolytic streptococci or Staphylococcus aureus.

(3) Other factors: Pathological hyperplasia of tonsils is more common in cold, humid and climate-changing areas. Tonsillar hypertrophy can also be caused by acute infectious diseases, malnutrition and physical factors, which have a profound impact on the normal development and health of the body.