One side of the tonsil is swollen with ulcers and bloodshot

The phenomenon that one side of the tonsil is swollen with ulcers and blood on it is actually a typical symptom of swollen tonsils. Enlarged tonsils are very harmful. We need to know its symptoms and make a comprehensive judgment based on our own situation. Once it is confirmed that the tonsils are swollen, we must go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible and strive to recover as soon as possible. Now let's look at the situation of swollen tonsils.

Clinical manifestations

1. Ear symptoms: Due to the hypertrophy of tonsils and the accumulation of inflammatory secretions in the nasopharynx, the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube is blocked, which may be complicated by non-suppurative or suppurative otitis media, leading to hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear stuffiness.

2. Nasal symptoms: Enlarged tonsils are often complicated by rhinitis and sinusitis. The children have symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, mouth breathing, drooling, occlusive nasal sounds when speaking, and snoring during sleep.

3. Symptoms of respiratory tract infection: Due to the inflammation, secretions irritate the respiratory mucosa, often causing inflammation of the throat, trachea and bronchitis. Therefore, patients may experience symptoms such as throat discomfort, voice changes, coughing and spitting, asthma, low fever, etc.

4. "Adenoid facies": Due to long-term mouth breathing, the development of the child's facial bones is affected, the maxilla becomes long and narrow, and the hard palate becomes high and narrow. Protruding teeth, irregular dentition, poor bite, drooping mandible, thick lips, upturned upper lip, hanging lower lip, drooping outer canthus, and shallow nasolabial groove. If there is mental depression and dull and stupid facial expressions, it becomes the so-called "adenoid facies".

How to treat

Chinese medicine treatment

Swollen tonsils are generally caused by congestion in the tonsil area due to repeated inflammation of the tonsils. Adopt the theory of traditional Chinese medicine of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Transdermal administration, long-lasting effect. The purpose is to gradually reduce the congestion and thus achieve the purpose of shrinking the tonsils. Currently proven Chinese medicine external patches, such as the most popular tonsil patch, are generally applied to the affected area for 15-24 hours.

Treat early

Swollen tonsils should be treated as early as possible. In the early stages of the disease, when you first begin to experience the above symptoms (see the second-level heading "Symptoms" in the first-level heading of this entry "What are Enlarged Tonsils"), you should go to a relevant hospital for examination as soon as possible. Many patients with swollen tonsils do not understand the condition, so they do not receive timely treatment for their swollen tonsils in the early stages of symptoms, which causes the condition to worsen.

Surgery or not

Tonsillectomy may be necessary if there are frequent episodes of tonsillitis, or if the tonsil disease affects the child's overall health or causes the child to interrupt his or her education, or affects hearing or breathing. However, sometimes tonsillectomy is unnecessary and other problems should be considered if the diagnosis is in doubt.

Indications for tonsillectomy include: tonsillitis occurs four or more times a year; tonsillitis occurs three or more times a year within two years; upper airway obstruction caused by swollen tonsils, resulting in severe snoring, difficulty swallowing, unclear pronunciation, etc.; one or more tonsillar abscesses; tonsils cause systemic diseases and become focal tonsils; repeated inflammation of the tonsils causes repeated attacks of rhinitis, otitis media, tracheitis, etc. or long-term treatment is unrecoverable.

Surgical Procedure

The operation is performed under general anesthesia, and the tonsils are removed when the patient enters a deep sleep and loses the sense of pain. Most incisions do not require stitches and can heal naturally. Patients are generally hospitalized for observation for more than 24 hours after surgery. It is generally believed that tonsillectomy will not have any adverse effects on later life.

Pros and cons of surgery

Some parents ask doctors to remove their children's tonsils surgically because their children often suffer from tonsillitis, but doctors generally consider this carefully. Why can’t tonsils be removed casually?

Tonsils are the largest lymphoid tissue in the pharynx. During childhood, it is an active immune organ that contains lymphocytes at various stages of development, such as T cells, B cells, macrophages, etc. Therefore, it not only has humoral immunity, producing various immunoglobulins, but also has certain cellular immunity. The immunoglobulin IgA produced by tonsils has strong immunity, which can inhibit the adhesion of bacteria to the respiratory mucosa, inhibit the growth and spread of bacteria, and also has a neutralizing and inhibitory effect on viruses. IgA can also enhance the function of phagocytes through complement activation. These are most active between the ages of two and five.

From an immune point of view, tonsils should not be removed casually due to their immune effects on the body. Enlarged tonsils in children are a normal physiological phenomenon. If the enlargement does not affect breathing and swallowing and does not cause serious clinical manifestations, they should not be removed. Because resection may affect the local immune response and reduce the body's ability to fight infection. If tonsillitis recurs, interferes with breathing and swallowing, and causes diseases such as rheumatism and nephritis, it should be removed promptly. Generally, tonsillectomy for children should be performed after the age of four, and it is more appropriate to wait two to three weeks after the inflammation subsides. However, if the attacks are too frequent and you cannot wait too long, you may consider having surgery a few days after the attacks subside.