What does it feel like to have tonsils?

[sittingonacornflake]

Weird one I know!

I was reading an article about the home covid testing kits and about how you have to scrape a swap along your tonsils.

I had my tonsils removed as a very young child and it occurred to me when I read this that I'm not really sure where exactly tonsils should be or whether you can feel them / are aware of them.

Can anyone with tonsils satisfy my curiosity on this please?!

I'm not aware of mine at all. I'm not even sure where they are, but I must have them as they've never been taken out.

I had mine removed at 28, I don’t feel any differently at all 😂

Not aware of my tonsils, If I run my tounge along the back of my mouth I feel hard palette then soft pallete and I know my tonsils are somewhere back there. Only time they came to my awareness was one time I had tonsillitis. I reckon that's a downside of home kits - correctly locating tonsils. One person I know who was swabbed at a drive through said they went really deep up nose and down throat so I imagine something hard to doo to yourself!

I can guarantee before the lockdown there is no way this thread would have got replies but thank you!

Now I wonder what is the purpose of tonsils....

Yes the covid tests seem particularly unpleasant. I think they're concerned people won't be able to do them at home for that reason!

I've had one tonsil removed! Both sides feel the same.

How do you the rest with no tonsils then?

The purpose of tonsils is something to do with infection. I think. Immunity related anyway.

Can you tell I haven't googled it?

You could have tonsils, they sometimes grow back.
Mine did.

You don't even know they're there unless they get inflamed or infected.

It felt hell lol. I had mine out last October. You swab tonsils and the very back of throat. You should gag or cough. You also have to go very far down the nose. I don’t think people will do it correctly themselves so it’s a waste of testing (I know I wouldn’t be able to).

I’ve attached the instructions from my nhs trust.

I got tonsillitis loads as a child and still get it fairly frequently as an adult but to be honest I'm not entirely sure what tonsils are . I used to think it was that dangly thing you can see at the back of your mouth, but someone told me that's something else - a gagula or something (I'm making that word up but I'm sure it was something like that.)

I'm now really creeped out that my tonsils might have grown back and I wouldn't even know

@BlueBooby uvula!

Uvula! Haha I'm fairly impressed by my guess.

just look in the mirror