What were the symptoms of tonsillitis in your toddler?

[Aberforthsgoat]

Posting for a friend who doesn’t have an account. Spoken to a GP twice but they haven’t actually seen her toddler

Slightly warm
Sounds a bit gunky in his throat with mild occasional cough
Negative
PCR
Seems fine in himself apart from that

She’s worried as tonsillitis is doing the rounds and apparently you need antibiotics to get rid of it? I’m not much help as have no idea about tonsillitis! I think she’s a bit scared to google as it always tells you something dreadful.

I had a quick look but it seems quite broad symptoms wise.

I think she’s wondering if it would be obvious it was tonsillitis, if he would be obviously unwell with it

You can smell tonsillitis on a child’s breath. How does his breath smell.

Oh! I had no idea, I’ll ask her and see! Is it a particular smell or just noticeably bad?

When DS1 had tonsillitis he had a high temperature that barely went down with calpol, and was completely off his food (though would drink milk). He didn't have a cough.

Thank you!

When you say high temp do you mean 39 and above? Or lower than that?

Temperature and I'd always check the tonsils and could usually tell by looking at them.

Can't you go to the doctors in U.K. at the moment?

Thank you - high temp or slightly elevated @mamawithfive she’s tried looking but can’t manage to see properly even with two of them

At the moment it’s a telephone appointment and they see you if they think it’s necessary. Because he’s fine in himself and eating and drinking they don’t think it’s necessary

Sweet and rank, hard to describe but you know it when you smell it! I could always tell when kids were coming down with tonsillitis!

@viques thank you so it’s the kind of smell you would definitely notice rather than a subtle change

Very high temperature. Usually if a child has a temperature over 40C, it’s one of the first considerations to rule out. It will depend on the cause if antibiotics are needed and if it’s viral, then you just need to ride it out. Hope the child is better soon.

Thank you @SunbathingDragon I’m more inclined to think he has a bit of a cold with an ear infection his temperature is only very slightly elevated and he is tugging his ear (or was when we were on a video call earlier!) but he’s like DS and has also got teeth coming through so hard to tell.
I think she’s just worried as she knows tonsillitis is doing the rounds so that’s why she was wondering about this in particular and I am fortunate enough not to have any experience of it!

It’s very visible when you look at the back of the throat. The tonsils swell and are red and or dotted with white bits.

Thanks @RickiTarr I’ll pass it on. Don’t think she’s had much luck looking though

When my little one had it (on Christmas day a few years ago!) he vomited everywhere, was hot, lethargic and visibly unwell. He was really poorly with it.

I couldn't get to see his tonsils, so we took him to ooh. They manged to get a good look and it was antibiotics and difflam spray. Poor mite!

Yes, I remember those fun and games. I bought a “special torch” (tiny maglite) in the end to inspire a tad more cooperation from fractious DC, but mine had huge tonsils and got it regularly.

In my experience a child who’s properly ill with tonsillitis will have a stonkingly high temp that only comes down a bit with Calpol

Worth checking the neck for external swelling too.

Thank you this is all so useful, I’m going to remember this thread and all the info incase I need it to!

His temp hasn’t gone above 37.9 apparently so doesn’t seem to fit. Thank you though will pass on all other advice as well

I can't remember exactly as he's 5 now, but around the 38-39 mark, it'd go down a bit with calpol but only to 37 and a bit, not 36.

My son also always complained of stomach ache as the glands in his lower tummy would be affected as well!

Similar, I’ve only seen the 36 bracket when I was taking his temp to make sure a fever had gone down, at night after calpol!

Sorry wrong thread!

It can be different for viral and bacterial tonsillitis. I have found symptoms to be worse when it's bacterial (this is the one the needs antibiotics).

Often the 1st thing I have found is sore tummy and vomit.

Breath is honking.

My eldest always spiked a really high temp quite quickly.

My youngest doesn't tend to get the temp as high but he's the one who tends to be sick.

Ours had identical symptoms to @DonLewis - was actually a relief to know what it was as he got very sick very quickly, always worried it might be meningitis.

We had antibiotics which tasted awful, meant waking him twice in the night to feed him the stuff, not a happy toddler! Got a 10 day prescription if I remember tightly to ensure it didn’t reoccur