If you are prone to tonsilitis is there anything you do to prevent it?

[Cloud44]

If you have had tonsillitis a few times, is there anything you have found that prevents it? I remember someone in here mentioned gargling with strong mouthwash everyday has stopped them catching it again?

I used to get it several times a year. I now use covonia throat spray obsessively at the slightest hint of a sore throat and have never had it since - it's been maybe 8-9 years now!

Not obvious to me - thank you!

Did you used to get bacteria type @liveforsummer ? Do you think covonia spray is better than difflam? How did you manage to stop getting it repeatedly?

Gargling with salt water helped a little but at the end the antibiotics stopped working. I eventually had them removed at age 28. I hardly get colds now, no ear or throat infections, but the pain after the op 😭😭 but it was worth it!

Yes bacterial. I don't find difflam helps at all. I'd assume covonia is is stronger as you have to ask for it over the counter whereas difflam is off the shelf. I always make sure I have a stash of covonia now after it went through a phase of being difficult to source at one point last year

I don't think that's true is it? Have you got any studies on that?

Oh dear! I was also really busy in my job and just kept pushing on but think this is why I couldn't get rid of it. In the end I took a week and a half off sick (not like me) and did absolutely nothing to help me actually recover. It was needed and I went back feeling much better having given myself time to rest. Also coincidentally had a sunny holiday booked for a couple of weeks after this. Almost didn't go as I was so worried I'd not be well enough having spent months at this point repeatedly getting ill and still wasn't 100 percent but being away in the sunshine and relaxing really helped.

If you can take time off I'd say do it. Health is so important! A friend of mine suffered with recurrent tonsillitis for a year around the same time as me and ended up having hers out privately as she couldn't get rid of it. She's fine now but at the time, she wasn't having chance to rest and recover so it was a vicious cycle of never being shut of it.

Hope you feel better soon!

I used to get it ALL the time in my 20s. I asked the doctor what would happen if I didn't take antibiotics and he said it would probably heal up in a similar timescale but could take an extra day or two.

So the next time I got it I let nature take its course and just took painkillers instead.

Never had it since.

@IWishThatYouWouldStay was it bacterial you had? White spots on tonsils? Did you have to take time off work?

Did you manage to avoid it coming back again @Duckinglunacy ?

I'm pretty sure this is not guaranteed. Tonsils are part of your immune system and not having them might mean a future infection is worse that it otherwise would have been.

But it's a balance of risk thing isn't it. If you're getting tonsillitis bad enough and often enough to even think of a surgical solution it might be worth the risk. If you're getting badly ill with tonsillitis 7 times a year for a week each that's 7 weeks feeling terrible. If you have them out maybe you do get something worse, but only once a year for a fortnight you're still better off!

I sort of don’t want to answer this as I don’t want to tempt fate but … apart from a couple of isolated bouts I haven’t had a prolonged period of tonsillitis like the 2018 summer since.

As an adult I suffered from sore/strep throat 3 or 4 times a year. At about 45 I had a 14 day course of antibiotics after going to the doctor with very swollen tonsils. One went back to normal, the other stayed swollen, but no obvious infection. The doctor said I should get that one removed, and leave the other, which I did. Since then, 12 years plus, I’ve never had a sore throat.

I agree, even though i've always suffered with issues with my throat. And I know they said you still can after having tonsils removed. They do get more and more damaged as time goes on. Not to add all the self medicating and gargling, then getting it again and being really unwell.

I ended up having mine out at 22, on the NHS, as I was getting tonsillitis 3-5 times a year by then.

I used to get it a lot when I was younger but not enough for them to consider taking them out. Then in the last ten years I had it twice in 2015, once in 2017, they thought I had viral tonsilitis in 2022 so no ABs then in March this year and again now a few weeks later (yes I’m very sad for keeping track but know my throat is a weakness!) so I don’t know if I’m over panicking thinking about having them out, I’m just really concerned that it’s come back again now so quickly. Could it be that the course of ABs I had in March (5 days) then three or four days later they gave me 7 days as it started to come back, wasn’t long enough in one go? The ABs seem to get rid of the white spots quickly but I think in general I have quite big tonsils.

Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Since birth I’ve had tonsillitis that I can set my clock to. I can literally TIME it to the minute. For example I know I’m due to get it again by tomorrow afternoon so I already have a GP appointment booked ready and I’ve sorted my working week out for the rest of the week to be able to recover properly.
They sill refuse to take my tonsils out (because I’m “too old”) and it’s way too expensive to try and scrape together the money to pay private.
I am a singer (for am drams) so I already do everything I can to preserve my throat as much as I possibly can. From vocalzone throat sweets, honey and lemon, no dairy, supplements, vitamins, ultra chloraseptic, vitamins, everything!!
I now time my performances to be in between bouts.

It’s probably a silly question @ToffeePennie but how can you tell you are going to have it this week? Do you tend to get it if you have been particularly busy or run down? Is it always bacterial with the white spots? How often do you get it & do you always take time off work? Sorry for all the questions I’m just really keen to hear from anyone else who struggled with it because people who have never got it just think it’s a sore throat !

No help here I’m afraid. I had quinsy three times in a row last year. Hospitalised every single time- one of those times was abroad which was an experience - and needed iv drugs each time. I had the bloody things out privately in September- I just couldn't keep risking that happening. I have kids and a job!

That sounds awful @Ilikeviognier , did it start off as tonsilitis each time? Did the antibiotics not work?

Each infection damages the tonsils. One possible final outcome is cancer, hence my doctor said take out the swollen one. My infections had the white spots or ulcers on them.
Having my tonsil out was a horrible experience, I lost kilos as I didn’t eat, however it was the best thing I ever did.

Gargle lemon juice

I’ve not tried that before @Unexpectedlysinglemum ?

@KirstenBlest what are you on about?! I had my tonsils out in Sept 2022 after constant infections and have not had a single infection since. The surgeon wouldn’t have taken them out if it was harmful to do so

For those of you who had the tonsils out did you go through a ENT referral then that was the outcome?

@Cloud44 I went to the GP aged 24 or so, he looked at my throat and said 'Well your tonsils are very swollen so I'm going to recommend you have them out.' I said ok. He put in the referral and they were removed about six months later.