One swollen tonsil - feeling a bit frightened

[Daffodils9]

DS1 (almost 5) has had a swollen tonsil on one side for nearly a month. When I first noticed it I thought he was just fighting off a bit of a bug but it’s just persisted. I need to get him a GP appointment (which is a nightmare at our surgery at the moment). In the meantime I’m having a bit of a panic. He also has a tendency to cough and wheeze. I don’t think he’s lost any weight but my mind keeps going to bad possibilities.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

DD had perpetually swollen tonsils but concurrently had monthly tonsillitis necessitating antibiotics for two years before they finally took them out.

I have a permanently swollen tonsil with a stone in one side with no ill effects.

As long as there's no sign of illness there's nothing to do, no need for GP

@Matchingcollarandcuffs If it was tonsillitis I would actually be reassured. He’s also had a couple of bad bouts of that and needed antibiotics. It’s the persistent asymmetric swelling that doesn’t seem to be related to a throat infection that’s worrying me. As I understand it if your kid has a persistently swollen lymph node they do need to be checked over and that’s basically what the tonsil is.

No it's more likely to be scarring from previous tonsillitis. You need to worry if the nodes in his neck are perpetually swollen.

If he's displaying other worrying signs such as lethargy, bruising, weight loss etc then it's worth a trip to the GP but one swollen tonsil on its own is not worrying

Oh I had one tonsil or another swollen for most of my childhood - get it checked by all means, but it is just a chronic issue for some kids. Mine dragged on until I finally had them whipped out as an adult.

I have a persistently swollen tonsil on one side, which was investigated as I also have a couple of enlarged lymph nodes in my neck. The tonsil is a positional thing, the enlarged lymph nodes are just ones that never went back down after an infection. I'd certainly call the GP if you're concerned, but just to say that it's not always a sign of anything more sinister.

Thanks everyone. That’s really reassuring.

My daughter has permanently enlarged lymph nodes in neck and groin. I also have one underneath my chin. All investigations were done and all perfectly harmless.