Recurrent tonsillitis

[Sophiablue95]

Hi all,
Looking for some advice. Ds (16mo) has had three bouts of bacterial tonsillitis in the last 2 and a bit months.

First time, I took him to A&E with a petechial rash. Blood test showed signs of infection and he was put on antibiotics for a chest infection and tonsillitis. He was given oral antibiotics.

3 weeks ago he had a temperature and developed a fast spreading petechial rash. Took him to A&E and he was admitted for suspected sepsis which turned out to be tonsillitis. He was given IV antibiotics followed by a course of oral antibiotics. His bloods showed high inflamotary markers and high white blood cell count.

He’s been great since then but this morning he woke up with foul smelling breath and a few petechial spots. I took him straight to GP (A&E said not to bring him back for the petechiae unless it’s fast spreading or a temperature with it. )The GP confirmed he has tonsillitis again and had prescribed him 10 days of antibiotics. 😓

Has anyone else experienced a child who gets recurring tonsillitis? He’s been admitted for bronchiolitis before and also has allergies/eczema. Meanwhile ds1 (3) rarely ever gets sick despite being in nursery full time.

Should I push for a referal? The recurrent petechiae also concerns me. I’m due to go back to work soon (lone parent) but not sure how it will work if ds2 keeps catching tonsillitis.

Any advice appreciated!

I don't know the current guidelines for referal (or your local guidelines) but when dc kept having recurrent tonsillitis I was told to get every case documented (think at the time had to have 6 episodes in 12 months before referal). Might be worth looking at local guidelines. Dc didn't quite meet the guidelines but because the tonsillitis was having an effect on other health issues was accepted (so its not always black and white). Dc also was given 4 weeks antibiotics each time to reduce reoccurrence. This was 11 years ago now and dc overall health improved massively after the operation. It had an amazing affect on all the other conditions.
Re work (im a single parent of 3) make sure you read up on all policies/know your rights etc. I made sure I was extra flexible when I could be and then when was in hospital etc it made things easier. When dc had to have daily treatment for a month I was given two weeks unpaid, 2 weeks annual leave (I'd already used up my parental leave) but work spaced the unpaid so it was over two pay packets (so financially difficult but not as bad as all in one pay packet).

I would definitely push for a referral to an ENT.. I think some people have enlarged adenoids which can be a risk factor and it can therefore resolve if they are removed.
Emphasize to the GP that antibiotics risk causing additional allergies so you can’t keep giving them to your child. maybe if he/she thinks you arent on board with the medication then they will refer you.

This happened to my son at 10 months. How long was the course of antibiotics you were given the first and second time? They kept giving my son 5 day courses and that’s why it reoccurred a week or two later. It was only when he had a 10 day course of a different type it went away.

Thanks all and apologies for my late reply! He’s been on 10 day courses each time. He only finished his last course last weekend and during the week, GP confirmed he had it again. 😩

She didn't give any antibiotics as there wasn’t any pus on the tonsils but I did push for a referal. She has said if he gets it 3 more times that require antibiotics in the next 12 months they will refer for him to get them removed.

Hi @Sophiablue95
sorry I know this is slightly old now, but we suffered a similar experience with my DS, he had 9 bouts of bacterial tonsillitis between 5 and 15 months. When he started nursery at 12m old it was 6 days of antibiotics, 10 days free and then he’d get tonsillitis again.

We were referred to ENT via the NHS in Feb 2024 and we got the call to book for the initial consultation in July 2025. We actually went privately long before this and he had the tonsils removed (grade 4 and absolutely enormous) last July when he was 16 months old. Apart from the odd sickness bug and cold, he has so far been really healthy and went a year without any antibiotics at all (recently had them again for a chest infection).
Hopefully your referral will be much quicker than ours, definitely push because it’s absolutely miserable and so worrying to see them suffer so regularly :(

Hi @Cdoc
Thanks so much for your reply! I’m glad your ds recovered well.

Ds2 has had it twice ahain since I last posted was back at A&E with a petechial rash on Friday and they confirmed bacterial tonsillitis yet again. 😩 Back again on Sunday as he was refusing fluids and sucking in his ribs and a new rash. He was admitted and they confirmed a chest infection and he needed oxygen and a nebuliser.

He was referred last month to ENT but t still waiting. The paediatrician in A&E was saying they’ve changed it to 8 times in a year before they will remove them (he’s had it 6 times since may).

I’m really starting to consider going privately. I feel really bad as I used to take ds1 to playgroups almost daily. I’ve been avoiding them with ds2 but took him last week and 2 days later he had the tonsillitis again. I know if I put him in a nursery now he would be catching it constantly. 😔xx

I would be contacting my GP and asking them to speed up the referral urgently after this many times. I would make a big fuss and not take no for an answer. It’s clearly impacting his quality of life (and yours!). Have they tried different types of antibiotics each time?

So sorry for the late reply, thought I had before! Supposingly they have changed the requirements to 8 bouts of tonsillitis a year so I was told it’s best he gets it again while he waits for his appointment! 🙄 So far he’s had amoxicillin, co-amoxiclav, phenexomethylpenicillin and one course of IV antibiotics (around 7-8 courses since the end of may).

Whats worrying me the most is these petechial rashes he’s getting. Not a day goes by where a few singular ones will appear on his body. They keep brushing it off that it will be from coughing but he gets them below chest level on his legs too. 😫I can’t help but think it’s not normal he’s getting infections so often along with the rashes and allergies/eczema. Wondering if it’s something immune related.

Today he has a temperature and coughing. Going to monitor him over the weekend. My older ds very rarely gets ill and was the same as a baby. 😔

I’m so sorry you’re still suffering so much and your poor little one 😞
My son also has allergies and eczema, we were told there is a (weak) link, but still a link between antibiotic usage regularly and food allergies. I’m convinced that’s part of the reason my son has them, from having such regular antibiotics at such a young age. He does have blood tests for allergies once a year and the only thing that came back once was iron deficiency, which actually I think can cause lower immune system, has your little one been tested for low iron? Though honestly since his tonsils were removed, he’s been so much healthier so I think you’ll be surprised the impact that can have.

Its awful to feel you’re so up against the system when you’re in the trenches of seeing them suffer so much 😞 not that you should have to, but if you’re able to go privately and have the op I think it would be life changing for you!

Here’s the link, so it’s a legitimate source too

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5345106/

You can’t really “push” for referral for recurrent tonsillitis because most areas have set criteria for offering tonsillectomy and if you don’t meet that criteria then there’s not much for ENT to do.

This is a good point, and actually my son had it 9 times in 10 months so let the criteria, we got the referral and it still took 17 months to get the first consultation appointment through.

Push for an ENT referral. The earlier in life he gets them taken out.

any suspected tonsillitis get him to the GP. It took me eight years to get my referral for ent.

Ask for a blood test. It’s possibly IPT as a result of the viral infection ls

Thanks all so much for the replies.
When he was in A&E back in august the paediatrician told me to take him to the gp to get referred (he’d only had it 5 times then but also has sleep apnoea and snores so think that’s maybe why). They gave him the referral but still waiting for the consultation.

@NoOneToTextWhenThePlaneLands He’s had 4 blood tests since the end of May. One was normal and the other 3 including the last showed high white blood cells and one time high inflammatory makers. I remember querying if they had checked his platets when he was admitted the first time but they said they hadn’t got enough blood in the sample so it was inconclusive 😩 In A&E they say it’s due to the infection but the gps either say it’s just coughing or send him to A&E. I’m just worried he’s getting them on a daily basis now and he’s had a singular one on his neck which has been there 3 months and never disappeared.

@Cdoc thanks so much and I’m really happy to hear your son is doing better since he’s had his tonsils removed! If I don’t hear from the ent in the next few months I think I’m going to bite the bullet and go private. Thats really interesting about the link between allergies and antibiotics. He had his first course of antibiotics at around 4 months old. I’ll enquire about the iron level. My DM has pernicious anaemia which is meant to be hereditary so maybe a link.

Can you afford a private appointment?

Money is tight as I’m not working at the moment. I do have some savings which I’ll be using if the ent appointment doesn’t come around in the next few months and if he keeps getting the tonsillitis.

I was thinking about getting a private blood test but confused how to go about it. He’s already had 4 done in A&E and as far as I’m aware they would have shown up any issues with platelets. 😔

My then 3 year old had 6 bouts in 6 months with antibiotics.. we were told it then needed to be 7, weeks hit 7 the next month, needed to be 8. We went private and he was seen (by the same bloody Dr ironically!) and sorted within 2 months. Tonsils out adenoids out and grommets in to deal with the residual glue ear from all the infections. Now 14 and only sick once since (thanks Covid!)

How ridiculous! Sorry you had to go through that but really happy to hear your son recovered well. The last consultant he saw in hospital said it was 12 times in a year, paediatrician 2 days before said 7!

I think I will have to bite the bullet and go private. Can I ask did your son ever get the petechiae with the tonsilitis? The paediatricians said it’s common with tonsillitis but I’ve never heard of any other children getting it with it.

It’s 7/8 times in one year. It can also be 10 times in 2 consecutive years or 9 times in 3 consecutive years. That’s what the ent said in Kent hospital trust 18 months ago to me. If tonsils are large, you can also qualify on the grounds of sleep apnea too. My son ended up testing positive for house dust mite allergy which caused his nose to be blocked and mouth breathing. This was then the cause of his large tonsils.

I kept getting tonsillitis ( or so i thought) when probably 18-19 yrs but then the doctor managed to examine me when I was ok and said it’s not yer tonsils it was a throat infection

If you’ve been referred it could be up to a year before an appointment- I waited 73 weeks between my original referral and my surgery. I’d say the private appointment could be useful to ease your concerns regarding the issue day. Alternatively you could always be on a night away and go to a different hospital, they may be more willing to listen to your concerns

Thanks all and apologies for my late response!
Just to update, he’s had tonsillitis 2 times since I last posted. First time he had pus on tonsil but Dr said he wouldn’t prescribe antibiotics unless he had a temperature for 5 consecutive days. Took him to gp yesterday as he was not sleeping, temperature, coughing and drooling and I noticed what looks like a pinkish lump on one of the tonsils (unfortunately he clamps down his teeth whenever I go near his mouth now so very hard to check). She confirmed tonsillitis but said to see how he is in a few days to see if he needs antibiotics.

Anyways he’s been given an appointment for ENT at the beginning of December. I was originally told it would be 27 weeks at least so I think they may have changed the referral to urgent. Will inform how we get on. Thanks again :)