Tonsil stones

[BedisBliss]

I have read previous threads about these on here but none are now 'active'. Son is 21 and we have finally realised the source of his honking breath and issues swallowing -he has huge scared tonsils from years of tonsillitus as a kid and they are now full of tonsil stones! In UK - what are his chances of getting help on the NHS or will we have to go private? And how do they deal with these? Any advice gratefully received.

NHS takes too long. I'd go private if you can afford. No one wants to wait months with bad breath

Has he ever had his calcium levels checked? Tonsil stones can be a symptom of a condition called hyperparathyroidism. Other symptoms can include low mood, fatigue, pain in bones, kidney stones, and a whole host of other things. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

Some people just use some kind of stick and poke them out themselves, there’s loads on Reddit about tonsilloths.

Only god rid of mine by having my tonsils out as an adult. Doubt you’d get them out on the NHS though

Find a good Doctor who will laser them. Minimum downtime and pain.

They’re not difficult to deal with yourself, I syringe mine once a week and have no trouble. Adult tonsil surgery is meant to be pretty nasty

@FelicityBeedle

They’re not difficult to deal with yourself, I syringe mine once a week and have no trouble. Adult tonsil surgery is meant to be pretty nasty

It’s a horrible op to have as an adult but totally worth it especially if you get regular tonsillitis as well!

I dealt with my own quite easily, I had quite a few because of scared tonsils.. a good light and a magnifying mirror combined with a steady hand a lolly stick and he'll be fine x

I thought I had a fish bone stuck in my throat and the GP sent me to A+E straight away. I spent the best part of a day there and eventually saw a doctor who said it was a tonsil stone! He removed it. He advised I get a diy kit off Amazon to remove further ones myself, but that I needed to gargle with mouthwash each evening to prevent any more.
I’d say, go to A+E and tell them he’s been eating fish and might have a bone stuck!

@LavendarMoon thank you for this - it's one to think about. He's going to go online to arrange a telephone consult with the GP tomorrow so I will tell him to ask about it.
To those of you who mentioned dealing with them himself - he is a bit of a baby...if it was me I would be totally onboard with the idea of digging them out myself.
@FelicityBeedle what do you mean by syringe them yourself? What do you use exactly?
Really appreciate your responses everyone and am off to look at Amazon tonsil stone kits!

I use this one! Mainly it’s the syringe I use, and the light a little bit Stone Remover Tool LED Light Earpick Stainless Steel Earwax Remover Oral Care Clean [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WZSCFFZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_0BPVWJSDPHRSHJ34CCJ?tag=mumsnetforu03-21Y]]
I find it quite a satisfying job

I’ve recently had the laser tonsil removal for tonsil stones and it was so quick and easy. It was covered through my work health insurance but it’s about £1500. I constantly had an awful taste in my mouth, bad breath and it felt like something stuck in my throat but I couldn’t ever see anything. Turns out I had cysts where the stones were hiding behind. I was seen for a consultation within a week, with my first treatment a week later.

I got nowhere with the NHS. GP sent me for a barium swallow and they couldn’t see anything and I didn’t qualify for tonsil removal due to no tonsillitis. The laser treatment is much less invasive - takes 10 mins and I just had a sore throat for a couple of days afterwards

Sensitive toothpaste was causing mine. I stopped using it and no more stones.

When I discovered mine, the doctor initially said nothing could be done but they were really bothering me so I did a bit of Googling, discovered that they could be fixed by removing my tonsils and went back to the doc armed with this info. They referred me to ENT (pre-covid times) but the rub was they wouldn't do anything about it because they deem the risks from adult tonsillectomy higher than the benefits of removal. He might be lucky but I very much doubt it, especially now although as PPs have said, you could go private.

I use my toothbrush to give them a quick brush every morning and I find it helps to have a wee cough at the same time as it dislodges any that might be starting to build up. Gargling also helps if they're particularly bad but ENT recommended boiled/cooled salt water rather than a mouthwash.

@BedisBliss Hi, did your son get the surgery??? X