All you need is a spoon and a torch?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

My son had a bad case of strep recently and had been having some drainage from his tonsils. I was looking on this site at an article addressing strep tonsilitis when I came upon this paragraph (bolding mine)

[quote]

You can easily check someone’s tonsils for tonsillitis at home using the following method: Use a spoon and a torch. Depress the tongue gently with the handle of the spoon. Ask the patient to say “aaahhh” while you shine the torch onto the back of the throat. :eek:You will easily be able to see if the tonsils look bright red and swollen. If so, you should see a healthcare professional for an examination and diagnosis.

[quote]

I realize that torch is a less common word for flashlight, but I can’t get the mental image out of my mind of what would happen if some poor schmuck was to use an ACTUAL TORCH to perform this exam.

[moron] well that article is right…them thar tonsils are getting really bright red and swollen. ::sniff sniff:: Say what’s that smell?[/moron]

2

omg… hahahaha… could you imagine that? That is just so wrong… And in America (if this was posted by a doctor who came to America) he would be sued in such a situation… knowing america.

3

Wow, I had an image of using the spoon and torch to remove tonsils!

  1. Have the patient open his mouth as wide as he can, then insert a tennis ball between his teeth to keep the jaws open.

  2. Hold the spoon over the torch for 1 minute, or until the spoon begins to glow red, whichever comes first.

  3. Quickly insert the heated spoon into the patient’s mouth and press against the infected tonsil for approximately 10 seconds, taking care not to brush against the lips or gums.

  4. Repeat steps 2-3 for other tonsil, if also infected.

4

I just tested myself and I don’t know how to interpret the results.

My tonsils looked red and swollen at first, but they quickly changed to black and charred. Then there was too much smoke and I couldn’t see anything.

Do I have tonsilitis or something else? Please answer quickly, my sore throat seems to be getting worse.

5

The title “All you need is a spoon and a torch?” conjured up something far removed from tonsils, lol!

6

The article is from New Zealand, isn’t it? I’m guessing that to them, a torch is a torch, as it is in Britain. Our brand of English doesn’t use the word “flashlight”.

So what is a “torch” in the US? Should I be thinking “blowtorch” here? 'Coz if so, that is a funny image.

7

Yes torch means a blow torch here … Although I thought It meant like a cigarette lighter in british and aussie english

8

no, a torch, in common usage, means only one thing in britain: a flashlight. In a different context, it might also be used to mean a medieval-flaming-stick-used-by-mobs-when-chasing-vampires…

9

In the US a torch is one of these: http://www.bernzomatic.com/torches.htm