Every now and then I get a feeling that something is caught in my throat. Occasionally I can actually see the thing in the mirror right in the back. After a while of working at it with my tongue I can force it up, or sometimes I don’t notice it until I cough it up. I don’t why I keep getting these, everytime I ask a friend, they say they’ve never threw up just a little pellet. These things are grainy and smell awful. I have no idea how I’m getting them. I’m thinking maybe they’re formed from chunks of baby carrots I didn’t chew properly since I eat those things everyday.
I don’t mean to be gross but they’re freaking me out. Does everyone get them and I’m just unaware?
What color are these chunks? Size? Shape? Lots of things can collect around the tonsils, eventually finding their way out again, albeit in a slightly altered form.
You can see these things at the back of your throat? Is the consistency of the pellets similar to cream of wheat? You may have what are termed inclusion cysts - small pockets in the mucosa where food and cellular debris collect. The contents can be expressed by swallowing, coughing or :gag: poking it with a finger.
I get them too every once in a while. There was definitely a thread about this, but I don’t think the search engine is up and running yet. They don’t seem to be a sign of anything serious, and at least in my case, they’re not baby carrots. I think they’re just a harmless and nasty deposit.
-Lil
Ah, that’s what I was talking about. Tonsilloliths, or tonsil stones. They come from food debris getting stuck in the the back of the throat along with bacteria and dead epithelial cells that had lined the throat. They’re nasty smelling because of the bacteria(sulfur producing, doncha know). Tonsil Stones are white in color and around the size of a pea.
-Lil
I had a doctor tell me that they’re no big deal, just gross. Every couple of years I’ll get one that sort of explodes. peppering the inside of my mouth with icky little bits and that lovely taste/odor. Gack.
I had never had these, until I went through a stage a few months ago where I would find one most mornings… eugh… strangely enough it only started soon after I had read the original tonsilolith thread on here!
Anyway they went away for a while and I thought they’d been banished, but this morning I got one in the back of my throat… and whaddya know… there’s a new tonsilolith query on the SDMB. Spooky…
I’ve had a similar problem since childhood. My doctor told me it is tonsilitis. Basically caused by an infection of the tonsils. These things protrude from the tonsils and, when dislodged, leave a hole in your tonsils that doesn’t seem to go away. I usually get this when I’m getting a cold. They smell awful and have a cottage cheese consistency.
Haha, I’m glad to hear I wasn’t alone. I had the same problem for about half a year once…it just stopped happening. Every now and then, I would accidently dislodge one with a sneeze or a cough, and it’d come flying out. Luckily it never happened when I wasn’t alone. I’ve since moved away and never noticed the problem again…so I blame it on some meal I had regularly while at college, but no longer have access to.
At university, I had a couple of really severe bouts of tonsilitis. All time I got the symptoms you describe. So bad that a doctor that had never even seen me before instantly recommended having a tonsilectomy (an increasingly rare and discouraged procedure on the UK’s National Health Service).
For the last six months before the operation - waiting lists are huge in the UK - my tonsils were constantly full of the pussy yellow/white cheesy stuff. You’re actually supposed to be clean and clear before you have the operation, but I was so desperate - my general health had just been cold after virus after cold since my tonsils sort of rotted/collapsed (my interpretation) that I just went for it. It was one of the best decisions of my life. My health was amazing afterwards, I never get tonsilitis, I’ve only had a bad throat a couple of times in the decade since, and never as bad as it was with tonsilitis.
See your doctor, and consider getting them removed.
Yes. Thank God I had my tonsils out years ago. I used to get these every few weeks, not to mention reoccurring strep throat. Nast-ay! I haven’t had a single incidence of either gooky tonsil treasures or sore throat since.
I get those every once in a while. They’re like dirty cottage cheese curds. I also have had a persistant itch that makes me cough near my right tonsil for a couple of years now. It’s not constant but itches at least once a day. I suspect this has to do with that little pocket these things form in. Last year, it itched a whole lot more and someone suggested using Chloraseptic spray to numb it down. Works very well and probably saved my sanity.
Now, in this last month, I been getting a sore throat every few days in that area as well. It’s pretty mild and usually goes away in about a half a day but this last one lasted nearly two. I’ve been worrying about tonsillitus or strep. I suppose I should see my doctor but yet it doesn’t seem that serious either. Ugh! Decisions!
Nastay nastay