Ok, I have tonsil stones. People share grosser things, so this is mine.
If you don’t know what they are…I have tiny little holes in my tonsils. Food gets stuck in them. And stays there. Yes, it’s disgusting.
I asked my dentist about them, and he says not only are they harmless but some of his patients can make them pop in and out for the entertainment of the dentist. Well, that’s all well and dandy but I am a lady when it comes to bodily functions. Basically, I don’t want them.
Any ideas on how I can avoid this phenonemon? They’re particularly gross when they finally come out, and it makes me gag. Ugh.
Nope, no bad breath. Part of that probably stems from the fact that as soon as they come out I spit them out as fast as I possibly can. They don’t do anything when they’re in the holes, though.
Interesting. I just wondered because I have this aunt who has always has, pardon me, “shitbreath” and we’ve always wondered why and I just thought maybe your syndrome might be an explanation.
I’ve got this problem and if I don’t squeeze them out regularly my breath smells like death. I’ve taken a few and squished them between my fingers and finally figured out why no matter how much I brushed my teeth and gargled mouthwash, nothing was helping my noxious oral emissions. The ENT Doc told me to have my tonsils taken out or just continue getting them out however I can. The only way I’ve gotten them out is pressing on the tonsil with my finger.
Ok, this is gross, but it works. You can knock the little buggers out of there with anything long–I use the handle of a spoon, but anything will work. And, by the way, you don’t have holes per se in your tonsils, more crevices. Tonsils can be sort of folded on themselves (sort of like brain tissue) and the folds make crevices. The crevices trap the food, and voila, you have a tonsil stone. AKA tonsilith, which just sounds better.
I dig em out with a blunted toothpick. And they smell vile. Amazing how some little pebble of trapped food can smell like a huge heap of dog shit :eek:
I’ve had this problem for YEARS. For quite some time, I, too, used the water-pik method, but hated it a lot. About two years ago, I had sinus surgery, and as a part of it, I had to rinse out my sinuses in the morning with warm salt-water. Since that time, I’ve not had a real problem with them. If I don’t rinse my sinuses for two or three days, I start to develop them again, but they stay away if I rinse every day. IANAD, YMMV.
I’ve also been told that a tonsilectomy will get rid of them once and for all.
Sorry if I grossed you out, UrbanChic… but that really is what you do. I’ve had nasal surgery and I had to do that constantly while it was healing. The doctor also suggested to rinse my nasal passages that way when I feel a cold coming on, to try and stop it from becoming a sinus infection.
Anyway, back to the engrossing discussion of tonsil stones…
I had no idea this was a medically encouraged practice - I started doing that on my own when I was about 12 or so to soothe my allergy-irritated nasal passages. My mom thinks it’s crazy; I need to show this thread to her.
