# Tonsil Stones (not for the squeemish) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728 "2011-11-22T06:55:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/1 "2011-11-22T06:55:32Z")
[http://www.tonsilstones.com/](http://www.tonsilstones.com/) (SFW) I’ve had these for a while. My doctor (ex-doctor now) told me they were “probably” polyps… Anyway, anyone know of cheap, easy ways to expel them? They seem to get stuck in my throat, until I gag, and they come out. But the gagging is somewhat painful, so I’d prefer a gentler remedy. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/2 "2011-11-22T07:01:00Z")
I seem to remember some poster here using a pencil to pop them out. I don’t know if it was the pointy end or the eraser end, though. Now excuse me while I schedule a tonsillectomy. ---
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/3 "2011-11-22T07:16:45Z")
I get these too, they are disgusting and I have a hard time getting them out. I feel your pain. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/4 "2011-11-22T07:25:30Z")
Wow, you learn something every day. I had never even heard of them. I had my tonsils removed as an infant, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/5 "2011-11-22T07:25:37Z")
Discovering I had tonsilloliths were the ticket I needed to get the tonsillectomy I’d wanted for years and years. There is no sweet and easy way to get rid of tonsilloliths. They’re usually bigger than the opening to the crypt, so they have to be pried or pushed out. I discovered mine when I was scratching at an itchy spot in the back of my mouth that was driving me nuts. It felt like the head of a pimple, so I shrugged and popped it like a pimple. Instead, I got God’s grossest human made pearl. Your site says they smell bad if you break them open. That’s a lie. They smell. Period. Since you’re gagging, I’d recommend a more assertive approach. Find them, and push them out either with your fingers or a tool like a tongue scraper or a pair of tweezers. Just make sure you’re face down over a sink, or they might fall back into your airway, and then you’ll really be gagging. Also, tonsillectomies? Not as risky as the site says. Painful, yes. It took me three weeks to recover from mine - I was teaching, so I had it done at the beginning of the summer. My doc was great and prescribed me Lortab - liquid hydrocodone. You’ll lose weight for sure, because you won’t want anything but popsicles and broth for two weeks. Then, you start back on tuna fish sandwiches, and it’ll feel like someone is sanding goop off the surface of your throat. In a good way. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/6 "2011-11-22T13:38:26Z")
I’ve had them occasionally. At one time recurring every few days for months. Like **phouka** I squeezed them out with a finger in an unpleasant and gag-inducing process. I think I’ve only had them once or twice a year for the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![randomface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@randomface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomface)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/7 "2011-11-22T14:55:24Z")
When I got them, I pried them out with a flatware chopstick. Extremely gross, but they had to go. A tonsillectomy isn’t as big a deal as people make it out to be. I was eating crispy crusted pizza within three days, and stopped regretting eating things like pizza or toast within a week. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/8 "2011-11-22T15:04:07Z")
Chopstick works for me. I have had them on and off chronically all my life, but the NHS no longer does tonsillectomies as much as they used to due to the danger of haemmorage. I am scrupulous about removing them the moment I am aware there’s one there - usually when they’re 1-2 mm in size - because my next door neighbor when I was growing up had them too, and her breath _stank_ like a camel had died in there. She was a cute young woman, and the awful halitosis was completely incongruous with her looks - and it was distressing to see how they made her suffer. Rather perturbing, the mechanism of the damn things’ formation seems to be unknown. One site I read says they’re formed by the existence of bacterial biofilm: for which there is no cure. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/9 "2011-11-22T15:30:35Z")
I used to get these before using oxygenating toothpastes. Good god they smell horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/10 "2011-11-22T15:49:32Z")
Q-tips usually work. When they don’t, I resort to raw violence and push it out with my finger. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/11 "2011-11-22T16:03:40Z")
I am so weirdly fascinated by these. They are like tonsil comedones. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/12 "2011-11-22T16:08:21Z")
:eek: This operating on yourself sounds dangerous! I’ve always gargled with hot salt water to loosen them up and they eventually come out. One came out and got stuck on the back of my tongue for two days, I had no idea WTF was wrong back there till I coughed it out in the bank drivethrough. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/13 "2011-11-22T16:48:03Z")
> [@boomerwang](#): > > [http://www.tonsilstones.com/](http://www.tonsilstones.com/) (SFW) > > I’ve had these for a while. My doctor (ex-doctor now) told me they were “probably” polyps… > > Anyway, anyone know of cheap, easy ways to expel them? They seem to get stuck in my throat, until I gag, and they come out. But the gagging is somewhat painful, so I’d prefer a gentler remedy. Cheers. That might be ‘SFW’, but it definitely AIN’T SAFE for lunch time viewing! :eek:☹ (Sure makes me glad mine were taken out when I was a small child.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/14 "2011-11-22T17:09:00Z")
I get them, too. I don’t get bad breath (least no one’s told me, and my SO would have) unless they come out, in which case I spit them out anyway. They are really hard to get out for me - chopsticks and stuff don’t work. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/15 "2011-11-22T17:22:08Z")
I only got one once, about 20 years ago. I pushed it out with my finger and almost fell over from the stench. Glad they haven’t recurred. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/16 "2011-11-22T17:23:56Z")
Is that what those things are? I’ve been getting them for years! Ignorance fought!!! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/17 "2011-11-22T17:24:26Z")
Yark! I’ve never heard of these before today (and, to the best of my knowledge, making tonsil stones is a stupid human trick my body doesn’t know). Now I just want this new knowledge to go away! ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/18 "2011-11-22T17:30:18Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > :eek: This operating on yourself sounds dangerous! I’ve always gargled with hot salt water to loosen them up and they eventually come out. One came out and got stuck on the back of my tongue for two days, I had no idea WTF was wrong back there till I coughed it out in the bank drivethrough. No one’s mentioned operating on yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/19 "2011-11-22T17:53:05Z")
This instrument is handy for stone removal. I keep one in my bathroom for ready use. [Alligator forceps](http://www.dansdata.com/images/tools/alligator500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728/20 "2011-11-22T18:27:06Z")
I first learned about these when I had a polyp on my vocal cords a few years ago and have been morbidly fascinated by them since. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonsil-stones-not-for-the-squeemish/603728.md?page=2)