It is hereditary. I have tonsils and tonsil stones and my #2 has them too. Both my hubs and I have sensitive throats, a heaty body and are very prone to throat infections. This is the tonsil stone that Sherilyn coughed out. No wonder they looked like teeth growing from inside her throat (read my earlier post on this)!
I never knew what exactly they were called (albeit I know that I would get them, lots of them inside my throat whenever I am heaty) until recently when I decided to write about it in this health blog when I google searched for more information.
These tonsil stones are like stink bombs and I can feel them lodge at the back of my throat each time I feel ‘heaty’. Along with tonsil stones, my throat will start to feel sore and my breath will smell foul too. Once the tonsil stones are coughed out with force, the bad breath will fade too. Sometimes, I can cough up to 3-4 tiny tonsil stones in a day. Really yucky looking and smelling stuff these stones are!
I have an extremely sensitive throat which will get inflamed if I eat deep fried food, food that’s still hot and just out from a pot of oil and spicy food. Some of my friends with a throat like mine have removed their tonsils but I am against the idea of going for a surgery. I am perfectly fine with refraining myself from eating deep fried food and spicy food. I can have a will power as strong as steel when it comes to food. My motto is “eat less, live healthier” Occasionally, I do indulge in those forbidden food but I am always armed with ‘cooling’ agents like coconut water, American ginseng, green tea and cucumbers. I believe in yin and yang or a balance in one’s inner body. And my daily gargling of sea salt water is doing wonders protecting my throat!
Yesterday, Sherilyn coughed out yet another tonsil stone from her throat. She was eating fruits and suddenly, she choked and coughed. Moments later, she showed me that stinky ‘white tooth’. I told her to sniff it so that she knows how it smelled like and would know what comes out from her throat in future. This girl has a very, very ‘heaty’ body just like mine. Just give her a piece of deep fried chicken and I am certain that she will either have mouth ulcer or throat infection a few days later. She has a body just like mine. She needs to be a health freak just like me too, so that she does not get throat infection so frequently.
I got a major shock of my life when Alycia told me horridly that she saw 2 teeth sprouting out from Sherilyn’s throat! I quickly took a look and felt a gush of warm blood rushing up to my head and I felt giddy. The 2 white stuff from the right side of her throat (my left side), next to the Uvula indeed looked like 2 teeth sprouting out. What in the world was that??! Initially the hubs and I thought that they were her wisdom teeth BUT how on earth could the teeth be on the throat? Impossible! So…worry pangs surfaced!
Whenever we mothers see anything highly abnormal on our child’s body, what’s the first thing that comes through your mind? The big C! I kept checking her throat that day and I think I checked it more than a dozen times that Saturday through to Sunday. And then when Sher checked it on Sunday afternoon, she screamed excitedly to me, telling me that one of the ‘white tooth’ was gone. And on Monday, the other ‘white tooth’ was gone too… and I saw another smaller one sprouting out from the same spot. With this, I was very certain that the ‘white teeth’ in Sher’s throat were Tonsil Stones as I am very prone to getting them too! My mum and brothers too! In fact, as I am typing this post, I can feel a small Tonsil Stone on the right side of my throat. I ate something heaty over the weekend. And they always sprout from the back of my throat on either the right or left side. The stones will come out if I try to cough it out and it stinks like a ball of poop! What induces Tonsil Stones to sprout from my throat is heatiness. I have a very heaty body and will get throat infection 100% of the time after eating deep fried food and food fresh out from the oven or wok. This is one of the reasons why I have turned into a health freak as I fall sick very easily due to my extreme sensitive throat and heaty body.
I do not have a clearer pic of the Tonsil Stones on Sher’s throat. This is the best shot I could snap with my non-HD digital camera.
The ‘white tooth’ on the left side of the pic could be a Tonsil Stone. It’s gone now. Thanks heaven our GP’s clinic was closed on that Saturday night, else we would have wasted RM50 just for the doctor to have a look and for all I know, the doctor would not even have an inkling on what those white stuff are on Sher’s throat … and would most probably refer us to see an ENT specialist! When it comes to his daughter’s health, the Hubs is one hypochondriac and chronic worrier and will insist to bring them to the clinic to check at the onset of a slight fever or a slight prob.
What are Tonsil Stones?
Tonsil Stones are usually found in the clefts, also known as “Tonsillar Crypts” of the throat. You can usually find Tonsil Stones in back of throat. Tonsil Stones are actually chalky deposits made up of Calcium Carbonate. This makes them white in appearance.
Your tonsils are filled with nooks and crannies where bacteria and other materials, including dead cells and mucous, can become trapped. When this occurs, the debris can become concentrated in white formations that occur in the pockets.
Tonsil stones, or tonsilloliths, are formed when this trapped debris hardens, or calcifies. This tends to occur most often in people who suffer from chronic inflammation in their tonsils or repeated bouts of tonsillitis.
While many people have small tonsilloliths that develop in their tonsils, it is quite rare to have a large and solidified tonsil stone.
For more reads on Tonsil Stones, do check these websites out:
The very first time I coughed out a tiny, white and soft stinky irregular shaped ball from my throat was many, many moons ago. I think I was still a teenager then or was I in my early 20s? I cannot really recall. But I can remember how disgusted I was when I smelled the tiny ball, which looked like a firm, lumpy, cuddled regurgitated milk. I was horrified, thinking that I had some kind of disease. I told my mum about it and she told me that she and my brother had experienced coughing out those stinky lumpy balls but they too did not know what they were. Whenever a sore-throat was impending, I would cough out these foul-smelling globs. This would be accompanied by bad breath and a general feeling of malaise. Whenever I felt this way, I knew that I would fall sick.
I never knew what exactly those stinky balls were until recently when I read about it in the Reader’s Digest. I was very relieved to have read that article and finally my almost 2-decade long curiosity was quelled.
Tonsilloliths, also known as tonsil stones, are irregularly shaped, whitish/yellow, foul-smelling globs of mucus and bacteria that get caught in the back of the throat. The tonsil stones form in the tonsil crypts which are simply small pockets or divots that appear in the tonsils of everyone. The scientific name for these white globs is tonsilloliths.
It is only recently that the oral care community has begun to understand what these white spots actually are – many people have reported that their dentist told them that they were just extra food debris, which is not true!
These tonsillar stones don’t do any physical harm, and sporadically coughing them up doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you. However, they can be annoying and sometimes they are an indication that you have tonsilloliths and bad breath.
If you have ever broken open a tonsil stone, then you know that they smell absolutely terrible! The smell is actually caused by a combination of volatile sulfur compounds (methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide), post nasal drip, and bacteria.
They will only form in people who still have their tonsils; however, that does not mean that you should run out and get your tonsils removed! Not too long ago, they were routinely removed for being swollen and inflamed. What was not understood then was that the tonsils’ sole purpose is to prevent organisms and bacteria from traveling deeper in the throat.
Tonsilloliths are not something that you have to live with – there are various treatments to get rid of them, without having your tonsils removed (which can be dangerous as people get older).
Whenever I feel Tonsilloliths in my throat (yes, I can feel those globs stuck at the back of my throat, thus irritating my throat), I will try to cough it out, using all my strength to force cough them out. Sometimes, it is only 1 huge ball while other times, there are many tiny broken up balls. The Chinese will say that I am very heaty. I will also gargle my throat with sea salt water, drink lots of coconut water, plain water, avoid deep fried food, heaty food, spicy food and sleep early.
I am a WFHM with 3 beautiful girls - Alycia, Sherilyn and Cassandra. I quit the job that I love to stay home with my 3 angels as that's what I've always wanted to do. I am a health freak, fitness freak and a clean freak too. I love to eat and live the clean and healthy way; I want my kids and hubby to do the same too.
I always believe that your health is your wealth and if you have good health, that's the best gift you can ever ask for from God.
I have been writing product reviews, food reviews / restaurant reviews and product advertorials since 2007. Please email Shireen at shireenyong@gmail.com to inquire if you are interested to place an advertorial or review in this blog.
