Symptoms of tonsil stones? | Tonsilloliths (Tonsil Stones) | Halitosis Forums

Hello Marc,

Tonsil stones love to hide… in fact, most people are totally unaware they have them. They are actually very common and most people have got them inside their tonsils. Normally they are very small (around 1mm diameter) and are expelled regularly (withouth noticing) with normal day to day activities which involve squeezing the tonsils in any way, such as coughing, yawning, swallowing, clearing our throats… 

The problem is that some of us have got what is called cryptic tonsils, or tonsils which have got large amounts of folds, nooks and crannies, or large crypts with very exposed openings. This can be genetic or can occur as a result of recurrent throat infections (where the tonsils get extremely swollen, sometimes with pus, then shrink again, and so on) which permanently scars the tonsils or leaves them with very big pits. 

There are many other predisposing factors that can influence the rate at which tonsil stones form; here is a post which may help you:

Tonsil Stones and Bad Breath – Predisposing Factors

To check if you do have tonsil stones or debris accumulating inside your tonsils there are different methods you can use. Using a clean q-tip to gently press your tonsillar area, starting from the bottom and moving in an upwards direction, will often produce some "tonsil juice", debris or hardened stones which smell extremely putrid. To know if this debris or tonsil stones are affecting your breath, the best is to ask a friend or family member. While around 75% of people with tonsil stones do suffer from bad breath, some people have tonsil stones which are so buried that do not affect their breaths that much. 

Giant tonsil stones are another issue, and these need to be extracted by a professional. 

I hope this helps!

Dolors

I did not know it was possible to remove them with the tongue!

I use all sorts of techiques to remove them, but my tongue was not in my arsenal of tools! :-)

Yes, tonsil stones smell of dead stuff; it is one of the most horrible smells you can come across…