Allergic Rhinitis Problem

[futureMD186]

Hi, for the past few weeks I have been having really bad allergies. A month and a half ago I went to my doctor because I was having a really bad headache and my throat was irritated. He told me I had sinusitis and a throat infection (because my left tonsil was swollen). He described my entire condition as Allergic Rhinitis. He prescribed me Z-Pac and Flonase and he also told me to use saline spray to clean out my sinus. In addition he advised me to gargle with salt water. He notified me that my ears and nose were completely clogged. I took the Z-Pac and it had no effect. Furthermore, the Flonase spray was useless because my nose was completely clogged and it would just drip out after I used it. I was also having difficulty breathing (e.g. shortness of breath) The doctor then prescribed me Augmenting and Prednisone, and he changed my allergy medicine from Allegra to Zertec. It has been several weeks and my condition is better but my tonsil is still enlarged. I went back to my doctor and he told me that it will take time for me to get completely better. He also advised me to keep gargling with salt water. The issue is that even though my tonsil was enlarged before I didn't have any pain in my throat, but yesterday when I woke up I had a sore throat. I have never had this type of throat problem before (I'm 22 years old). I would appreciate if anyone could tell me something I could do to fix this throat problem because it is extremely annoying. Thank you.

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Tonsillitis is an infection of the tonsils and will often, but not necessarily, cause a sore throat and fever.
Subacute tonsillitis (which can last between 3 weeks and 3 months) is caused by the bacterium Actinomyces. Chronic tonsillitis, which can last for long periods if not treated, is almost always bacterial.
Treatments of tonsillitis consist of pain management medications and lozenges. If the tonsillitis is caused by bacteria, then antibiotics are prescribed, with penicillin being most commonly used. Erythromycin is used for patients allergic to penicillin.
In many cases of tonsillitis, the pain caused by the inflamed tonsils warrants the prescription of topical anesthetics for temporary relief. Viscous lidocaine solutions are often prescribed for this purpose.
Ibuprofen or other analgesics can help to decrease the edema and inflammation, which will ease the pain and allow the patient to swallow liquids sooner.
Continue with gargling with a solution of warm water and salt to reduce pain and swelling.
Chronic cases may indicate tonsillectomy (surgical removal of tonsils) as a choice for treatment.
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_tonsillitis