white spots on tonsils?

I had a sore throat yesterday and after I took some medicine it was fine.  I took some medicine again today and my throat is in no pain.  Is it still strange that I have white spots on my tonsils?

[ticked]

i think that means its strep throat but I am not sure, I would get a swab done anyway

[glad2bamom]

It doesn't necessarily mena that you have strep.  It is not uncommon for food to get trapped in little "pockets" on your tonsils.  This food can literally cause an infection.  Most often, these white patches would cause pain.  Another possibility of white patches in the mouth/throat/tongue could be thrush.  If it hurts, I would see a doc.

[glad2bamom]

that should have been "mean"...

[debs34]

my daughter gets white spots at the back of her throat when she get tonsilitus or as had a sore throat,

[Between]

My daughter had the same thing happen. My doctor told me that she didn't have strep. Her's looked like little hard white balls stuck in her tonsils, and when she picked them out there was a small hole there. He said we have crypts in our tonsils and bacteria and other things can cause it and not to worry. When I saw your post I thought how weird no straight answers to help any of us, so I started looking on line. I found this article that I think is pretty close to it. And in the article it talks about bad breath, well my daughter has been having bad breath at times, and I've had her teeth rechecked because of it, next time Im looking at her tonsils. Here's the web address:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_568.html
Let me know if you find out anymore. I bet it's nothing to worry about though. Take care.

[goofarb]

It's a tonsilolith or tonsil stone:  check out  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith

I had them as a young adult, but recently had two reappear near my left tonsil.  I fabricated a length of wire looped back on itself with a small loop of wire at the apex (to emulate a handle with a small loop of wire on it).  I used approx.. 24 guage single strand copper wire (making sure it was a continuous piece with no ends/sharps edges!), then I just dug them out.  After two or three attempts at each one, each popped out.  

I then used a bend eye dropper to suck out a bit of left-over debris.  Now they look spic and span.

I should have probably washed my hands and all these tools, but I didn't.  

Good luck!

[allme]

I too suffer with these white balls, now I some time dig them out as well but mine has a terrible odor.....is this the same for any of you. However my thoat doesn't hurt but I do suffer from bad breath when the white returns to the back of my throat! Nio mater how much I bruch my teath. My dr. gave me antibiotics and it went away but if I dont see a dr. without meds it usually goes away as well......

[googler]

I have had tonsillitis before, but this time..i have a small sore throat. I see a white spot but that's it.My tonsils are NOT getting big and i have congestion. It feels like a small sorethroat w/ a cold.... what remedies should i do at home before it get serious???
and how should i breathe, through my nose or through my mouth???

[hopefullyhelpful]

I had white spots on my tonsils once, with NO pain. I had never had anything like that before. It looked horrible, but didn't hurt. My doctor put me on some antibiotics, just in case it was strep, and it cleared up easily. I haven't had any problems since then.

[hopefullyhelpful]

I forgot to say mine started out with a minor sore throat. As the white spots appeared and covered more of my tonsils, I did not have any increased pain. It looked as if I should have been suffering with a miserably sore throat, but there was no pain.

[luckyme46]

I have suffered from the "white" stuff in my throat too.  Mostly late teens through my 20's, however I figured out what causes it for me. If I eat any starchy food such as baked potato's or noodles I would notice them almost immediately. I would then get something to dig them out with. Stay away from the starchy stuff and you should notice a decrease in the white leftovers sticking to your tonsils.

[meram]

Thank you for everything! I've read about your tool ro remove the stuff out of tonsils, I had it for the first time in my life, and was very apprehensive when I saw a white ball on the left tonsil. After I read this, I used a foreceps washed throughtly with deinfectant and then in Listrine, and removed it out. Thanks! What about the small gap hole now? Will it close itself? The tosil itslef is a bit swollen now, so I will go to Doc for fixing it up with some antibotic (antibiotic) or whatever doc says.

[ven321]

Hi,

I have sorethroat for about 6 weeks now, my doctor has diagonised me and said Its an Viral Infection and my tonsils are partially red. I am currently using antibiotics to cure from last 3 days. I have question here does Lymphnodes & Tonsils are the same?? When people say Lymphnodes are swollen does it mean tonsils??

Please clarify...Thanks in advance

[mtired]

I've had sore throat for about 2 months now too, it looks terrible, but the doctor's (and i've seen my share of them), simply say that it's Post Nasal Drip with possibly some Acid Reflux and maybe even allergies.  Yup, a bunch of guessing, but no relief.  

As for your question about Lymph nodes, no, they are not the same thing as tonsils.  Lymph nodes are found all over your body and usually swell up when your body is fighting off some sort of infection.  You can google lymph nodes and find more info that way.  Typically if there is an infection in the throat, the lymph nodes in the throat tend to swell up.  

Why did your doctor give you antibiotics if you have a viral infection?  Antibiotics are given only for a bacterial infection.

As for me, I've been taking all sort of medicine, and none of it seems to be working.  Currently I developed a white bump on my right tonsil and it looks red and swollen.  It hurts too.  I don't know if this is bacterial or not.  It stinks.  I go to the doctor tomorrow.  

Have you been to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist?  You might need to go.  Have you been tested for Mono?  The fact that it is lasting for 6 weeks could be an indicator of Mono.  But don't worry, mine has been going on for 2 months with no sign of going away and the doctors keep saying it's nothing to worry about (and i have been tested for mono, which came back negative).  

Good luck!

[lenia]

I have had white spots come and go for about a year. Most of the time dont have pain or any other symptoms but a couple of times I feel unwell hot and cold all the time and generally not well. Gave me antibitotics but did nothing . I read through the internet of someone chewing garlic raw and the next  day it dissapeared. Couldnt believe it. However I still feel hot and cold and run down . This has been going on for 3 weeks. Dont know what it is now. Mouth got ulcers too know.

[deanslist]

i had white spots and a sore throat in february, told i had a cold. 2 weeks later i was in the ER with my tonsils swollen together and spitting in a cup. i was put on antibiotics and the white spots went away and my tonsils went down, a little. 3 weeks after that i was back at the dr. with swollen tonsils still and sore throat with white spots again, strep! put on antibiotics. tonsils went down alittle, white spots gone, throat better. 4 weeks after that back at the dr. with still swollen tonsils and sore throat, tonsillitis again! i was sent to an ENT. now it's july, the ENT does a CT scan and says i need surgery on my "pads", deviated septum, "weed wack" my nose. he says when he's done i will breath and smell better and in a few months my tonsils will go down. a month later my left tonsil went down, right one didn't. in september the white spots came back on my right tonsil and i felt like ****. in october, after "waiting in out", i went to my ENT about it and he looked in my throat and said i have food stuck to it, pick it off, people don't get strep over age 20. no other tests, temp, etc. my left tonsil got swollen and acquired it's own white spots and i continued to feel like ****. now it's november and i wake up one morning with all of my muscles hurting and a lump in my armpit. i lay in bed for 3 days and finally go see my pcp instead of my ENT. she does a strep test that is sent away, tells me my lump is a cyst to not be worried about it, and gave me an antihistamine to try and shrink my tonsils that have been swollen for 9 months. this was a week ago. i've been taking the antihistamine and my muscles don't hurt as much but my throat hurts worse and i can't lay on my back or i choke. my doctor's office just called to tell me my strep test was negative for strep, but positive for STAPH!! it's scary how you know there is something wrong with you but the doctors just like to dismiss you easily. this whole white spot thing is confusing as well:
it could be food stuck in crypts
it could be pus
it could be white blood cells and bacteria
i think doctors guess at the first thing with the most common symptoms and if that doesn't work, on to the next thing with those symptoms x's a new one, and so on..................

[ceecee1990]

I suffer from these too! Ever since I was about nine years old I've been getting them (I'm 18 now.) Some sizes are small, some are large. I pick them out using large q-tips. But mine also have a disgusting odor to them. The best way to describe the smell is very bad morning breath almost. I've been getting them a lot recently. I can feel them when i swallow. They only form to one side of my tonsils and because of these things I was actually thinking of getting my tonsils removed.

[Tremell]

I have these little white specs on my left tonsil also. =[
It hurts when i swallow. I cant even finish eating my meals. It's horrible. Im also burning hot and sweating one moment; then im freezing cold the next. This just happened over the weekend. I woke up saturday morning fine. I went to my football tryout, and after i was in pain. I felt so bad, that i stayed in bed all day on sunday. Litterally!! Along with these white spots, came a headache. it hasnt gone away. I've been taking pills like crazy. It seems like I just cant get a break.. =/ My girlfriend was with me this whole weekend. even yesterday when i felt as if I was at my worst. I've kissed her. But she's fine. She doesnt feel sick at all. What's going on?

[mouthcare]

I get these white things in the craters on the bac of my throat as well but now white spots have appeared and it loos like my tonsil is swollen and slightly red.The first thing that came to my mind was cancer until i read these stories. I dont have any pain i also have sores on the top of my mouth and what looks like rings on my tongue. I a mess if anyone can help let me know

[whatisit800]

I am experiencing similar symptoms and don't know what to do about it either!! It started with the roof of my mouth swelling and trouble swallowing. I have been like this for about 4 days and yesterday I noticed what looked like a blister on my left tonsil. I know I don't have food stuck in tonsil because I've had that before. I do not have a sore throat and no fever. I just feel kinda yucky and no appetite. I went to the Dr. and checked negative for strep. Dr. also told me I have bumps on my tongue and on roof of my mouth. What could it be?? Help

[tonsilhelpcom]

I have a bunch of information on tonsillitis and tonsil stones (tonsilloiths) and products reviewed that cure them, at my site http://www.tonsil-help.com

If you're experiencing the white spots and it's only recent, I would give it a little but of time and see if they go away.  Sometimes it's just a temporary side effect of tonsillitis and strep.

Take Care - Josh