Little white things in the back of my throat!

[missanna101]

I have been having these little white ball looking things in the back of my throat for a few years now. They come and go but they really bother me. The white ball things will sometimes come up the back of my throat and in my mouth and they smell sooooo bad. I have no idea what they are or what causes them. It does feel like I have something floating in my throat and clearing my throat does not help. Is there a cancer that causes this or anything else that would cause this to happen?

[kipland]

It sounds like you have tonsolloliths.  They are typically white, or whitish-yellow, irregularly-shaped, foul-smelling, and usually smaller than a pea. The tissue lining the tonsils (oral mucosa) is fairly sensitive, so people with this problem often report that they feel an irritation in the back of their throat and are able to pick these critters out of their tonsils.
Like your skin, oral mucosa sheds continuously. The dead cells become incorporated in your saliva and then you swallow them. Yum! One more anatomical fact that you need to know: the surface of your tonsils is pockmarked with deep pits, appropriately called "crypts" (since dead stuff accumulates in these pits.) Oral mucosa lines the crypts. Under normal circumstances, as this mucosa sheds, the dead cells leave the crypts and are swallowed. In some unlucky people, like you and your sister, the dead cells accumulate and glom together to form hard little balls. All of this dead stuff makes great food for bacteria, and of course your oral cavity is colonized by all kinds of bacteria. Consequently, the tonsilloliths are ripe with bacteria. This accounts for the smell.
Try gargling with warm salt water after meals to see if this helps.  Also, you may want to talk to your doc about it.

[tiredbuthappy]

thanks for asking... and to the previous poster thanks for the great info! i have experienced the same thing, although not constantly. just on and off every now and then. i could never think of a way to describe it, so i never actually asked anyone. i seen to get them more when i have congestion from allergies, so you're explanation makes a lot of sense to me!

[jenstam]

They are very gross. I get them, too in the pits of my tonsils. I actually take a bobby pin or toothpick and pick them out. They make your breath smell bad. I can always tell when I get one and I go fishing for it to dig it out. They are also called tonsil stones and yes-basically bacteria filled. Your tonsils are filters for everything so they catch the bad stuff. Yuck!

[kipland]

My son has them, and it IS gross.  It seems like whenever we go anywhere together in a vehicle and I’m driving, THAT’S the time he chooses to flip down the mirror and start picking at them.  It makes me crazy, because a lot of times he gags himself!!  YUCK!!  

[tmv]

Yep, there just globs of white blood cells and bacteria. Your tonsils fight off infection and this is a good sign that they are working properly.  Try gargling a mix of 1/2 mouthwash, and 1/2 peroxide. Don't swallow it, but it can help get these out. Take care, tmv

[lynne1276]

Do you have tonsils?   If you do sounds like you won't have them much longer.  Go to an ear, nose and throat specialist.  

[anxiousmomtobe?]

Actually just drinking a lot of water will eliminate this problem.

[kipland]

And yet one more benefit of drinking lots of water!!  I didn't know that, but it makes sense.  I'll pass that along to my son and see if it helps.  Thanks!!

[pixijal]

Your right.  I used to get them all the time when I was in my twenties (ya know, living on Mt. Dew, coffee, Bud light, etc.)  
Since I have stayed home, and have been pregnant and nursing for the past 5 years, they seemed to have dissapeared.  I have been drinking much more water the last 5 years, than I ever did in my twenties......and VIOLA, I haven't had them....
Sure don't miss that nasty stink....gross.

[mslkpage]

Oh how I would love a Bud Light right about now.

[pixijal]

ME TOO...
My husband cracked one open last night, and I just wanted to take it.
At least after this, my tolerance will be low, and I can drink cheaper.
Geez, I sure sound like a lush, well, maybe I am!  (((sulking)))

[taysmommy]

i could go for an ice cold coors! oh wait i cant.....****

[mslkpage]

Mmmm...man, it's gonna be a long summer without beer. Dh had a margarita the other night, and I sucked down a big gulp of it. He would only let me have one "sip" though...jerk.

[mrskdempsey]

Rinsing your mouth with 1 part water and 1 part hydrogen peroxide helps too.

[Mozartcowgirl]

they are called crypts... just thought i would add that..lol..

[missanna101]

Thank you so much for the info. That really does make me feel so much better and I am not the only one out there that has this.

[marzipans]

I've been getting them on and off, too. I started to worry and though to google it - alas I came across this helpful forum. I'm happy to know it's not a result of cancer. Hopefully with drinking more water and gargling salt water the bacteria will eliminate.

[jjsmama]

If only the Internet had existed 15 years ago when I first had these. I didn't know what was wrong with me, and I thought I was so weird and unique for getting these stinky things in the back of my mouth. Thanks to whoever posted the very technical explanation. Now I know what to call those pits! Crypts! Yeesh. But one thing I'll mention is that I had these much, much more often when I used to drink [a certain green mermaid logo'd coffee megamerchant] soy mochas. I don't have any tolerance for soy milk anymore, so I don't drink soy ... and I don't get the creepy white things. Once in a while I indulge in a soy mocha ... and then I get one of these nasty buggers the next day or three. It's a good incentive to leave them alone!

jjsmama

[Malysah]

WOW I AM SOOOO GLAD to hear that i am not the only one!!!! Mine are yellowish or a faint lite green. It smells so horrible and i have never told anyone. I decided to ask about it and i think that this is one of the only sites that came up for it. Thank you sooo much. I usually gag myself trying to get them out!

[chiquedaassante]

I am so glad I found this site.  I can now tell my husband that I am not an alien (LOL) , and that other people have this same problem.  I can't count how many times I have actually thrown up trying to get those things out.

[69219]

i collect them and stick them together to make balls for catfish bait.  The fish can't resist them.  I once caught a 50 pounder!!!!

[ireneo]

That is amazing. My daughter and I get them occasionally (once or twice a year). I work with birds and they remind me of bird pus which is thick and yellowish. Sorry - side tracked. I know I have one when I feel like I have something stuck in the back of my throat. I found using a Q-tip and gently pressing on the side of it will remove it. By the way, my tonsils were removed decades ago. I'm just happy to learn what these lumps are called.

[dandelions75]

I would like to know more about what people use to get them out.  Sometimes I push with the back of my toothbrush or poke at it with a Qtip, but like right now, I have one of these in my throat and I can't get it out with my usual methods.  Its been in there for a few days now and I am very self conscious about what it does to my breath!  Help!!