I'm in need of help... Filth emminating from the mouth

[Clarke Devlin]

I've been worried a lot by my problem in regards to my breath... I could say I'm totally Hygienic when it comes to mouthcare. I've consulted a lot of dentists, and doctors but whatever they do and prescribe, it just won't give any fruitful result. About some time ago I started to cough out white yellowish spots w/c comes in various sizes... I smelled it, and and found it to be of the most awful smell I've encountered emminating from a mouth. One time I examined my throat and looking for any signs of where the awful stuff might have come from, using a cotton swab I gave a little push in my tonsils and there, came from the tonsilar crypts a series of what I've found before. I tried to push it again a number of times and it gave out a pretty huge amount of... should I say filth. I certainly hope someone out there might be able to help me on knowing what the dots are and what I should do... I gave it heck of a gargle using some promising mouthwashes but it doesn't seem to be enough.... Please help I'm totally in desperate mode all the time, I'm a nursing student and hoping a solution to my problem could be a solution to some others out there too...

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

Dear Clark, It is difficult to diagnosis something  like this without seeing it. From your discreption I would think a consultation with an ENT doctor would be appropiate. Many odors from the mouth are related to gastric problems.

[flo360]

A related discussion, has anyone connected tonsiliths with food allergies? was started.

[Bea839]

A related discussion, The Cure was started.

[Svetty]

A related discussion, Tonsils clearing out was started.

[pat895]

A related discussion, Foul odor from mouth... was started.

[wucy]

I,too, have had this problem with my tonsils and I have found rinsing with peroxide really reduces the problem.  Just hold the peroxide in your mouth to boil the tonsils out as long as you can.  I use the stuff like mouthwash.  Salt-water rinses are pretty effective, too.

Hope this helps someone........it is a terrible problem as I am a clean-freak and brush and floss at least three times a day. Still have it occasionally but not like I did before trying the peroxide.

[puritania_2005]

I have this problem too and I'm so happy I found this thread. I've just been coughing them up when they fall out, but now I know how to cleanthem out, I'll give it a try. Not so sure about the Iodine idea though, ouch >.<

I hope for the sake of everyone who has this odd condition that a perminent cure is founf soon.

Rob.

[michelle1876]

one of my tonsil looks like it is in two pieces also. the last time i saw a nurse practitioner she said it was just cryptic tonsils.  she said if they are kept clean there is a chance that they will fill in a little, but if they are causing 4 sicknesses a year or more, then the tonsils should be removed.  be careful with a waterpik, i severely hurt one of my tonsils using one to clean out the cryps.  i gargle w/ salt water then use a q-tip, gag and gross out my boyfriend :).

[frisco]

Hey thanks for the concern and tips.  I've just been using my fingers to push the nasty little devils out.  well, since this whole tonsil mitosis there haven't been any stones! so, i've got that going for me.  And there's no pain.  Should i just take some antibiotics?? i can get some through my mom's work, i think.

[mlcinca]

Yikes Frisco.  I wish I could help, but I am not even close to being a doctor.  Isn't there some type of urgent care in your area that can help out with your insurance issue?  Maybe they can work out a payment plan for you.  What you described does not sound very good.  It can't be good for that to be draining into your system. Good luck and I hope you are able to see a doctor soon.

[frisco]

I've had the same problem for a few years now.  but as of the last couple weeks my gums have been bleeding pretty badly and my left tonsil looks to be falling apart, and a lot of it is white.  I have no insurance.  is there a doctor in the house?

[drmich]

Hello everyone.  It has been 5 days since my tonsil removal.  I am sore as hell and it hurt far more than I had expected.  Lets just say thank God for pain meds!  So far I can already tell a difference in my breathing.  It is so much easier for me to breathe through my nose with my mouth closed at night.  I have never been able to do that pre-tonsils.  Also, my ENT said that my tonsils were the most disgusting things he has ever taken out!!! They were puss filled infected things that he never wants to see again.  I agree!!!  He would not even save them for me to look at because he thought they were just too nasty.  I must say I was still curious to see them.  So, now I will have to see if all this pain was worth it.  I hope the end of the cryptic cottage cheese days are over.  I will keep you all posted on my recovery.  The other positive thing is that I have lost 6 lbs so far.  It is hard to eat icecream because it creates a thick mucous substance that is real hard to swallow.  The best things I have found to eat is broth, and the use of ice bags across my neck.  Also, I have found it very hard to talk.  My husband thinks that is a good thing. Write to you all soon!

[mlcinca]

I saw my ENT yesterday and am waiting for them to call back to schedule my tonsilectomy.  He said, like some have stated above, that some people have a smooth tonsil, other's have a craterlike tonsil with small holes and crevices.  Food, bacteria, and white blood cells get trapped in them and this creates the foul smelling white yuck.  It will never go away if you have those holes.  For me, 19 years of dealing with it is long enough.  I'll let you know how it goes!  :)

[frisco]

to be more accurate as to the condition of my tonsil... it's seems to have split in half.  I think i'm in trouble.

ps.
this is not a joke

[signladytf]

I, too, have the same cryptic tonsills and foul-smelling tonsilliths that have plagued me for the past 4 or 5 years.

I have found that if I abstain from dairy products that the tonsilliths CEASE ENTIRELY.  I am allergic to dairy.  The tonsills are equipped to fight infection.  My body views dairy as something foreign to me, and fights it.  If I eat ice cream one day, the very next day I begin to develop a tiny tonsillith.  If I continue to eat dairy, my tonsillith grows into one of those terrible stones that everyone talks about.  Dairy is a known mucus-producer.

Give it a shot.  It's worth a try!  Abstain from ALL dairy for a week or two and see if your tonsilliths decrease or stop.  If that doesn't work for you, abstain from any known food allergens.  (You shouldn't be eating them anyway!  :)  )

[Corn]

Guess what??? I had the same problem and trust that it is all over now. I was in for a tonsillectomy just three days ago, so I'm still recovering. I lived with the problem for more then 20 years but it came and went. The last year was particularly bad and I noticed that it started to interfere with my marriage. Not because my wife was so annoyed (which I think she was more then what she let on) but because I was too embarrassed to kiss her.

Anyway, I had the tonsillectomy and I

[mlcinca]

I know how you feel.  You are self conscious about it all the time.  I have an appointment on the 7th and am demanding to get the tonsilectomy.  Please post back and let us know how the recovery is and if the problem persists.

[BrooklynGirl]

Around 6 years ago, I had my tonsils and adenoids removed.  After having them removed, i developed big holes in what was left of my tonsils.  Over the years they have grown.  I am also a smoker.  Around these big holes are white spots.  After having my tonsils removed, i would develop a "sore mouth" on the roof of my mouth and under my tongue when i would get sick.  Does anybody know what this may be?  These holes keep growing to be bigger and bigger.  They are not small, they are rather large.  Like a deterioration of what is left there. Please Help!!!!

[mlcinca]

I too have this problem.  I am 31, mother of 2 and have had the problem as far back as I can remember.  It has probably been there for a long time, but I really started noticing it in junior high.  I still have my tonsils but I am considering getting them taken out.  I noticed that one person posted that even if you get the tonsils removed it will still be a problem.  I am not so sure about that because if they are not there, what holes will this disgusting stuff be able to form in?  I do know that the older you are, the harder it is on you to have them out.  After dealing with this for so many years, I am willing to sacrifice a week or more of pain to know that I will get rid of it.  

I can poke at my tonsils any given day and "something" will come out wether it be a ball of yuck or a yellowish smelly liquid.  It is disgusting and I can taste it every time I swallow.  I have dealt with it for a long time and am fed up.  I have seen a doctor about it and all he said was well, when you feel like you want it cleaned out, just come in and I can press the tonsil and "drain" if for you.  That's a crock cuz I can do that much on my own and not have to pay for it.  I will be heading off to a different doctor once again to see if I can get something done about it once and for all.  As for the rest of you with this problem, good luck and I hope you all get it resolved.

[lockey]

I have been suffering from the same yellow spots (which I always associated previously with tonsilitis).  I get them about once or twice a week and recently have taken to squeezing them out oo - as it gets rid of the smell and also I tend to be able to feel them when they are there...

Previously my tonsils had quite a even surface and the more I get them the more craters I get, I don't think that it can be food.

Other symptoms I have suffered from while experiencing this rather revolting condition is a rash on my face. Which I am not sure if it is conected or not but the doctor diagnosed it as acne which it clearly isn't - a holistic therapist has advised me to stay off wheat and dairy completely - so reading previous comments that it may be caused by dairy although understandable are not the case in my situation....

I have never suffered from this before until the last few months and having read this forum I am worried I will be shoving q-tips/cotton buds down my throat to get this gross puss out all my life is quite worrying...

If any one has a solution please post it - I have another consultation with my Holistic therapist soon and will be mentioning this to her then... will keep you posted!

[Sassie1427]

I just wrote a comment... after talking with my mother again about what our doctor said, my mom said that it's caratin (or keratin) build-up.  But like I said before, there's not anything you can do for it.

[Sassie1427]

I KNOW WHAT THIS IS!!!

My mother and I both suffer from this problem.  One day when she took me to the doctor (for some reason other than this), we remembered to ask our doctor about it.  She said it's not just food getting stuck and rotting in your tonsils.  You're body actually produces the substance.  I have no clue why, but I do know it's something your body produces, and you just can't get rid of it.  Getting your tonsils out won't help.  And yes, it causes horrible bad breath.  Every time you brush your teeth, try brushing all of your tongue, until you're tongue is all pink, and none of it has white on it.  I find that this helps.  

I'm very sorry that you suffer from this.  It's a pain.  But a lot more people have it than you think.  It's pretty common.  But my doctor said that it's not something that you can treat.  It's just the way our body works.  Some people produce so little, that they never notice it.  But for those of us who produce lots and lots, those hard little smelly pieces can get annoying.  

Good luck!  

[Heid]

Hi guys, Interesting thread!

I'm a Medical Student in England, and Since I suffer from tonsil crypts myself I've done some research on the subject.

The crypts at the back of the tonsils develop due to infections that you may have had in the past as a child or young adult(tonsillitis, or simply due to trauma/damage. These little crypts are lovely moist warm breading grounds for the anaerobic bacteria that live in the back of your throat. They are essentially like the plaque you get on your teeth. It is suggested that food liquefied by chewing when eating can get stuck in these crypts and viscous fluids like milk and milkshakes etc are also perfect for getting stuck here. Now when you swallow there is usually enough force to remove the particles in these crypts but its not always successful. The bacteria eat away at the food stuff just like they do on your teeth (I think the most probable bacteria is Strep Mutans or similar) and produce the horrid little stony plaques (tonsiliths). They can also cause some inflammation and be supparative (pus producing) so these tonsiliths could also contain dead white cells as well and if disturbed to cause bleeding but not fully removed could lead to tonsillitis.

You may find they are more noticeable when your mouth is very dry and dehydrated as the tonsils may shrink slightly allowing the stones to be released. This is partly the reason they are more noticeable first thing in the morning.

So you can do a number of things:-

Firstly, Go see your Family doctor (GP) and talk to him/her about it. Say you are concerned about your breath etc and that you think you may have chronic cryptic tonsils that exude little foul smelling plaques. The Foul taste you feel and the self consciousness you feel should strike a cord with him/her to get something done about them. Don't take no for an answer, you want a cure!

Meanwhile you should thoroughly gargle with a strong mouthwash. Something with chlorhexidine or similar is a good idea. Do this twice a day after or before brushing with a antimicrobial toothpaste like Colgate total. And after every meal gargle with some water and a little salt. This will keep the tonsils moist and help clear out any particles there.

Chew dental or no sugar chewing gum. The supply of saliva will often dislodge a little plaque that you can cough up and get rid of, and the minty smell can mask any breath smell.

Use the q-tip (called cotton buds in the UK) to squeeze out the little tonsil stones/tonsiliths whenever you can feel them or physically see them in the mirror, please be carefull though as you could choke or damage your tonsils so do this at your own risk.

Antibiotics long term can certainly cure this problem, as I personally have experienced this. Whilst on tetracycline or erythromycin for acne my tonsils were totally clear. I wouldn't recommend the high dosages I took to everyone as you can get stomach upsets etc, but it may be worth a try and perhaps some antibiotics could be suggested to your Doctor to see what his opinion is.

Lastly the best cure is to have a tonsillectomy (removal of tonsils). Although your tonsils are part of your lymphatic/immune system after childhood, you are able to cope without them and the glands elsewhere in the head and neck can cope with any infections. Some people feel that after removal of there tonsils they get more frequent chest infections instead of throats so its something to consider, but you will need to thoroughly chat about it all with your GP and then ENT surgeon after you are referred.

Sorry for the long post I hope that it has helped to explain and help people out there who have this really annoying condition

Thanks

Heid

[Heid]

One thing i forgot to mention is that there are a few alternative procedures that could be done.

The ENT surgeon can surgically 'shave' down the tonsils to get rid of the crypts (if they are not too deep) and this might greatly help and still allow you to keep your tonsils. Or even a new technique where you can have lazer resurfacing of the tonsils to cause tough scar tissue to cover the surface of the tonsils and so cover and stop anything entering the crypts. This high tech option certainly comes at a price, and i know that in the UK the NHS will not pay for it.

Anyways hope that helps

Heid