#Popping hidden tonsil stones full

Unlike tonsil stones, tonsillitis is, in fact, contagious. Tonsil stones can start out small and relatively harmless only to become large and dangerous later, and people who regularly get medical check-ups are less likely to have that happen to them. People who don’t go to the doctors on a regular basis are more likely to develop progressive and dangerous tonsil stones. However, chronic and continual bouts of tonsillitis can lead to tonsil stones.Īs such, while the tonsil stones themselves might not actually be contagious, other factors that are contagious can at least contribute to their development. People cannot get tonsil stones from others. People who have chronic inflammation in the tonsils will also be more likely to develop tonsil stones. These are people who are going to get bacteria gathering in these areas all the time, and this is going to create a situation in which they eventually develop calcified debris. Most of the people who get tonsil stones are going to be the people who have had tonsillitis frequently. If the white masses start to harden, then tonsil stones will result. The debris can start to turn into these white masses. However, it is also possible for all of this to build up in those very same nooks and crannies.Īll of this debris can essentially become trapped there. This is where they trap the bacteria, viruses, mucus, and dead cells that can cause infections.

#Popping hidden tonsil stones full

Tonsils have a structure that almost resembles an English muffin: full of crannies and nooks.

People’s immune systems have evolved to cope with city life, and so it is not a surprise that tonsils seem like they are from another time. One of the major ways evolution has changed human beings over time is through the immune function.ĭiseases that would have destroyed entire populations in the past will make a person mildly ill today. Modern humans have much better immune systems in general than people of the past. Tonsils might be considered nearly vestigial. However, the health outcomes of people who have had their tonsils removed and the health outcomes of people who have not had their tonsils removed are similar, which still raises the question of whether tonsils really are all that relevant in the modern world. Tonsils are a holdover from a different era in human history. People in cities are going to deal with more bacterial infections than people in rural areas in many cases, although people in rural areas increasingly deal with them as well. It is possible that tonsils are just not equipped to deal with the levels of bacteria that people will encounter on a regular basis today. These structures might trap bacteria and viruses sometimes, but they can just as easily become infected with the very viruses and bacteria that they are trying to trap in the first place. However, people develop problems with their tonsils far more regularly than they do with many other parts of the body. The tissue of tonsils contains lymphocytes, which partly enables tonsils to do their job. Tonsils essentially trap bacteria and viruses as they enter the human throat, thus preventing them from reaching the body. It may not be reasonable to perform surgery on them right away, but people who have chronic and repeated tonsillitis infections might be better off with the surgery in the long run. However, researchers still agree that tonsils are among the most frustrating internal organs to deal with for most people. Doctors no longer recommend that their colleagues remove healthy tonsils.

Tonsils were once removed through routine procedures.