(no subject)

[camwyn]

Dear body:

When I said that the kidney stone we had back in December was a sign of being so hard that I pissed rock, you weren't supposed to take that as encouragement to put stone-like things anywhere else. Tonsilloliths don't hurt and half the time I think I feel them it's just my imagination, but it's getting really tiresome to look in the bathroom mirror, shine a flashlight into my mouth, and find one of the damn things waiting to be removed twice a week. Seriously, when did you start doing this so often? Has it always been like this and I didn't notice, or is this something to do with a change in diet now that I've moved, or is this something caused by the local water supply, or does my use of a fluoride rinse twice a day cause bacteria to die in places that add to the pile?

Seriously, body, quit it. I don't need you making anything else that could be referred to as a concretion. Don't make me start saltwater gargling, you won't like the process.

Comments

[leeshajoy]

If I had to guess, I'd say it's some sort of low-grade sinus infection making your tonsils swell up a bit and therefore trap more food particles. I could very well be wrong, though.

[renshai]

so /that's/ what those are. Huh.

[camwyn]

Yeah. The first time I got one I thought it was a piece of cheesecake that'd gotten stuck in the back of my throat somehow, since I'd had some earlier in the day, but when it wouldn't come loose without some actual prodding at my tonsils I started to wonder. Fortunately the topic came up on the LJ community tmi_chix, when someone started talking about the size of a tonsillolith they coughed up.

[ymfaery]

So do those things come loose eventually? >.>a

[camwyn]

Some of them, yeah. Depends on the size of the stone and the depth of the tonsil crypt.

Let's all just pause for a moment to appreciate the fundamentally disturbing thought of those two words in conjunction with each other.

Anyway, I've coughed some of them up without realizing it until I spit and saw them in the sink. I've read that you can get them to come out by gargling with salt water (which also is supposed to prevent them from forming) or by using something like a Water-Pik, although you really want to use the kind that connects to the tap so you can turn the stream down to a lower pressure at will. Others don't come out so easily. (I've gotten rid of one or two by pressing on the tonsil with a finger until the damn tonsillolith came loose. The human body is a wondrous and disgusting thing sometimes.)

[ymfaery]

I was mostly worried those things needed some serious medical intervention to get rid of. ^_^a

The human body is a wondrous and disgusting thing sometimes.

It sure is. And my mom wanted me to become a doctor. No thanks.

[camwyn]

Nah, medical intervention is apparently only called for if they start causing more problems than just 'those are big and my breath smells disgusting'. There's a strong correlation between them and bad breath. A good salt water gargle on a regular basis is supposed to help.

Also you should warn the doctor about them if you get them a lot and need a throat or head X-ray for some reason. Apparently it's not uncommon for them to be misdiagnosed because they show up on X-rays and the doctor goes WHAT THE HELL.

[batyatoon]

Oh blargh I HATE tonsolliths. D:

I have not tried the salt water gargle. Maybe that will be my next plan.

[derien]

I had those a couple of times, and I used a chopstick to pop them out. They are totally gross and stinky. But, the hole filled itself in after I'd done that a couple/few times. I really wanted to get some of those long Q-tips to do it right, but the chopstick worked okay.