Whiletonsilsmay occasionally become swollen when you have an infection, swelling goes down for most people in a few weeks. But for some people, the swelling becomes a chronic condition that can lead to other health complications if not treated.
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Causes
In some people, the swelling in their tonsils becomes a chronic condition that does not go away. Others may haverecurrent tonsillitis, a condition in which frequent infections cause their tonsils to become swollen on a regular basis.The large size of the tonsils can lead to other health risks and complications.
While swollen tonsils alone can cause complications, each infection will also have other complications unrelated to the tonsils. For example, untreated strep throat can lead to kidney and heart problems.
Causes of Tonsillitis
Symptoms and Complications
These are the typical symptoms and possible complications from swollen tonsils:
Sore Throat and Painful Swallowing
Your biggest complaint while having swollen tonsils is likely to be asore throat. This may cause you to have a lack of desire to eat or drink due to the level of pain with swallowing (also referred to as odynophagia).
While painful, you must keep drinking to avoid dehydration.Eating is also important to maintain your health and avoid malnutrition.
With acute swelling of the tonsils, lack of eating is not likely to result in malnutrition, however, if you have chronic or recurrent swelling and pain, lack of adequate nutrition and weight loss can become an issue. Whether chronic or acute pain with a sore throat, you should always drink plenty of fluids to avoid getting dehydrated.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes a person to stop breathing for brief periods of time during sleep. Swollen tonsils are a common cause of obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious condition that has been associated with other serious health risks and symptoms including:
Sleep apnea occurs in approximately 1% to 4% of children.The recommended treatment is surgicalremoval of the tonsilsand adenoids.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Other Complications
Treatment
For acute tonsillitis, you can treat the symptoms. For pain associated with swallowing, you can use lozenges with menthol or throat sprays (like Chloraseptic) and over-the-counter medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen. Treating pain will help you to be able to eat and drink.
The other symptoms will improve with treatment (antibiotics) if the cause is bacterial or with time if the cause is viral.
Chronic tonsillitis or recurrent tonsillitis is different than the occasional infections which cause a temporary episode of swollen tonsils. These conditions usually persist despite the use of antibiotics or adequate time and rest for your immune system to fight off an infection.
When other treatments have failed to decrease the size of your tonsils, your healthcare provider may recommend surgical removal of your tonsils and adenoids, especially if you have complications such as sleep apnea.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institutes of Health.Understanding recurrent tonsillitis.Dunmire SK, Hogquist KA, Balfour HH.Infectious mononucleosis. In: Münz C, ed.Epstein Barr Virus Volume 1. Vol 390. Springer International Publishing; 2015:211-240. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22822-8_9National Institutes of Health.Soothing a sore throat.Castillo C, Ruffo C.An uncommon cause of severe upper airway obstruction in a toddler.Glob Pediatr Health.2017;4:2333794X17736992. doi:10.1177/2333794X17736992Jansen L, Vos XG, Löwenberg M.Herpes simplex induced necrotizing tonsillitis in an immunocompromised patient with ulcerative colitis.World J Clin Cases.2016;4(2):60-62. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v4.i2.60American Sleep Apnea Association.Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.Lumeng JC, Chervin RD.Epidemiology of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(2):242-252. doi:10.1513/pats.200708-135MGGalioto NJ.Peritonsillar abscess.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(8):501-506.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institutes of Health.Understanding recurrent tonsillitis.Dunmire SK, Hogquist KA, Balfour HH.Infectious mononucleosis. In: Münz C, ed.Epstein Barr Virus Volume 1. Vol 390. Springer International Publishing; 2015:211-240. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22822-8_9National Institutes of Health.Soothing a sore throat.Castillo C, Ruffo C.An uncommon cause of severe upper airway obstruction in a toddler.Glob Pediatr Health.2017;4:2333794X17736992. doi:10.1177/2333794X17736992Jansen L, Vos XG, Löwenberg M.Herpes simplex induced necrotizing tonsillitis in an immunocompromised patient with ulcerative colitis.World J Clin Cases.2016;4(2):60-62. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v4.i2.60American Sleep Apnea Association.Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.Lumeng JC, Chervin RD.Epidemiology of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(2):242-252. doi:10.1513/pats.200708-135MGGalioto NJ.Peritonsillar abscess.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(8):501-506.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institutes of Health.Understanding recurrent tonsillitis.Dunmire SK, Hogquist KA, Balfour HH.Infectious mononucleosis. In: Münz C, ed.Epstein Barr Virus Volume 1. Vol 390. Springer International Publishing; 2015:211-240. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22822-8_9National Institutes of Health.Soothing a sore throat.Castillo C, Ruffo C.An uncommon cause of severe upper airway obstruction in a toddler.Glob Pediatr Health.2017;4:2333794X17736992. doi:10.1177/2333794X17736992Jansen L, Vos XG, Löwenberg M.Herpes simplex induced necrotizing tonsillitis in an immunocompromised patient with ulcerative colitis.World J Clin Cases.2016;4(2):60-62. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v4.i2.60American Sleep Apnea Association.Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.Lumeng JC, Chervin RD.Epidemiology of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(2):242-252. doi:10.1513/pats.200708-135MGGalioto NJ.Peritonsillar abscess.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(8):501-506.
National Institutes of Health.Understanding recurrent tonsillitis.
Dunmire SK, Hogquist KA, Balfour HH.Infectious mononucleosis. In: Münz C, ed.Epstein Barr Virus Volume 1. Vol 390. Springer International Publishing; 2015:211-240. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22822-8_9
National Institutes of Health.Soothing a sore throat.
Castillo C, Ruffo C.An uncommon cause of severe upper airway obstruction in a toddler.Glob Pediatr Health.2017;4:2333794X17736992. doi:10.1177/2333794X17736992
Jansen L, Vos XG, Löwenberg M.Herpes simplex induced necrotizing tonsillitis in an immunocompromised patient with ulcerative colitis.World J Clin Cases.2016;4(2):60-62. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v4.i2.60
American Sleep Apnea Association.Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
Lumeng JC, Chervin RD.Epidemiology of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(2):242-252. doi:10.1513/pats.200708-135MG
Galioto NJ.Peritonsillar abscess.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(8):501-506.
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