Both the tonsils and adenoids are part of the human immune system, and they are masses of tissue that can become inflamed as a result of chronic illness. While it’s generally agreed upon that the tonsils and adenoids don’t serve a major role in helping to maintain and promote health, they still work to keep us healthy by trapping germs and keeping infections at bay.

Tonsillectomy

In some cases, a patient’s tonsils can become infected and cause pain and swelling. Called tonsillitis, it often makes you feel rundown with a headache, fever, cough, and swollen neck glands. What might appear as a common cold can be the result of a viral or bacterial infection in this area of your body. Tonsillitis symptoms worsen over several days and then take about one week to resolve themselves. However, if an individual comes down with tonsillitis often, it may mean that surgery would be beneficial.

The removal of one’s tonsils is called a tonsillectomy, and in some cases can help to improve a patient’s quality of life. Frequent tonsillitis can affect you in numerous ways, from weakening your immune system to causing you to miss time at work or school due to illness. Some of the criteria for determining if a tonsillectomy is right for you relates to how often you get tonsillitis. Our physicians can help you to determine if removing your tonsils will benefit your situation.

Adenoidectomy

Our adenoids are closely related to our tonsils in that they play a small role in our immunity against illness, but overall do not have a major impact on our health. The adenoids can only be viewed by a physician with a light and small mirror, and typically stop growing between the ages of 3 and 7. However, for some children and adults, the adenoids can become swollen and infected.

Individuals with swollen adenoids may not exhibit any symptoms, but typically they become large enough to obstruct normal breathing. They can cause a person to snore, have a constantly runny nose, or might even block the Eustachian tube, causing a buildup of fluid in the middle ear.

Like a tonsillectomy, an adenoidectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one’s adenoids. In most cases it is a last resort, because as we age our adenoids tend to shrink in size and virtually disappear by the teenage years. However, if children find it difficult to sleep at night or breathe comfortably due to constantly swollen adenoids, an ENT might recommend removing them.

Both procedures used to be common and with today’s treatments it’s possible to find relief without surgery. Since swollen tonsils and adenoids affect everyone differently, at Accelerate ENT we work with each patient individually to find the best solution for their needs. Please contact us today to schedule an appointment to address your needs.