A tonsil is a pair of tiny organs found at the back of your throat. They are soft tissues located one on each side of the throat. For some reasons, tonsils get inflamed causing difficulty in eating and drinking. Such conditions of inflammation of tonsils are known as tonsillitis and often they are caused by bacterial infection. During inflammation the tonsils become red and swollen causing discomfort and pain. Tonsillitis can be managed by oral antibiotics and if they recur constantly it can be removed by surgery.
Symptoms :
Although tonsillitis can develop on any person it is commonly observed in young children and teenage groups. Some of the common signs of tonsillitis are sore throat, inflammation of tonsils, difficulty in swallowing, enlargement of lymph nodes (due to swelling), fever, scratchy voice and in rare cases stiffness in neck. Young children who cannot explain the above symptoms would refuse to eat or drink and would be fussy and drooling, due to painful throat.
Causes :
Bacteria and virus are known to cause tonsillitis. It is the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium that is involved in causing strep throat and infection of tonsils. Tonsils, being part of immune system are affected first when foreign elements like bacteria or virus enter the body through mouth. Tonsils, being the first tiny organ located just in front of the esophagus are vulnerable to infection. Young children and teenage adolescents are more likely to develop tonsils infection than others.