Treatment of Tonsillitis

Treatment

1. Conservative treatment In most cases, symptoms improve on their own, but if they worsen, serious complications can occur, so caution is needed. Conservative treatment includes drinking plenty of water and getting rest, and keeping the mouth clean through gargling is helpful. Fever reducers and pain relievers can be used if necessary, but hospitalization is generally not required except in cases where the person cannot eat, becomes severely dehydrated, has no one to care for them, or develops complications.

If bacterial tonsillitis is suspected, appropriate antibiotics should be used under the care of a specialist. When antibiotics are used, it is better to continue them for an adequate period even after symptoms improve.

2. Tonsil surgery

1. Indications for tonsil surgery In children, tonsils and adenoids are often removed at the same time, while in adults the adenoids usually have already atrophied and are gone, so only the tonsils are removed. The indications for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are as follows.

· Adenoid hypertrophy accompanied by recurrent exudative otitis media · Obstruction of the nasal airway · When it causes sleep apnea · Recurrent tonsillitis · Malocclusion and impaired facial development due to tonsillar hypertrophy · When complications such as peritonsillar abscess are present · When tonsillar malignancy is suspected

Despite the indications above, there is no absolute indication for tonsil and adenoid surgery. If a malignant tumor of the tonsil is suspected, tonsillectomy may be performed for diagnostic purposes. In other cases, the most common reason for tonsillectomy is recurrent tonsillitis. Because tonsillitis is accompanied by body aches and painful eating whenever symptoms occur, surgery can be considered after consultation if you think these symptoms are too difficult to endure, or in the case of children, if frequent high fevers lead to many absences.

In general, there are no problems with tonsil and adenoid surgery after the age of 4, but since the tonsils and adenoids become smaller around the age of 5, symptoms often improve after age 5 to 6. If the symptoms are not severe, it is recommended to decide on surgery after that age.

2. Surgical method In the past, for adults, it was sometimes performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia, but recently, for the patient's convenience, it is rarely done in the outpatient setting and is performed under general anesthesia after admission. In rare cases, it is done as same-day surgery, but usually a hospital stay of about 2 nights and 3 days is required.

Because the surgery is performed under general anesthesia, all basic tests to check health before surgery must be carried out, and if there are no abnormalities in the test results, the surgery is performed. Under general anesthesia, the bilateral palatine tonsils and adenoids are removed through the mouth according to the indications.

The palatine tonsils are clearly separated from the surrounding muscles by a distinct membrane, so complete removal is relatively easy. However, the lower part is often connected to the lingual tonsil, making the distinction unclear, and removing too far downward can increase the possibility of side effects, so the resection is adjusted appropriately.

3. Complications and precautions after surgery The most dangerous complication that can occur immediately after tonsil surgery is difficulty breathing. This can occur especially in young children who have surgery to relieve airway obstruction from sleep apnea, and it can also occur in adults with severe obesity. Therefore, immediately after surgery, lying on the side or face down is a relatively good way to help prevent airway obstruction rather than lying flat on the back.

The most common complication after tonsil surgery is bleeding. Bleeding may occur on the day of surgery, but this is very rare, and most bleeding occurs about one week after surgery. Therefore, to prevent bleeding, you should eat mainly soft foods for about a week.

This has been an explanation of the treatment of tonsillitis. In the next post, we will look at frostbite.

Source: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency National Health Information Portal