White Bumps In Throat _{Page 2 of 90}

oh, and by dental tool i meant, the one w/ a shap metal hook at the end.

To Krisc 31 - I have another newer theory - do you smoke at all??

i do smoke, why?

Theory number two - (in addition to my other theory that an extra bug is introduced into the tonsils at some point) - Is that when you smoke, as I do, you create a vacuum when you draw in smoke from a cigarette. That vacuum then pushes saliva etc back into the tonsils when you release it - the saliva contains any food type residue that's going at the back fo the mouth. In my case tea, coffee etc - all with milk and sugar - so there's always something there for the bug to feed on and it's pushed up when you smoke. I suspect you drink coffee.. ? white with sugar??? Best bet is to gargle with water and rinse away any 'food' for the bug before having a cigarette. I've just been staying at my new girlfriends for the last couple of days. I've been on best behaviour and have had hardly any tea or coffee but lots of water and quite a few bottles of wine. There was no food for the bugs so my continous trickle at the back of the throat has almost gone - so have the stones - but they'll be back when I get home as the bug is still there... Am I right about you being at tea/coffee or foody drink person??

read Materia medica (s)--information about hep.(hepar sulphuris calcareum)

actually i really don't drink coffee. but your vacuum ideal on the smoking is a pretty good one. i'd have to agree w/ you. thanks!

This is a great site. Bottom line for me is the BAD BREATH! I gargle warm salt water 4 times a day and I use one of those "droppers" that you can get at a drug store for $2. I fill it with warm salt water and blast away. It works but ONLY briefly. THIS IS NO WAY TO LIVE, so I'm going in for surgery to have them removed on September 15th 2004. 6 days from now. I'll post more info about the procedure after I get it done. Please pray or think healing meditations for me on the 15th. :) If you have these tonsil stones as bad as me it's time to get it done so we never have to worry about being "the guy with the bad breadth" anymore. Hang in there, and I'll report back to you from the front lines after the 15th. :)
-E

Okay. I have a white bump on the right side of my throat and it's really annoying me. It always feels like I am being gagged.

How can I make this go away myself (I don't have healthcare at the moment).

I've tried picking at it, but, picking at anything really never helps.

I'll try to gargle with warm salt water.

WAHHHH!

Hi everybody,

Well, I had my tonsilectomy yesterday and I feel like this is the beginning of my new life. No more gargling with salt water 4 times a day. I'm so excited! I have to say that I'm in al LOT of pain right now, though. But I expected that. It hurts when I swallow and then I'm ok but I have to swallow a few thousand more times before I'm better. The pain medication doesn't work that well at all. But I'm definately willing to put up with this pain in order to live a whole new life. I'll check in in a few days.

:) -E

Hi Sonya,

Well, it's been exactly 7 days since my surgery and I'm in a HUGE amount of pain! OUCH!!! Maybe one of the most painful things I've ever done. To give you an idea of what they did to me, they cut out my tonsils and then burned the area to prevent bleeding. So first I was cut, then I was burned, all in the totally sensitive back of my throat. :( And I've got about 2 more days of massive pain and then it will lessen from that point on. I haven't been able to work and can't lift heavy things and basically have to take it easy for about 2 weeks. HOWEVER... having said ALL that, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Give me a week to let you know how I rate the surgery from 1 to 10, but let me ask YOU something. Does your husband carry little salt packets to gargle with in his pocket wherever he goes? Is he very self concious about his breath? If so, that was my story and I was so fed up with living that way so i had it done. Im 32 years old and I wish Id done it sooner but Im so excited about never having to worry about that smell ever again! I'll talk to you in a few days. :) Take care!

-E :)

John's suggestion is very good.

If the person has the "Hepar Sulf" constitution, then that is the answer to the "white bumps" in the throat.

Also study the "drug picture" of Silicea.
This is also a possible answer....depending upon the constitution of the individual.

Best,
Pankaj Varma

Hi E,

Thanks for your emails. I am experiencing EXACTLY what you had and am seriously considering getting my tonsils removed. The smell is becoming really bothersome and I hate having bad breath ALL the time. I almost got my tonsils out a while back, but after going for the consult appointment, the Dr. bsaically tried to scare me out of doing it. He said I would lose like 15 pounds and be out of comission for 2 weeks. I had gone to see him in the first place because I had been getting strep throat several times per year. Needless to say, after the consult, I did not get strep for a long time....go figure. But now I am dealing with the ever so annoying white things and am SICK of them. I pick them out ALL the time, but I pretty much get them back the next day.
So, I am considering going for another consult, but this time because of the white things and not because of strep throat.
So what do you recommend? How BAD was the surgery? Did you have to stay over night? If you could pass on the details to me that would be awesome.
Hope to hear from you soon!
ZS :)

Hey Z,

Imagine a life where you don't need to wear your zorro mask anymore in shame of worrying if today is a day when your breath is particularly bad. Thank goodness that's my new reality. The doctors do scare a lot of people away from this surgery but the fact is it's pretty simple. The procedure took about a half hour and I was asleep for it. I woke up a couple hours later and went home (you need to have someone drive you home after). You don't spend the night. The night before the surgery at midnight is the last time you can drink water and eat. But they give you an IV to rehydrate so you're not dying of thirst. When I got home, I had ice water and that was it for about a day and a half. I had some chicken broth and water and those were the only things that didn't hurt. Even ice cream hurt because it caused phlegm and you cant cough without major pain. Overall, it was very painful. I was out of work for 14 days and I needed all of those days to heal before getting back to work. It's been 17 days now and I still have a little sore throat. But I look at it this way, 2 weeks of MAJOR pain is worth a lifetime of self-consciousness, bringing a toothbrush and salt packets to parties and work, never being confortable with spontaneous kissing, all of it. A family friend who had the surgery at 38 said she simply "blossomed" afterwards. She found all this new energy and confidence. So, Zorro, if you are up to handling some major pain for 2 weeks and you can get off work for it, go for it. As far as losing 15 pounds, I lost about 5. No big deal. Oh, one more thing, they put you on anti-biotics so you'll want to replenish the good bacteria with eating plain nonfat yogurt or taking kiyo-dophalus pills. Good luck Zorro! Let us know what you decide.

-E :)

I'm glad you had the bottle to go through with the operation to remove the tonsils. At 47 I may be just a little too old - although there was a new procedure on TV news here which involved laser removal and the patient eating an hour later...the main risk of course being severe bleeding after.

One trick that seems to help me be free from them for a few days is to remove them (squeezing and picking them out) on a saturday night. Then finishing off with a gargle of decent mouthwash (Oraldene) and making sure that I make some positive pressure in the mouth to push the was into the tonsils. The reason I do it on saturday is that after a good picking and squeezing the tonsils are swollen from the pressure. So if I eat/drink etc there's a bigger hole for mouth debris to get into and trapped. By doing it last thing on saturday - just before bed and the back of my throat awash with mouthwash when I go to sleep - I have all night and a very good lie in until late sunday for the tonsils to return to normal. The hole is almost normal by then and food etc has a harder job to get in and I don't have to do it for longer. I wouldn't bother removing the white blobs during the day as it leaves the holes too big - food etc just falls in...

Ex stinker.. will you still come and visit us from time to time?

I have had this since age 16 or so, and around the same time my SO (now husband) did too. I had the theory that plaque built up on the back of the tongue presses and rubs against the holes and fills them quicker, when they are irritating me I have a bad habit of itching them with my tongue. So I developed a tongue brushing routine every time I brush, which keeps them at bay longer. I also noticed that when I brush with toothpaste dipped in Bicarbonate of Soda (a couple of times a week) and gargle with water as I always do afterwards, it seems to help prevent them. I was going to invest in a tongue scraper, another good hygeine ritual I am told.
I will consider a tonsill-ectomy
Interesting they have a real name, my dentist had no clue - just told me it wasn't oral thrush. I never mentioned it to my doctor through embarassment. My son does the 'tongue itch-scratching' thing when he is sleepy, if it irritates, and once when he was about 7 he found a hard smelly lump too which came out when he coughed.
Our pet name for them has always been 'Plicks'!

Hey E,
Thanks for your reply. It is very helpful. I think I will book an appointment to see my throat doctor and see what he says.
Seems like you are doing much better! Good to hear. A little pain (well I guess alot), but for a short time is definitely worth it. I really can't imagine having to deal with these things for the rest of my life. I guess I hope that they will stop coming, but I know that will not happen.....I think it is time to take action.
I must say that the procedure sounds pretty straight forward, BUT I hate getting put under. I have had to go through that twice already for teeth extractions and it is not pleasant.
Also, thanks for the tip about replenishing the "good" bacteria. Good to know!....who needs another unpleasant experience!?
Well I am officially jealous of your "new" beginning and I hope to join the ex-stinker side soon!
ZS:)

Hi Albert22 and Zorro,

Today is 21 days since my surgery. I still have a little sensitivity in my throat but it lessens everyday. I'm excited for the day when I'm 100% with no more sensitivity at all. Even though while I was in the midst of the pain it seemed like an eternity, I can't believe that I'm now typing that it's been 21 days since my surgery. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about removing tonsil stones (which sometimes didn't even make a difference smell wise)ever again. Albert, did your doctor tell you that the procedure was too risky at 47? Zorro, I know what you mean about being "put under." I was put to sleep for my wisdom teeth 15 years ago but when I woke up from that I was VERY euphoric and felt SO good. When I got my tonsils out I woke up in pain. So the pain pretty much started immediately. They even gave me Morphine(sp?) into my IV when I told them how much it hurt. The Morphine din't do much except feel kind of warm/hot going into my hand where the IV was connected. Then I was driven home about an hour later. I don't mean to scare you all away from getting your tonsils out, I just want to give you as much information as I can to help you know what to expect and get you through it. Good luck everyone with whatever you do to combat this problem. I'll check in from time to time.
See ya,

E :)

Hi all fellow sufferers and stinkers. I have am scheduled to have my tonsills out Dec 16. (I'm 32) If anyone would like me to tell of my experience, I would be happy too. I just want to let everyone know that I have found something that helpes relieve the suffering a bit. The cordless Waterpik. I bought it at Walmart for just under $30 after tax. I put salt water and two drops of tea tree oil in it, but you can put mouthwash in it if you like. It has the perfect shaped wand to point it right where you need to, to flush those stinky buggers right out of their hiding places. I had one spot in particular where I would always pick them out, so I aimed that thing in there behind the flap of skin where you can't really reach, and several of them came out. It is probably not a solution for you if you are not brave, because it stings a little, but it really works well without the time and irritation of all the picking. If you do try it, be sure to close your mouth before you spray or it will shoot water all over your bathroom. It hasn't fixed the whole bad breath problem, but it has lessened it some and given me some peace of mind until I get the offensive stinkers cut out. Let me know if you would like to hear another "after the surgery" story. Since everyone is different, I may end up healing slower or faster than ex-stinker, who knows.

Hi I have had these white bumps in my tonsils for as long as I can remember, I'm 49 now. Today I found a website talking about the therabreath products and it makes a lot of sense to me. I'm going to give it a try.
This is the website if anyone wants to check it out.

All you guys going for a tonsils surgery.....take Baryta Carb 30 ...four times a day....for about a week.

You may not need to go for a surgery after that !

If it works...remember to inform me that it worked for you!

Best,

Pankaj Varma

I had exactly the same thing, since I was about 10 years old, so recently I persuaded my doctor to allow me to take a swab home, waited for a white lump to form, picked it out and handed it back in to the surgery. After a week the results were in and it turns out it was a Strep Group B infection so I had a course of antibiotics and it's been 3 months now and they haven't re-appeared. I really believe that the tonsils play a vital role in fighting off infection and that these white bumps are actually dead leukocytes (White Blood Cells) and bacteria combined.
I think it is definately worth getting your immunity checked by a blood test and also getting a swab test done.

Lisa

They will be back. Antibiotics is a temporary fix.

Me too! I am so happy that I am not the only one, and its great to read this and find out what they are, as I have always wondered! I have had these bumps in the pockets at the back of my throat - since I was 15, and then they just stopped.. for about 7 years. Until, recently and I have started getting them again. I am now 25! I thought they were a build up of food/bacteria .. but its good to know what they are, finally! There is no way I would have my tonsil removed, especially because the tonsil stones come and go. I wonder if there is something I am doing to cause them , as they are not continuous. Perhaps 1 or 2 every couple of months and sometimes not at all.

Albert22,

I think you have have a point with yor theory. It may have something to do with smoking, drinking tea and wine. I gave up somking a few years ago and recently started again, perhaps that is why these nasty white lumps have recently returned. I also drink a lot of tea and coffee with sugar and milk. Its strange that my doctor could never come up with a theory on what they are and what causes them. He told me they were a build up of food particles but it makes a lot more sense that they have something to do with my tonsils. Especially because my tonsils feel slightly sensitive at the moment, perhaps it is a bug.. as in your first theory.

VERY INTERESTING!!!!! Read this - hot off the press via Google news and the BBC today 25 November;

Laser treatment 'zaps bad breath'

Good dental hygiene cures most
People plagued by bad breath despite regular brushing, flossing and gargling with mouth wash could benefit from laser therapy, say scientists.
In most cases bad breath comes from the build up of bacteria around the teeth and gums due to poor oral hygiene.

But in some the tonsils are to blame, the Israeli team told New Scientist.

Treating the tonsils with a laser for 15 minutes to combat bacteria lurking in the tissue can banish these bad odours, they found.

Foul-smelling

Yehuda Finkelstein and colleagues from the Meir Hospital at the Sapir Medical Centre in Kfar Saba say they successfully treated 53 patients in this way.

But critics maintain the best way to alleviate bad breath is regular brushing and flossing.

In the study, all of the patients had bad breath due to smelly tonsils rather than dental or gum problems.


What will help is good oral hygiene and staying well hydrated.

Dr Philip Stemmer, a private dentist working at the Fresh Breath Centre

The scientists found no other mouth problems, but when they squeezed and massaged the patients' tonsils there was a foul-smelling discharge, suggesting the problem was fetid tonsils.

In this condition, bacteria collect in the grooves, or crypts, of the tonsils.

All of the patients were then treated with a one 15-minute session of laser therapy to the tonsils.

The were re-examined four to six weeks later to see if the treatment had worked.

Twenty-eight of the patients were cured after the first session and the rest were cured after a further one or two sessions, according to the researchers.

Vapourised

The laser works by vaporising the infected tissue and seals the crypts by creating scar tissue that bacteria cannot colonise.

It can be carried out while the patient is awake in an office setting with the use of an anaesthetic spray to the tonsils.

Richard Price, a consumer adviser to the American Dental Association, said that the procedure could be useful as a last resort, but that tonsils only cause up to 6% of halitosis.

He told New Scientist: "Try conventional treatment first.

"Scraping the tongue and using mouthwash seems to work for most people."

Dr Jonathan Portner, a dentist in North London, said: "I'm certain there is something in it.

"I have had adolescents with this problem."

Dr Philip Stemmer, a private dentist working at the Fresh Breath Centre in the UK, said: "I do not believe it."

He said the tonsils could smell but that they would not smell enough to cause bad breath.

"Having the tonsils out is a waste of time to treat halitosis.

"The problem will still be there. There's not enough bacteria or smell coming from the crypts [of the tonsils]."

He advised people with persistent bad breath despite regular brushing, flossing and using non-alcohol mouth wash to see a dental hygienist.

"Bad breath is due to bacteria. What will help is good oral hygiene and staying well hydrated.

Link is here;http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4038759.stm

Well it sounds less sore than having the buggers out!