My Daughter Has a HUGE Tonsil

Oh boy can I tell you about tonsils:) My 6 yr old when she was 4 had recurrent Strep throat, gagging issues, snoring, sleep apnea(stopping breathing and gasping for air) and was in the less than 10th percentile for her height and weight!! Her peds sent her to an ENT and he had us look and there were 2 huge red marble sized tonsils almost touching in the back of her throat! We had them and her adenoids out and even with the slight swelling the night after the surgery there was no snoring! She has not had anymore Strep or ear infections and not even that many colds. The gagging was gone so she started to eat like a horse and grew a ton in height and weight in just a month...Also, her 4 yr old brother when he was 2 had the same thing minus the gagging issues but he too was in the 10th percentile and had the whole snoring etc. SO, back to the same ENT who found the same thing plus recomended ear tubes because of fluid which was causing some hearing loss and lots of infections...after the surgery, only 1 ear infection in 2 yrs now and peaceful, quiet sleep at night. They both did fine with the surgery..they scheduled it early in the morning so they dont have to be without food and drink so long. They let me go back with them while they gave them the sleepy gas, and they start the IV after they are asleep. Most will let you back in the recovery room when they are waking up so that they see Mom and Dad right away. We brought some videos to pass the time while we were waiting for them to go to surgery and brought some little presents (Thomas trains or princess) to unwrap after to get their minds off the sore throat. Once they can drink and pee they can go home. They gave us liquid Tylenol with codeine which we alternated around the clock for the first 24 hrs..They were drinking Koolaid and having popsicles and chicken broth that night and by the next morning it was hard to keep them quiet on the couch!! Hope this helps, if you have any more questions you can email me at ____@____.com Im in Madison and the surgeries were done at the UW Childrens Hospital here by Dr. McMurray

As long as can remember my son Joey always had fluid in his ears. He also had very large tonsils and adenoids. When he was in pre-school, he kept falling asleep in class. I was baffled, so I took him to the Dr. and she said that he probably had sleep apnea, due to his large tonsils. When Joey was 4, he had his tonsils and adenoids removed, and tubes put in his ears. The surgery lasted about 20 minutes, and we only had to stay at the hospital for 2 hours post-op. Joey recovered very rapidly, and he has been doing a lot better. More than likely your daughter will need this surgery, because her problems are unlikely to be resolved on there own.

My eldest daughter had enlarged tonsils and adnoids causing awful snoring and bad breath. We tried other remedies, but finally agreed to having them removed when she was eight, with no ill effects.

SAHM of seven

J.,
My daughter is now 12 and she had a few ear infections and lots of throat problems when she was very young. Her tonsils were unusually large, and when she was sick it was hard for her to breathe, she also had allergies to contend with. We were sent to an allergist specialist first, but nothing showed because they said she was probably too young. Finally I happened to get a new doctor at one visit and she was concerned about her large tonsils. We were sent to the ENT within the month and she got her tonsils and adnoids removed at 3 1/2 yo. She has had a few sore throats over the years from colds being passed around, but no ear infections and allergies seem to have disappeared. It really is better to have them removed at a younger age than waiting until adult. I was thankful my daughter had it done that young, even though it was hard to let the doctors take her into surgery. She doesn't remember a thing about it, except for the pics we took of her waiting in her little gown holding her favorite bunny. God bless!

My daughter never had a problem with hers, but we had to see the ENT because she had fractured her nose. I asked about her snoring and if that was related to her nose and was told that my daughter just had large tonsils and as she grew they wouldn't be so large and it would just correct itself.

Yes both of my kids had HUGE tonsils and had many bouts of strep and ear problems.. Had the tonsils removed at 3yrs (my son) and 6yrs (my daughter) BOTH had no adnoids because their tonsils were sooooooo big there was no room for the adenoids to grow.... We had both kids tonsils done at the same time (would NOT recomened that anyone do two kids at once) and we were surprised when the surgeon came out after each child and said no adenoids had ever developed. I guess its pretty common with large tonsils. A positive side is the younger the faster they recover :) It was the best thing we did, and they had less problems sleeping at night.

My cousin's son had large tonsils, to the point where it was causing eating/choking/breathing concerns. They took his out in January, a month before he turned 3. The problem/concerns are gone and he has had no side effects or complications from the surgery - He was just mad that he couldn't eat some of the foods he wanted for a week or 2 afterwards.

Im going thru this right now with my 3 yr old who has both tonsils so large its very difficult for her to eat and we practily need to process her food to itty bitty small bits so theres no choking. Shes due for her surgery this coming Wed, and my Oldest is going to get looked at cause she has 1 side so large you dont even need a flash light to see it when she opens her mouth. They say if the kids keep getting sore throats, sound horse alot of mornings when they wake up and get a ton of colds for no reason thats a sign they need to be looked at and come out. Now as for Adidoids"sp?" both my girls snore so darn loud you would think its a bear, my 3 yr old is getting hers looked at too and if they are bigger then a nickle out they come. If your in the Twin Cities area we went to Childrens in ST Paul a Dr Brecker who was a gem. So definatly talk to your Pediatrician about a Ear Nose and Throat specialist. Im told if we dont get these taken care of now it can affect speach, behavior and alot more.

Good luck and best wishes. Happy Bday to your lil girl.

If the town you live in has a YMCA they have a lot of activities for 3 yr. olds. They have swim lessons, tumbling, music class, and soccer.

J.,

My son is 5, and he has had huge tonsils since he was born. He had reoccurrent ear infections, had tubes and it resolved the ear infections only after he had his adnoids out. However, the ENT did not want to take out his tonsils when he was 2. So... We have dealt with chronic strep throat, mouth breathing, waking up tired, snoring, oral aversion (swallowing difficulties) which affect his speech and mouth developement and more mouth breathing. Repeatedly, we contacted our Peditrician who also said the tonsils needed to come out but could not get an ENT to agree on the medically necessity. A friend recommended a found a wonderful pediatric dentist who says that if the tonsils come out it will help with the tooth development/eruption of permanent teeth and his ability to swallow food without a gag reflex. We now have 2 medical providers who insist that his tonsils are affecting his health and well-being and must be removed. We have now been referred to another ENT who, based on the medical documentation is starting to see our point, and is seeing our son next week. If you leave in the Cedar Rapids Corridor, Iowa Pediatric Dental Center in Coralville (Dr. Peterson) is absolutely wonderful! He has vast resources within the UIHC, N.Y. and other areas and calls on his collegues for their expertise as well. He is positive that once the tonsils are removed, our son's speech and weight gain should improve. He will no longer have the gag reflex so he can eat normally and not have to fork-chop/mash his food anymore due to gagging. My son so wants to eat a hamburger, but chokes on the food because he can't swallow it due to his large tonsils. I can't wait to take him to McD's for that cheeseburger!

I work for an ENT and the main criteria we use for removing tonsils and adenoids are for 1)frequent sore throats--usually at least 4 significant episodes in a year and 2)obstructive symptoms such as snoring, restless sleeping, pauses in breathing while sleeping, mouth breathing, difficulty swallowing, bedwetting, sleeping in unusual positions. It really doesn't matter how old they are, especially if they fit one of the criteria (they don't need to fit both). The reasons for putting ear tubes in are for 1)frequent ear infections--usually 4 infections in a year or 3 in 6 months and 2)chronic fluid--that's been there 2 months or longer. We will often take out tonsils and adenoids and put ear tubes in at the same time. Hope that helps.

my understanding of fluids is they come from somewhere. They are your body reacting to something- maybe a virus or bacteria or even allergies. Every human being is so different. I read somewhere that the ear canals in babies run straight and as they grow they tilt, until then the fluid can go all around the sinus,ears throats or whatever and it just trades everything everywhere. My instinct is to figure out the source of the fluid, and I would maybe think about food/chemical sensitivities or even allergies.
I do know when my son has mucus issues we take him of dairy, wheat, soy, meat products and bananas... I read that they are all mucus producing... and we do like chicken soup with lots of veggies, but not the chicken, or like a rice and beans dish.
the other thing we do is use our homeopath and we have really good results with her too.
good luck!
Ear nose and throat magazine explains inflamed tonsils
http://www.entmags.org/tonsillitis.asp

yes my 4 yr old neice did and she just got her tonsuils taken out . so please get medical attention imidatly if she can't breath or swollow
because my neice almost could not breath cause her tonsils were to swollen. C. N

I don't think my issue was so much the largeness of the tonsils, but when I was in second grade I had mine removed. I was constantly getting strep and tonsilitus. My mom finally begged the doctors to remove them.

I still get viral infections in my throat sometimes, but I've only had strep 2 times since I had mine removed.

Hi,
My daughter Claire whom is 29 mos just had her tonsils out this last week. She has had problems for over the last year with two febrile seizures due to her fever. Alot of the time we would rush her to the emergency room only to be dismissed as a "virus". It made me mad they wouldn't even do any testing. We literally were in the docs office a few weeks out of every month. They would just give her a antibiotic only for her ears and tonsils to get infected again. Her tonsils were full of pus and huge. Finally we switched ENT to one whom is a pediatric one. His name is Dr. Beste out of Children's in Milwaukee. Her surgery was on April 9th and she seems to be doing well. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion.

Hey there! My kids don't seem to have trouble but I always had really big tonsils when I was growing up (still do) and got strep throat more than usual I think. But they never removed mine, thankfully. I don't really have any advice, except to avoid surgery if you can.

Where do you live? I have an almost 3-year-old and a 17-month-old and another one the way. I stay at home with my kids, but I also work from home as a medical transcriptionist and I've just started dabbling with Arbonne products. We live in Parkersburg, and there are a lot of moms around here to get together with. Good luck with your daughter!

We went through the same thing with my 4 year old son. He ended up getting his tonsils and adenoids out and hasn't had any problems since. It has even cleared up what we thought was allergies! I think its pretty common cause they were doing 16 tonsillectomies that day!

Hi!

About 5 years ago my daughter had the same problem. Constantly having "throat infections" and finally her tonsils were just permanently enlarged. We had to have them removed and she has not been sick much since. Nothing more than a simple cold that did not require any medicines or doctor visits. We were told that once tonsils get to this stage the only thing to do was take them out. She was snoring pretty bad, too, and I was afraid sometimes that she couldn't breathe. That is gone, too. Having them removed was the best thing we ever did. Good luck. It's not fun having a child be sick so often.

My daughter had big tonsils at that age as well. They sent us to an ENT and they said at that age they are usually large and that kids grow into them. We went back the next year and they were even bigger so around a year ago she had them removed. They will ask you if your child snores or stops breathing at night. Incidence of strep and ear infections. After my child had them removed, she had a huge growth spurt. They said that was common because they finally are getting the sleep they need and can grow. Her behavior was markedly improved as well, poor girl was finally getting the rest she needed! Good luck

hi J., my name is C. and i am a mother of 4 children 4 are adults and a 15 yr old at home. my oldest daughter when she was little had trouble with her tonsils with strep all the time. by the time she was 6 she had them removed. my other daughter the third one born had enlarged tonsils for as far back as i can remember but they didn't cause any problem until she got older. now she has small vocal cords and if she talks alot like on the phone for work related she gets hoarse and has been advised to have them removed. if i were you i would see the specialist and bring this up and they will probably advise you to have them removed which is easier on them as children than adults. as for the fluid in the ear it is common for kids to get this especially when they are little, but when it is a freguent event then the usual thing is to put tubes in the ears. My nephews have had it done and i also i some friends that have had it done to their children and I might have a grandson that might have it done too. and you what to know about some at home work you can do please contact me at my e-mail and i might be able to help you as i have recently started some myself. My e-mail is ____@____.com

Hi,
My daughter had ear trouble every 6 weeks for her first 3 yrs then grew out of it. No big deals til she was 7 or 8 then strep started--the last bout swelled her glands so much 2 rounds of antibiotics wouldn't make them go back down & she had issues swallowing. We say the ENT & she just had her tonsils out yesterday & they caulderized her adnoids too. I've been told its worth it---but so hard seeing her in such pain!! She's 10 so a big girl now but it's really draining for her and us to see and force her to drink & swallow!

Hi J.,
My 4 year old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed when he was 2 1/2. He also has Down syndrome which is a big factor in why he had this done because his facial cranio structures are smalled than usual so the tonsils and adenoids were starting to cause sleep apnea and issues.

My 3 year old (just turned 3 at Christmas) is going in a week to have the same surgery. Again, it is because of the size of the tonsils. Even when she is not sick, they are almost touching and we are starting to see some sleep problems, snoring, loud mouth breathing, restlessness, etc.

Going to the ENT will be good as they are the experts on what needs to be done. If he says it should come out, you might ask what technique he does. Our ENT does a "shave" technique where they leave a thin layer of tissue. This is done if there is no "illness" related reason, only size issue. The thin layer of tissue helps protect the delicate throat muscles which are exposed in a complete excision. The recovery time and pain levels are supposed to be better. There is some chance of regrowth with this proceedure, but if there is some, it is usually not to a degree to cause problems.

So, good luck with everything. If the ENT thinks they should come out, better to do it while they are young. I would definitely speak with the ENT about the ears, too. At 3, she should be outgrowing the fluid/infections, but the tonsils may very well be effecting this.

K. S

My daughter is 2.5 and has HUGE tonsils, too. We had been seeing an ENT who recommended her having them possibly removed by the time she turned 3. We then started seeing a naturopathic doctor and he said that enlarged tonsils could be a sign of food allergies. It turns out that she's allergic to soy, dairy and eggs...I recently removed those foods from her diet and we'll see how it turns out.
Good luck!!