3 1/2 Year Daughter with Chronic Swollen Tonsils and Tonsilitis...

Try propolis capsules. They are great at fighting any type of infection. Since they are foodstuff you don't need to worry about taking too much. They are antibacterial and antiviral.
They are a byproduct of the bee hive activity. You can also get a combination of royal jelly and propolis for a little extra umph. I pop them down whenever I feel any type of infection coming on. Also, get some Superfood. There are several varieties out there. Superfood is basically from wheatgrass, barley grass, kelp. All good immune boosters. My grandson loves the stuff. You can mix it with any juice. Any health food store will carry a variety of them to choose from. Anything you can do to boost her immune system with foods will help.

My oldest daughter seemed to come home with strep every other day. She eventually grew out of it. We found out later that people and dogs can be carriers of strep, and while not actively ill with it, infect others. You might need to start with having immediate family members tested to see if any one of you is a carrier.

I had problems with my tonsils until I was 17. Thats when my parents finally said it was ok for me to get them taken out. And it devestated me. It completely changed my voice, and I lost my place as high soprano in choir.
In other words.. I wish my parents had my tonsils taken out when I was little, as it wouldn't have effected my voice as much, according to the doctors and my teacher.
Meanwhile, as I was growing up, I constantly coughed up stuff that looked cottage cheese. Sometimes, I would choke on it while I was sleeping. And it made hard to brush my teeth, because my gag reflex was so sensitive.
My advice is this on it: If you don't find a remedy, please don't wait years to have them taken out. My adnoids had to be take out as well, because the constant infections destroyed them as well.
I do hope you find something works though! Good luck with it. A.

Good luck! My daughter (4 yrs old) just had her tonsils and ademoids removed on Valentine's Day after a 2 1/2 yr battle with her Ped and ENT. Yes, we had been battling with chronic strep infections, antibiotics, snoring, sleep apnea, difficulty swallowing, choking, etc. Now, she is a new girl! Sleeping thru the night, no more choking or snoring, etc. Being a nurse, I understand the reasons not to remove them but being a mom, I'm truly grateful that she is doing much much better, not missing school and not taking allergy meds or antibiotics. Again, good luck!! It may take time and hopefully she may even grow out of it!

My son experienced a re-occuring infection just like clock work every month for about a year and he would run 103-104 fever. One day I got lucky and got him into an ear nose and throat doctor and they took his tonsils and adnoids out after that he rarely got sick. They explained to me that his tonsils served as a hiding place for the infection and it would just lay dormit until the next month. I could time it on the calendar every 4 weeks that is how often we would go through it. Good luck

It sounds like you need to see an eye, ear, nose & throat specialist. They will probably want to have her tonsils removed.

I went through the same thing but back then they didn't believe in taking them out so young and I ended up being sick alot and finally getting them removed when I was 21. It was awful and the recovery took a long time - I don't think I ate anything solid for a week. However, the 3 year old boy next to me in the recovery room who had the same surgery was eating ham sandwiches on the same day.

Basically it's much easier to have the surgery at your daughters age then it is to wait - not to mention that she will feel much better.

Good luck!

Dear M.,

Our family has dealt with a number of issues and I have a doctor that we found in that is down south (we are in Carlsbad) so it is a hike but well worth it! Dr. Lance Clothey is his name and he can be ____@____.com is a lot sharper than typical. It can be a bit expensive but once a child has taken antibiotics it wipes out the good bacteria and the bad so she needs her system rebuilt to hopefully begin to stem off some of cycle. Anyhow, hope it helps.

S.

About me: I am a 46 year old mom with two boys 5 and 2.5. Both have struggled some on the immune side. I am an executive recruiter and have had a home office for 19 years.

My son was about the same age when he developed chronic tonsilitis and strep throat it pratically never went away for a whole year. To finally I took him to see a ENT specialist and he then recomended my son to have them removed. So in October last year my son had them removed. It was an outpatient procedure. He had a little discomfort but with the medicine they provided he was okay. When I told my son what was going to happen he wasn't happy. But when it was explained to him by the doctor he liked the idea and after the surgery... He really enjoyed all the yogurt, ice cream, and gaderade he could drink in a day.

I am so glad to see more and more Mom;s choosing alternative health care. Usually when the tonsills are swollen it is due to an invasion in the body (virus, bacteria, parisites...she is not too young to have parisites BTW). The tonsills are a very important part of your immune system and should be taken care of with herbs if at all possible. To cut them out of the body, should only be a LAST resort. Any surgery or invasion on the body should be a last resort. Get with a good herbalist or naturopath. There are a ton of them out there. And get more than one opinion before you choose a treatment. Kuddos for not putting her on antibiotics until now. That is probably why she has been so healthy! GL

For both myself and my youngest daughter, the only thing that stopped the chronic and recurring illnesses was to have the tonsils removed. Especially for my little one (she was 5 at the time) the difference has been night and day. If your doctor suggests removing the tonsils, don't worry - it's scary taking your child in for surgery, but the risk is small and the rewards large.

We had the same thing with our daughter and in fact the tonsils were so large they were causing sleep apnea, waking up in the middle of the night several times a week, and really loud snoring. We had her tonsils taken out at about 3 1/2 and it has been the best thing. She sleeps through the night, is more rested, less grumpy and has really started talking. She is now almost 4 1/2 and is a very different and happier child.
Good luck

Do we think there is a shortage of antibiotics in this country?? Of course not. And it's not surprising that your daughter relapsed after a course of one, especially if she had never had them before.
It's been the damaging affects of an overused product that has caused so much harm to our society as a whole in the last few decades. And as one of the most powerful 'advanced' nations - we are one of the sickest on the list.
It still amazes me that doctors don't right away - KNOWING that antibiotics kills ALL bacteria good and bad - that they should put the patient on a PRO biotic right away to rebuild the flora in the intestines and rebuild their immune system with the 'fighting' bacteria that keep us healthy.

Go to a Henrys or Trader Joes or any health food place you may have where you live, and get ACIDOPHILIUS. Check that it has a nice balance of different 'cilius's'.
First rebuild her immune system before you consider cutting out body parts. God didn't make a mistake when he gave us tonsils and adenoids. Considering they are only approx. an inch from the brain they are their to protect us. They were put their to 'keep' anything from getting past the throat area and causing more problems.
Oh they may initially solve 'the problem' of not getting sick regularly, but you are setting them up as adults. People don't think about the consequences of the future when we were meant to live and survive with all these body parts for a reason.

Germs don't hide. They set up shop in bodies who's immune systems are compromised for one reason or another. And with a compromised immune system this area will get hit first - regularly.

Find yourself a professional herbalist who can give you the right vitamins/minerals/ and herbs that your daughter could use at this point in her life. Kids need lots of calcium, lots of 'food' for the body to be able to build antibodies so that it can perform every day and do it's job.
But when we don't give our bodies - adults and children alike - the right foods (supplements. And that goes for what you eat as well) every day, then our lowered immune system lets in intruders that could otherwise be fought off normally.

Supplements are necessary because of the way our food supply is produced these days. Eating organic will help immensely. Even so, the amount of food you would have to eat daily to get ALL of the nutrients your body needs every day - amounts to about a truck load! Most people can barely get in their necessary servings much less the amount of food you would need to get all the nutrients. And you for sure won't get it if it's not all organic.

My own nightmare stories aside....I can tell you across the board that all the Moms around me over the last 7 yrs alone (much less what I've been doing for the last 27), ask me why my kids are the way they are, genetics aside....I tell them how they eat, first and foremost. They see a Chiropractor once a month to keep their spine in check, more often if they have bad falls. They've gotten adjusted at hours old. Why? Because a 'healthy' spine delivers all the necessary nutrients the body needs. When there is an 'interference' problems start. Some call them 'growing pains', some just write them off to what kids go through as they grow.
We also see an herbalist. Keeps what goes in the body in check....as well as MAINTAINING health.....a concept lost in this country because of the 'crisis care' mentality that we are taught.

My kids have never been vaccinated, have never had a drug, OTC or otherwise. My son was recently exposed by a good friend in his first grade class to chicken pox. Not only was he not 'outwardly' affected, but he was also not one of the many who couldn't come to school because of the exposure. I will be taking him in for tests to make sure he 'benefited' from the exposure by now having the antibodies. But he never suffered from the exposure. We travel to Europe, within the states, we've done cruises, while pregnant and after the fact. My kids have NO 'protection' as some would say. Yet they fair better then all the other kids who arrive at the same destinations. By many peoples accounts and their belief in the vaccination/shots 'protection' belief, my kids should be dead.

All the Moms who I've come to know as my son gets older and my daughter is pulling up through the ranks....all the Moms and their families have followed suit. 'Ailments' some of their kids had had since birth, gone. Asthma, gone. Rashes, gone. One Moms MASSIVE amounts of fibroids in her breast at 30 (she's now 33, her Mom died of breast cancer 5 yrs earlier), gone. The doctors couldn't believe it.
Those are the 'mild' cases. My herbalist makes no claims. He detoxes the body first and then supports the body and gives it what it needs. People who have had terminal cancer and rejected by their doctors as if 'there was nothing left to do' were healed, when the body was 'fed' correctly.
Just common sense.

But my point is, if we go BACK to 'normal' instead of allowing ourselves to be bombarded with the belief that if 'drugs' don't work then CUT out the parts....and we use of the earth what has been provided us, and eat as we should ...."Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12. Then we'd be a much healthier nation. For every drug there is an equal and opposite natural opportunity.

Western medicine is the new kid on the block...NOT the natural, alternative cares (or what ever people want to label them as now a days). Some have been around for thousands of years.
Western medicine, although necessary to some extent, was NEVER supposed to be the prevalent 'caretakers' they claim today. They are still only a crisis care entity....they are not about health and maintenance.
But as long as Big Pharma has the politicians in their back pockets.....kids will be 'recommended' (not required like some think and are made to believe) to get vaccines until their 30...if they live that long or don't end up damaged.

Your daughter is young and has so much opportunity before her. Use your given motherly instincts - research...and then stick to what you believe will work for you.
God bless

I have had all my children's tonsils and adenoids taken out at the ages of 31/2, 4 and my last little one had to have them taken out at 18 months. They all had cronic troubles. My little one, the last one. had to have an emergency surgury which does not happen often but becasue of the size, they caused an airway obstruction. She spent 3 days in Valley children's due to the damage of the soft palet. Had i known then what I do now, I would have never hesitated. They have made a 100 percent change in theie allergies, illnesses and strep.

As far as going natural for children, they do make echinacea in liquid form in order for children to take it - and build their immunities. As to the tonsils/tonsilitis, I was a chronically sick child until I had my tonsils out when I was 4yrs old. I still got colds, but it was much less severe/frequent afterward. Dr's steer away from tonsilectomy's anymore, but I am a living testament to it working. I used to have to get gamagobulin (because I was anemic) shots once a week beforehand, and never again afterward. Good luck & God Bless You!

HI! My daughter last year had two bouts of tonsilitis. I took her to see her doctor, and he was on vacation, so instead saw a nurse practitioner in the same office. He told me that the best thing to do with any strep is to use antibiotics because the throat is so close to the brain, and it can give you complications if the infection grows. I am all for keeping my daughter off meds too, but in this case I don't mess with it since he told me it can develop into meningitis.

Aloha M.,

I would start with a pre & probiotic. Having taken antibiotics, her flora is probably off balance which would also explain the re-occurence. If you are looking for specific recommendation, I would give her citriboost because it's balanced and it's easily mixed in juice.

I hope she gets better quickly as it's not fun for both her and you.

Marie-anne

Talk to your pediatrician. My 4 year son never had strep, but had chronic swollen tonsils- they were walnut size for over 6 weeks with out any signs of a cold or infection. They caused him to easily gag when eating, leading to frequent vomiting. It also interfered with his sleeping because they caused snoring and sleep apnea. He had them removed at Rady's Childrens holpital in an outpatient procedure by Dr. Benz and after a few days of soreness, had a complete recovery and has a whole new attitude now that he gets better sleep and fewer colds.

Hi M.-

The Strep this year is very hearty this year- our whole family had it and my middle child also around the same age as your, started it off in our family, she had it 2x. You said that your daughter was put on antibiotics for the first time. I don't know what was rx'd but a good chance they gave you a generic antibiotic, which in most case work great especially in children that have never been on them ( my children are on them 1x a year TOPS as they as they are rarely sick enough to need of them). But like I said the strep this year is resistant to amoxicilin this year so you may need a broader antibiotic to "kill" the bug. Each Antibiotics only work on certain stains and some are more potent than others.
If this is a chronic condition consult a Ped ENT who will be able to treat her. Removing her tonsils is a last resort.

Hope your daughter feels better soon-
L.

it is a relief that you are a proponent of natural health care. i would encourage you to take her to a doctor of chinese medicine or naturopath. these issues are usually diet related. that might be her weak spot - mine is. my son's is his skin, my other son is his ears. i would also highly encourage you to avoid the antibiotic route as much as possible as it doesn't target the cause but rather just the symptoms - great for when someone is in pain for sure ! but you want to keep the issue from reoccurring. good luck in your search for a solution !

when I was a child I has strep/tonsillitis about 6-8 times a year. When I was 13 I elected to have them removed and I haven't has so much as a scratchy throat since. My doctor said that your tonsils are supposed to help fight off infections and are your first line of defense when it comes to strep. Mine just weren't. I had a horribly painful childhood because I was sick all the time. I would talk to the doc about getting them removed.

I have a 12 year old daughter with chronically swollen tonsils. They have been enlarged since she was a toddler. She used to get tonsillitis about twice a year, but she doesn't get the white spots on her tonsils anymore. Her enlarged tonsils cause her to snore, and sometimes affect the sound of her voice. No alternative doctors have been able to reduce their size, and regular doctors recommend removal, which we won't do. I'd be interested in any info. that people send about your daughter.
Thanks,
S.
____@____.com

Dear M.,

Swollen tonsils and tonsilitis can be treated naturally using acupuncture and herbal medicine. If you would like more information, please call me at our office in Las Vegas: Rhee's Acupuncture Clinic. ###-###-####.

Best of luck,
O. R.

Hi M.
My name is J. and have raised 3 children in the natural realm and now my grandchildren are also. I am a Nutritional Consultant here in Henderson, NV and am available for questions. The tonsils are a part of our filtering system and they are infected because the body is trying to get rid of something going on in her little body. I have information that is simple to do with foods that will support and enable her body (everyone's for that matter) to fight and eliminate whatever is going on. Certainly surgery has its place, but it is good to get educated on protocols that can be done with food / in the natural realm and do that first. The immune system needs to be fortified and all the proceessed foods that are consumed today do nothing but destroy the body's ability to fight what needs to be fought and then rebuild and be healthy as it is created to be.

I teach others to be healthy and how to maintain a wellness lifestyle with common-sense and practical information that has a back-to-the farm approach that works!! I have my Mom-owned business listed here also - Advance Perfect Health and you can call me at ###-###-####. Would love to speak with you, especially if you are looking for the natural way to stay healthy and get rid of conditions. Easy to do with foods!! Looking forward to speaking with you

Hi.
I have a friend who is very well versed in natural health care. I will ask her about it today when I get to work.
My experience with this type of condition is the kids tonsils are removed. When I was 5 I got mine taken out and so did my brother. Seems that no one is having them removed these days.
Did you have yours removed?

I would check her out for allergies. More than likely that is the case. Find a good "Natural Dr." in your area and they will be able to help you. Surgery is extreme for any age person

Hi M.,
Just from my experience as a nurse & personnel experience as well, strep is nothing to play around with. If not treated by a physician with the right course of antibiotics it can leave some pretty lasting affects on a child or adult. The strep bacteria if not treated with the proper antibiotics following a throat culture can go and settle in any organ & gradually do damage i.e. kidney-can lead to renal failure. FYI- Natural remedies do not work on this type of infection, it can only make it worse. Take Care. Barbara

M.,
As a 41 year old who went through this exact thing as a child and into my adulthood, my advise to have your childs tonsils removed as soon as possible! I was very sick several times a year until about 5 years ago I actually found a "sane" doctor who recognized this was a lifelong issue for me & removed them.
In the 70's doctors always told my Mom "Oh she will grow into her tonsils, etc." That is B.S.
When I finally did have them removed, I was SO SICK for about two weeks & then I have never had a problem since!
So I highly recommend having them removed at a young age, it's easier on a small child to have them removed than on a adult.
If my kids had the same issue, I would insist that the problem be taken care of ASAP. A person should never have to go through cronic tonsil issues.
A.

When my daughter was younger she suffered from chronic sinus problems. She also had allergies. When I changed my cleaning and laundering products to the natural ones that I use now, it really has helped her (as well as the rest of my family!) You may want to try changing the cleaning and laundering products in your home.

Dear M.,

Tonsils are in some ways part of our digestive system and also our immune system. Taking them out (as my generation later learned once the "horse" was already out of the barn) can compromise both those systems later in life. So, if it's possible to find a way to preserve them and restore your daughter to health at the same time, so much the better.

One thing that may help prevent recurrence in terms of lifestyle is to cut out all dairy for at least a month. In many children, dairy is indigestible (pasteurization kills the very enzymes we need to digest it), rendering this type of food a toxin to the body. The result is low-grade inflammation, tendency to mucus...a fertile breeding ground for any opportunistic pathogens like tonsilitis and sinus infection. If her system calms down without the dairy, eliminate it for good. There are other great vegetable sources of calcium and minerals (nuts, bok choy, chard, etc.), and Asian women don't get osteoporosis as frequently as western women do, despite their not consuming dairy. You might re-introduce a small amount of raw milk products such as raw milk cheese (especially goat cheese).

If that doesn't prevent recurrence, I would suggest consulting a homeopath, specifically a CLASSICALLY trained one (someone who gives only one single, individualized remedy, not one who uses combination remedies). Having practiced both Chinese medicine and homeopathy, I feel that homeopathy has the deeper-working effect in terms of preventing recurrence. I see you are in Reno and if you like, will help you find a practitioner in your area. Let me know, and good luck!

S. I., L.Ac.
Lotus Wellspring Healthcare
456 E. Mission Road, Suite 100
San Marcos, CA 92069
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.lotuswellspring.com

This may or may not be helpful to you: I had the same problem as a baby and then it sort of went away, returning in high school and finally it got very bad in college. They finally just took the tonsils out and I have never had a problem since. My only wish is that they had taken them out sooner- not only did I suffer through all those illnesses but I am allergic to penicillin and sulfa as a result of being on antibiotics too many times.

I know surgery isn't ideal- but you might want to talk to an ENT doctor about the option and get it over with. The whole procedure takes about 45 minutes.

Good luck!

I would defintely explore the possibility of dairy allergy. It also appears that her natural immunities are a bit compromised. I would boost her immune system with some of the easy to consume foods on the market like acai and mangosteen which she can have in smoothies. There are a lot of great dairy free products on the market. Her body is speaking very clearly and telling you that it can't process what it's given. Best wishes.

So do some research, ask your favorite herbalist, your acupuncturist, etc... One of may favorites is Elk Mountain Herbs, out of Laramie, Wyoming, (Karin Guernsey or Caroline Johnson) they live and breathe herbs, formulations, salves etc. The wildcraft, grow and trade for high elevation plants. I have used them for my three girls, all healthy, grown and full of life.
E. H

Sad to say I was the same tell I was in HS then it got better but it was a horrible life and I have a deep voice now too don't know if it's the cause but I was like that from age 1 to 15! Even with huge pills, the DR said I needed mine out and it would cure it, my parents being scared of surgery said no. Well you know what I would have rather had them out at age 3.

But hey I don't feed my kids stuff unless they need it, and I am into homeopathic but it's torture to let them suffer because you want to be so homeopathic you cant realize your kid may need more then what you are giving. (I told my parents the same thing when I was like 12 FYI I wanted the surgery they said no. It's really not fair to let them suffer.)

This may help you, http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/categories/Homeopa...

http://www.guthriestudios.com/native_herbals/throat-tonsi...

http://www.drhomeo.com/fever/recurrent-sore-throat/

But good luck, just remember you aren't them so you don't know how they feel. What you feel as an adult feels different then a small child.

Does your daughter snore or have problems sleeping? Both of my daughters (4 & 5) had similar situations with chronic tonsillitis, ear infections, strep, etc. It wasn't until I took my oldest daughter to the dentist for the first time that he asked if she'd ever had any x-rays of her head. When I asked why he said that her tonsils were so large that they were affecting the way her head and jaw were developing. He asked me some questions about her behavior and I was amazed it was like he lived at my house. He explained that because her tonsils were so large they were blocking her airways and she wasn't getting the oxygen she needed, leading to hyperactivity just so her heart would pump enough oxygen, then she would just sit there like she was a zombie. When he looked at her sister she had a similar problem. Even when they were not sick their tonsils touched each other in the back of their throats!!

I know you are looking for a natural remedy, I too use natural healing like homeopathics, herbs, vitamins, chiropractic etc. What worked for my daughters was to have their tonsils removed. This may not be the solution you are looking for, however, the benefits have been so amazing. Neither one of my girls have had a sore throat in the 6 months since their surgery, both are sleeping well and restfully, no snoring or sleep apnea.

I had talked to our Pediatrician about the recurring illness and she just told me they would out grow it. It wasn't until our dentist pointed out the problems with their jaws developing unevenly and other issues with improper swallowing etc. that the doctor was willing to refer to a Pediatric ENT. The ENT took one look at them and said they were classic candidates for tosillectomies.

Growing up I had strep constantly for years, and wish that I had had my tonsils removed. I still have problems, but not nearly as bad as I did as a kid. I just didn't want my girls to have to go through what I did with all the antibiotics, and sickness, missed days from school and other activies. It's been a great thing all the way around. The surgery went well and they were back to their normal bouncing selves within 3 days, I had to force them to be quiet.

Your description sounds like my four year old. I would suggest going to a pediatric ENT. My son just had his tonsils out about 2 weeks ago, and so far, so good! I don't know where you are, but Dr. Koempel is a pediatric ENT, and he is great. He is with Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, but has an office in both Glendale and Pasadena.

I would have her tonsils removed! I had lots of problems growing up and finally had mine removed at the age of 21. If I had had them removed as I child I would have suffered a lot less missed a lot less school and been on a lot less antibiotics. What happens generally if a person has reoccuring tonsil related problems is that the bacteria hides in the tonsils so the only real way to get rid of the bacteria is to remove the tonsils. I don;t know if she's too young but I wouldn't know why she couldn't have them out.. ALso don't let insurance be the reason you don't. Thats what they kept telling my parents for years and finally my parents stepped in and reffused and I am very happy they did. As I have had no tonsilitis or strep since! Hope this helps! I also agree with going as natural as possible and you don't want her taking more antibiotics then necessary. Many dr's are quick to give them and you as the parent have to say "no" and look for better options. Good Luck.

i was that kid! always had swollen glands and tonsils..had to have my tonsils taken out when i was 11..and it all stopped. you might want to look into an enzyme called Serrapeptase..also there's a book called Prescription for Nutritional Healing..i bought mine at Wholefoods but i think it's cheaper on Amazon..it will tell u what she could take. google serrapeptase..it's natural but it is a blood thinner...works for lots of things..i'm taking it right now for my pinched nerve..but it goes after mucus and that's what's infecting her tonsils.

Everyone will have a different experience. My tonsils came out when I was 15 and I have not had strep or a sore throat since. It was a miracle cure for me after being chronically ill with strep for 6 months. Additionally, I know 2 small children (5 and 4) who have recently had tonsils out and it was a 2 day recovery. Both mothers were surprised at the ease of the recovery and operation. DO NOT mess around with Strep. If untreated with antibiotics it can lead to rheumatic fever and serious complications involving the heart.

Good Luck!