Swollen Tonsils

Good Morning,
I agree with the others - it's time to take him to an ENT. My 5 year old has had problems with her ears and throat since she was a baby. She has had 3 sets of tubes and finally they took her tonsils out in March and she has been as healthy as a horse ever since then.

Good luck!

I agree with everyone. Take him to an ENT. I had my tonsils out when I was 5 so that is probably what he needs. Good luck!!

Well the fever is an indication of an infection.
But tonsils can swell up without an infection.
When my son was 4 we had his tonsils (and adenoids) out because they swelled to the point where they were becoming an obstruction - interfering with his breathing when sleeping and swallowing in general.
He never had a fever.
We tried steroids for 2 weeks and they did deflate for a short while but as soon as the steroid series was finished they swelled right back up again.
So we just had them out and were done with it.
After a short recovery period he slept SO much better since the snoring disappeared and he could eat and drink with no difficulties.
Tonsillitis just means 'inflammation of the tonsils' which I'm pretty sure is the case with your son.
It doesn't matter WHAT is causing the inflammation (it doesn't have to be strep), they are just inflamed and the antibiotics can't seem to permanently resolve what ever the problem is.
This has gone on for 6 months with no sign of stopping.
Constantly being on antibiotics is not a good thing in the long run.
Antibiotics would not have an effect on tonsil stones so I rule that out as a possible cause.
Make an appointment with an ENT (ear nose throat) doctor and see what they have to say.
A tonsillectomy will most likely resolve the situation.

If he is running fevers and swollen tonsils every three weeks, he needs to have them taken out. Taking antibiotics every time is not good, as it will build up and eventually he will become immune to them.

Take him to an ENT doc (ears, nose and throat) they specialize in this and you can probably get better answers than from your pediatrician.

Take him to an ENT where they specialize in this and give you better information. Sounds like he might need his tonsils taken out, and from experience, it makes a huge difference if you have a child that keeps having throat issues. Good luck!

Sounds like it could be tonsilitis. It could also be some other infection that isn't completely clearing up rather than reappearing. Talk to your pediatrician.

I would treat this in the kids with an allergy/sinus style lifestyle for a while.

Here is what "I" think is happening, I am so imperfect that I don't recommend anyone do what I say, but perhaps read this with an open mind and consider trying it.

The sinuses react to a allergen, they clog up to prevent the allergen from getting in, they make mucus to wash it out. Kids do not blow their nose so the mucus gets thicker and thicker. It has no way to get out the normal way so it seeks out other ways.

Through the ears as an ear infection, through the eyes as that crusty goo we sometimes wake up to in the morning or a kid suddenly gets all gunky and it's just gross. Or the goo comes out yellow and green when they kid finally blows their nose or sneezes, then there's the throat. Gravity helps with this one a lot.

Kids find they aren't hungry, tummy is full of snot, they get an irritated throat, the tonsils swell up from the irritation of the thick somewhat puss filled mucus, they hurt from all the action they're seeing, white pockets of puss covers the back of the throat area.

To prevent this from all happening I would try this.

If the snot is running out while they are just sitting, like dripping runny snot that cannot be stopped, then I would give them 1/4 of a dose of Benadryl. It is super drying and can and will make this a total dried out mess if you give them a full dose, making it much more painful and worse off.

Benadryl is to STOP the production of mucus and to turn off the cells that are reacting violently to the allergen. It should not be used except in extreme cases so the body does not build up tolerance to this med. It could save their life some day.

So a tiny tiny bit of this med should stop that extreme runny nose or eyes, etc...allergy reactions.

Now if the snot is thick super glue goo the child needs some help getting it to be runny again so it can drain out quickly and efficiently.

I do NOT use the face Sudafed. It makes me a total B***h and everyone notices it. It makes my heart race, I am angry for no reasons, it just is bad for me.

I go to the local pharmacy that is a family owned one and they get liquid Children's Sudafed, the real stuff. It is less than $3 and will last at least a month. I give the kids 1/4 of a dose, if that doesn't work I do a half dose. If that still isn't doing it I will give a full dose and keep an eye on them. Any medication can have side effects. I have yet to give my grandson a half dose because the 1/4 dose always makes the goo start running out.

Once the goo is out the sinuses have the opportunity to be clean and able to fight off infection in their natural way. We hardly ever had sinus infections or other stuff like that. I like to think it's because I treat their symptoms instead of waiting until it sits and gets infected.

When the goo is in the lungs too you want it to be runny so they can cough it up.

Regular Tussin, not any other form, will make the goo runnier. If they are hacking up a lung all the time of course the doc needs to give them something to relax that cough impulse area. That just makes them feel bad.

The reason the breathing treatments in a nebulizer help in this area is that they contain sterile water along with the med. Inhalers do not have this, they are usually straight med.

The med along with the sterile water does a couple of things. The water makes the goo more runny, the med expands the lungs and helps the goo to have a way to get up and out.

Both of my kids have chronic swollen tonsils and the pediatricians have never even suggested anything other than to let the tonsils do their job. Apparently, tonsils are the immune system's early warning sensors. They catch the germs and notify the body what kind of antibodies to build up. it's really quite amazing!

I would think that the antibiotics are messing up the body's normal immune system - but I'm not a doctor. My pediatricians were always very against using antibiotics unless absolutely called for and I am in agreement - so my kids never got them for the swollen tonsils - only for strep or severe ear infections.

I have a friend whose preschooler got one ear infection after another for a couple of years and spent months at a time on antibiotics. He had tubes put in without improvement. On a lark she tried a chiropractor who specialized in children. The ear infections stopped like magic. Once his spine lined up he was better.

Not sure that will do it - but it's worth a try. Also consider diet - some suugest dairy is a big problem for ear, nose & throat issues with kids.