Symptoms of tonsils

What Are Adenoids? Adenoids are a mass of tissue that, along with your tonsils, help keep you healthy by trapping harmful germs that pass through the nose or mouth. Your adenoids also produce antibodies to help your body fight infections. Unlike tonsils, which can be easily seen by opening your mouth, you cannot see the adenoids. A doctor has to use a small mirror or special instrument with a light to see the adenoids. Sometimes X-rays may be taken to see them more clearly. While adenoids play an important role in keeping a person healthy, as you get older, adenoids become less important, because your body is able to fight infection in other ways. In fact, adenoids often get smaller around age 5 or 6 and virtually disappear by the teen years. What Is Adenoiditis? Even though adenoids help filter out germs from your body, sometimes they can get overwhelmed by bacteria and become infected. When this happens they also get inflamed and swollen. This condition is called adenoiditis. It is most commonly seen in children, but sometimes affect adults. What Are the Symptoms of Adenoiditis? Symptoms of adenoiditis can vary depending on what is causing the infection, but may include: • • stuffy nose • • When the nose is stuffy, breathing through it can be a challenge. Other symptoms of adenoiditis related to nasal congestion include: • breathing through the mouth • speaking with a nasal sound, as if you are speaking with a pinched nose • difficulty sleeping • How Is Adenoiditis Treat...

Overview Tonsil cancer is the most common form of oropharyngeal cancer. What is tonsil cancer? Tonsil cancer occurs when abnormal cells in your tonsils grow out of control, forming tumors or lesions. Tonsil cancer is the most common form of Who does tonsil cancer affect? Tonsil cancer can develop at any age, but it’s more common in people over the age of 50. People assigned male at birth (AMAB) are three to four times more likely than people assigned female at birth (AFAB) to develop the condition. Additionally, white people are slightly more likely than Black people to be diagnosed with tonsil cancer. How common is tonsil cancer? According to the American Cancer Society, there’s a 1 in 60 chance that males will develop tonsil cancer in their lifetime. For females, there is a 1 in 140 chance. There has been a recent upsurge in tonsil cancer cases due to the increasing prevalence of HPV-related cancers. Tonsil cancer vs cyst: What’s the difference? In most cases, tonsil cancer doesn’t involve the formation of cysts. However, tonsil cancer can cause some of the same symptoms as tonsil cysts, including difficulty swallowing and feeling like there’s something stuck in the back of your throat. Symptoms and Causes What are signs of tonsil cancer? Some of the most common tonsil cancer symptoms include: • Lump in the neck. • A sore or ulcer in the back of the mouth that won’t heal. • Blood in your saliva. • Mouth pain. • One tonsil that’s larger than the other. • A • Ear pain. • •...