Not a pleasant subject, but an important one for folks who are affected. In that group I include both the people who have the cryptic tonsils and anyone who has to come into contact with them. I was inspired to write this after a recent encounter with an otherwise attractive woman who had breath so bad I was knocked back on my heels. If you're not familiar with how cryptic tonsils can adversely affect health, you can read all about it here: How Are Cryptic Tonsils Treated? I had them for years, and suffered mostly from chronic halitosis. (Wife had an unkind name for it, which I won't share here.) I took the 100% effective route and had my tonsils removed. At 38, this was not a good time, and I had a number of complications that took a couple years to fully resolve themselves. Looking back at it now, it was worth it. My health has been amazing, and my breath is always sweet. But what if you can't have your tonsils out? Food particles get into the crypts and rot, making you a less than perfect companion to live with in a cramped survival camp. Once you know the smell of this particular breath you'll know to ask people if they've had their tonsils out. I've never been wrong when asking this question. I share the symptoms that led to my tonsillectomy, and can usually see the light come on as they understand that they have the same problem. And there is a solution that's less intrusive than surgery, although it takes dedication. Most of the tonsilloliths and the food particles that cause them can be rinsed out with a carefully aimed jet of water. These angled syringes have been the most effective for a gentleman that had an extreme case of bad breath. He's much happier now, and was amazed and disgusted by what he rinsed out of his mouth. These are a great addition to medical kits for lots of irrigation duties, and will help those with cryptic tonsils to improve their health and be more pleasant to talk to. P.S. there are plenty of graphic pictures of tonsil stones if you care to search for them. They'll make a believer of you.
If there was any indication that they needed to come out as a child I'd have preferred that, and recommend it to others. Ice cream and a few days off from school sure beats two years of speech pathologists, swallow studies, breathing exercises and a numb tongue for a year. When there is no doctor available I'll be thankful that these useless pieces (Wisdom teeth, appendix and tonsils) have been removed. Appendix nearly killed me during the best of times.
Navy insisted my wisdom teeth be pulled, and that was an all day horror story! Shoulda got it done in my USAF hitch earlier, when they were bugging me about it. When I was a kid in the 1960s, getting tonsils out was sort of a standard thing, to prevent later problems. No idea if that is still done?
Marine Corps made the removal of my wisdom teeth a condition of my third reenlistment. Had one side done at a time, and had dry sockets on both sides. They covered my eye with a cloth to protect them but I still remember the dentist asking the assistant to hand him "a number three." THAT was clearly a hammer. I think they had three numbered tools, a chisel, a hammer and a pair of pliers.
In my (age 7) tonsil case, that ice cream story was pure T bull. All I got was crushed ice. Had one wisdom tooth pulled in the Navy (on the tender) was impacted. Ships movement prevented my return for another one. Was never so happy to station the maneuvering watch and single up all lines.
My son needs his tonsils out and he is 21. I wonder if he will have the same issues. And I put off getting my wisdom teeth out again. The Dr said get them out now but it will be a huge procedure.
Get it done, moto. If you wait too long they will impact and effectively destroy the molar in front of them. Tnat will put you out of eight teeth instead of four. (It only hurts for a little while ----)
I was originally a sub volunteer ( thankfully got booted later) and they wouldn't let me leave Recruit Side without getting them out. Pressure changes in a sub could cause havoc in a void in the tooth. I told them to take all four, I woulld not be back! Three popped right out, but the dental corpsman had to use pliers and prybar on the fourth. Novacaine wore off so he shot me up again and waited a bit. He started in, but no novacaine reaction. Got it out in pieces, and my mouthnpacked with cotton. Found a parking ticket on my car, so I had to go to the MAA office to try, with totally numbed face, to explain to the MAA Seniorchief why the ticket was bogus. The Navy cop hadn't seen my base sticker. Seniorchief tears the ticket up and screams at me to stop drooling bloodbon his desk and GET OUT! Day was done, so my halfday light duty pass was meaningless. Ruined a pillowcase that night in barracks. Blood stains.
I wouldn't worry too much about your son getting his tonsils out. I have two strange medical conditions that caused my complications. People with normal bone structure and breathing/swallowing should have no issues other than the normal pain associated with the surgery. Wisdom teeth are easy, even if they have to split them to get hooked roots out of your jay bone. The risk of dry sockets is tiny and once recognized by the dead-cat-in-your-mouth taste and unrelenting ache, it's easily treated with string and clove oil. (This stuff is wonderful! I'll always have some in my medical supplies.)
I have clove oil and actually need to order more, thanks for the reminder. But string? Like regular string? What do you do with it? Details please.
Dry socket after a tooth extraction is bone exposed to air. This accounts for the pain and the foul taste/smell. What the dental techs did was take about 3" of string, (looked like regular kite string to me, maybe it was sterile. At that point I would have been okay with an old boot lace if it took the pain away.) dipped it in the clove oil, wiped off the excess on a piece of gauze and then used tweezers to pack the string into the dry socket. INSTANT relief! It stayed in for a day, until the bone could clot over and was then gently removed. Reading up on it, it seems important not to use too much since it will kill tissue ... and fish. I forgot mention the best part. Clove breath and no bad taste.
Regular cotton twine, but yes sterile. I dunno if cotton twine is nearly as readily available now as it used to be. FWIW, I would not hesitate to boil some and use it to stuff any pulled tooth gap, nor for that matter to use it as wound packing if I didn't have anything else. (We used fishing line for kites----)
Totally OT, but that brought back memories of box kites, razor blades, and bait casting reels in a Detroit park in 1968.
My oldest sister had tonsillitis as a teenager, so did I but we outgrew it. My brother (younger) had his out at five. Wow did he grow. How ever I had to have all six of my wisdom teeth out not causing any pain but impacted fer sur. Had to pay for the IV valium my self, insurance wouldn't. Think they shoulda left some in, may I'd be smarter?
