The main symptom of many diseases in adults and children is deviations in the appearance of the tonsils. To determine what is happening to them, you need to know exactly what he althy tonsils look like. Noticing any defect in them, you should immediately go for a consultation with a specialist, without postponing treatment.
Function
He althy tonsils protect the human body from attacks by harmful microorganisms. The thing is that they are one of the organs of the immune system. They are located in the pharynx and are lymphoid nodules involved in the production of lymphocytes. Only a small proportion of them is found in the lymph, and the remaining lymphocytes are involved in the neutralization of fungi, bacteria and viruses in the oral cavity. When the tonsils in a he althy person change color, this signals an inflammatory process that begins in the body. Most often, it is caused by infections that were transmitted by airborne droplets, and the lymphoid tissues could not cope with them.
In addition, he althy tonsils are also responsible for the hematopoietic function, which is also expressed in the productionlymphoid cells. In the human body, there are 2 paired and 2 unpaired tonsils. They are located in the area where the nasopharynx passes into the pharynx and forms the pharyngeal ring.
Appearance
If you do not know what he althy tonsils look like, the photos presented in the article clearly show what they should be. They are about the size of a walnut. He althy tonsils are always pink. The tonsils never extend beyond the palatine arches.
However, this description is not typical for everyone. It all depends on the individual characteristics of people. Someone from birth has enlarged tonsils, and this is also considered normal.
Details
All people have suffered from pain in the throat more than once, experienced the discomfort associated with it. As soon as unpleasant symptoms appear, the patient always tries to find out what caused them. Often, forgetting what he althy tonsils look like, a person perceives his tonsils as inflamed and tries to treat them. While they may be perfectly normal. It must be remembered that you should not take medicines without the advice of a doctor. In order not to be mistaken, it is worth looking at how he althy tonsils look in the photo.
So, they do not solder with the palatine arches, they can be pale pink in color, they should never have a raid. He althy tonsils have small elevations. They are located directly on the surface of the tonsils. To distinguish them from pathology, it is worth carefullyconsider this feature of the tonsils of a he althy person in the photo.
Also, the rest of the pharynx, along with the soft palate, posterior mucous walls, uvula and tongue, should not be inflamed. Their appearance is the same as he althy tonsils should look - all pink.
Mandatory if there is a suspicion of infection, lightly press on the tonsils and see if pus or plugs have come out of them. There will be no discharge from he althy tonsils.
Mucous membranes should be free of edema, bright vessels and follicles that clearly show through on the surface.
He althy tonsils in the throat correspond to all the listed signs at the same time.
Location
Tonsils are located in several places in the mouth. For this reason, their names were given to them based on location. So, the palatine tonsils are ovoid formations that also somewhat resemble almonds. Each person has two in their body. They are completely symmetrical, located in the isthmus in the mouth. It also has an arched structure, to which the tonsils adjoin from the sides.
The palatine are the only tonsils that are visible. They are always easy to see. But their size will be different for everyone: a lot depends on the individual characteristics of people. On average, they are 20 mm formations. Their entire surface is completely covered with mucous membranes. The epithelial tissue on them is called flooring. This name was given to it due to the fact that its layers of cells cover each other. After a histological analysis of these tissues in the tonsils, the deepest cavities - crypts - are also found. They have a high content of mucus, which always contains many cells of the body's immune system.
There are also separate tonsils located in the nasopharynx. They were named so because of the peculiarities of their shape. Often these organs are also called adenoids. As in the case of palatine tonsils, crypts are always found in their histological structure. These organs have a number of unusual features. Immediately from the birth of a person, their rapid development occurs, up to 8 years, and then they simply disappear, and in adults the adenoids are completely atrophied.
The lingual tonsil is located at the base of the tongue. It is completely covered with lymphoid tissues, in which round grooves can be seen. There are crypts, at a depth of only 3 millimeters. Their development resembles the "fate" of the tonsils of the nasopharynx. They actively develop only from the moment when a person turns 14 years old. And then, closer to the age of 20, they rapidly decrease in size.
The tonsils and other lymphoid organs together make up the so-called Walder's lymphatic ring. Their main function is to protect the body from microbes and bacteria in the areas through which bacteria and microbes enter it. They can enter through food and inhaled air.
Such functions are largely justified by crypts. Their epithelium contains lymphocytic filters. This is what provokes rapid immune responses. The peak of activity of this bodyoccurs in childhood until puberty begins.
Diseases
The main primary symptom of the presence of inflammation in this organ is soreness and discomfort. Noting that its appearance differs from the appearance of he althy tonsils in the photo, you need to establish the presence of the following signs.
- Swelling and redness of the back walls in the pharynx and in the soft palate. This indicates that pharyngitis has begun, which was provoked by harmful microorganisms.
- Pain syndrome, redness and swelling of the glands, the absence of plaque indicates a sore throat, the plaque will appear later and will be yellow-white.
- If the sore throat was of the herpetic type, then small blisters will soon appear on the tonsils. When they open, they will become sores. Already at the first stages, it is easy to understand that the organ does not look like he althy tonsils in an adult or a child.
- The presence of purulent thick mucus that drains from the nasopharynx is a symptom of inflammation of the adenoids, rhinitis or sinusitis.
- The presence of caseous plugs or pus in the throat, which is released if the tonsils are slightly pressed - direct evidence that this is chronic tonsillitis.
- Caseous plugs are dense, spherical formations that make it painful to swallow. They look like white spots located on the back of the throat and tonsils. It can be difficult to see them, even with a photo of he althy tonsils in front of you in an adult. The whole point is that they can hide infolds of tonsils.
- Chronic cough and enlarged follicles on the walls of the nasopharynx indicate that a person suffers from hypertrophic pharyngitis.
- The presence of white plaque that has covered the mouth, including the gums, tongue, back of the throat and tonsils, a direct sign that a fungal infection has begun. It is very easy to calculate it, having on hand a photo of he althy tonsils in an adult. Such a disease begins due to a weakening of the body's immune systems or due to a long course of antibiotics.
Sore throat
Symptoms of a sore throat are felt after a couple of hours from the moment when harmful microbes entered the body. Be sure to pay attention to the presence of:
- Sore throat.
- Discomfort and pain.
- Migraines, general weakness, apathy and inability to concentrate.
- Enlargement of tonsils, their reddish color.
- Edema and swollen lymph nodes.
- Hoarse voice.
But you need to remember that the manifestations of the disease will vary somewhat depending on which tonsils are inflamed - pharyngeal or lingual. To understand this, you need to carefully look at the photo of he althy tonsils and find out where which of them are located.
Manifestations of inflammation of the lingual tonsils:
- Having a sore throat.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Pain that gets worse when sticking out the tongue.
- Difficulty pronouncing a number of words.
- Temperature increase.
Ifthe pharyngeal glands are inflamed, the following symptoms will appear:
- Difficulty breathing through the nose.
- Puss will come out of it.
- Your ears will hurt.
- The temperature will rise.
It is important to start the treatment of acute inflammation in a timely manner, as soon as the first signs are detected. If you do not start treatment, the disease will become chronic and will haunt a person throughout his life. So, chronic tonsillitis worsens more than once a year.
This disease puts a person out of action for a while: his mental activity becomes difficult, as well as the ability to concentrate. Also, during an exacerbation, the patient runs the risk of acquiring an infection in the kidneys, heart, and joints.
If it is an acute sore throat, they get rid of it in 10 days, taking into account the observance of medical recommendations. But if the same disease has become chronic, it can be treated for months.
Don't be confused
It is rare to notice that a person in adulthood does not have a coating on the tongue. This is due to the fact that most people do not eat properly, constantly suffer from nervous overload, and do not get rid of bad habits.
It is normal for a he althy larynx to hurt. This can happen after an overload of the vocal cords, when a person shouted or talked a lot, due to a lot of stress. In such cases, all mucous membranes are affected. If snot runs down the back of the throat, this is a sign of rhinitis, which has not yet affected the throat, as it is just beginning.
Inspectionthroat
In order to detect deviations in time, it is important not only to know how he althy tonsils look in the throat, but also to properly examine the organ. Be sure to do this in the right light. So, one daylight will not be enough. It is best to take a flashlight, but not one that has a blue cold glow. The thing is that such light can give a false effect that the tonsils in the throat are he althy. The photos of the tonsils presented in the article will help you compare your tonsils with the norm.
During the examination, specialists often use a disposable wooden spatula or the back of a teaspoon. To assess the condition of the soft palate, tonsils, posterior walls without provoking vomiting, they press on the tongue in the area close to its tip.
Sometimes the symptoms are extremely pronounced, and you can do without a spatula. It will be enough if he presses his tongue down hard, opening his mouth wide.
In order for the inspection to be done correctly, the one who examines needs a good review. This can be achieved if the patient breathes through the mouth.
In children
When a child is sick, the mother tries to examine the throat herself before consulting a doctor. But not always she can understand what the problem is. By looking at what he althy tonsils look like in a child in the photo, you can more accurately determine what happened. It must be remembered that redness does not always indicate an inflammatory process. Just like the discrepancy between the appearance of a child’s he althy tonsils in the photo and in life, not in all cases is a sign of pathology.
Throat in children can hurt very often, it can be allergies, and chemical burns. But the most common nuisance is a respiratory virus. Sometimes an inflammatory reaction caused by harmful microorganisms may begin, this organ may be injured.
The main symptoms of the presence of pathology in children: refusal to drink and eat, runny nose, sore throat.
To compare your child's tonsils with the he althy tonsils of the child in the photo, it is not enough to examine them quickly (within a couple of seconds).
Given the main signs of the disease, you can determine whether a sore throat or not. To properly inspect, you need to follow the following recommendations.
So, the child needs to be put to the window, which is located on the sunny side. If there is not enough natural light, use a small flashlight.
You need to take an ordinary tablespoon and, after washing your hands, pour boiling water over it. Then press it on the middle of the tongue. Do not insert it too deep, otherwise the child may vomit.
The child should open the mouth as much as possible and press the tongue down.
In the process, the child should breathe deeply through the mouth, in which case the tongue will lower itself, and it will be easier to see the tonsils.
If the child has he althy tonsils, no wounds will be found in the oral cavity, and the tongue will be clean. It may have a slight physiological coating, but nothing else.
The tonsils will be symmetrical and pale pink in color. Again, they willdevoid of ulcers, bumps and various formations.
The entire nasopharynx will be pink and without swelling. The phenomenon is considered normal when the back walls of the larynx contain many blood vessels that show through and are visible. But a pathology is considered a case when they are swollen, they have tubercles, abscesses, plaque.
Treatment
As soon as pain appeared, the temperature rose, bed rest should be observed.
The first task is to get rid of infections and eliminate the causes of the disease. Only a doctor will conduct a competent diagnosis, you should never try to be treated on your own, because the disease can progress while a person is dealing with the elimination of the wrong symptoms. Specialists always prescribe the necessary and appropriate medicines in a particular case.
You will also need to comply with sanitary standards, which will include: careful hygiene, wearing a mask, eating from separate dishes. This will prevent the rest of the family from being infected.
Among the main methods of treating diseases of the tonsils is gargling. The effect of the mixtures that are on the tonsils at this moment leads to the destruction of the harmful bacteria that have settled on them.
To gargle, dilute preparations with water:
- "Dioxydin";
- "Furacilin";
- "Subdued";
- Miramistin and others
Only a specialist can choose which remedy is suitable for the patient. To relieve the symptoms of inflammation and eliminate the pain syndrome, they can prescribe dragees for resorption, including:
- "Lidocaine";
- "Strepsils";
- "Decatilene" and others
They mostly contain anesthetics, are aimed at fighting bacteria, and can also be local antibiotics.
Sometimes serious antibiotics are indispensable. This is especially true in cases where follicles or purulent plaque are found. Often used:
- "Amoxicillin", which is an effective antibiotic. It is used against many harmful microorganisms. It should be taken into account that along with it they take medications that normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
- "Amoxiclav" - an effective remedy containing clavulanic acid, etc.
Alternative medicine methods are often used for therapy. A popular way for the people to treat tonsils is rinsing with a s alt solution. To reduce pain, gargle with solutions with lemon juice. Decoctions of sage, calendula, chamomile have proven themselves as effective medicines.
Compresses with cabbage, inhalations with onions, dressings with s alt help to quickly cope with the disease. One must always be aware that a number of remedies can do more harm than good. A person can misdiagnose his illness, not know some of the subtleties, and this leads to the fact that while he is being treated in the wrong way, the disease progresses and causes many negative consequences. Only a specialist can correctly determine what disease a patient suffers from and how to treat it.
Diagnoses,associated with the tonsils, can always be eliminated only with the use of medicines. Folk methods can act as support for an infection-fighting body.
Most often, traditional medicine offers healing decoctions. They are very easy to prepare. Take 2 tablespoons of herbal collection and pour 1.5 liters of boiling water. Next, boil the mixture for 10 minutes, then let it brew for 2 hours and filter. Drink the resulting broth 3-4 times a day for a quarter cup.
Before using folk remedies, it makes sense to consult a doctor.
Prevention
To prevent all kinds of diseases, you need to maintain the protective function in the body and stimulate the immune system. Bad habits, unbalanced diet affect the frequency of gland diseases. Therefore, it is worth adjusting these points in order to maintain he alth.
It is also important to stop drinking cold water, avoid hypothermia, treat sources of infections in the body in a timely manner - rhinitis, caries, sinusitis, sinusitis.
As soon as the first symptoms were discovered, the first thing to do is to go to a specialist so that only he can prescribe remedies. Otherwise, advanced diseases that affect the tonsils can lead to rheumatism and cardiovascular diseases. And this can already become life-threatening.
Why are tonsils removed?
An operation that aims to remove the tonsils is called a tonsillectomy. In this case, they are in the form of adenoids, that is, palatine tonsils. The need for such a procedure may becaused by several reasons. Among them are: the detection of infectious diseases that were provoked by the inflammatory process in the tonsils; relapse of a chronic disease; diagnosing a serious disease - nephropathy, for example.
Surgical intervention of this type is often prescribed in cases where standard treatment and antibiotics are not able to cope with the disease, and there have already been unsuccessful attempts to use them.
Most often, this operation is performed in children whose tonsils have grown excessively in size and have begun to lag behind their loggia. Surgical intervention of this type is carried out easily, there are no difficulties. But, of course, only qualified specialists can entrust it.
The procedure will take 10 minutes, during which both general and local anesthesia is required.
But when it comes to removing tonsils in adults, the process becomes much more complicated. The thing is that the restoration of the tissues of this organ is already happening differently, it fits more tightly to the base. For this reason, the surgeon needs to dissect the mucous membranes, and then remove the tonsils from the walls of the loggia. Next, you need to restore and isolate the nearby blood vessels.
Be sure to use local anesthesia. The intervention occurs after the doctor has made sure that the anesthetic has penetrated into the base itself, and then checked the general condition of the sick person. After the operation is completed, a full course of antibiotics may be prescribed. Human,exposed to it, for some time will face difficulties in the process of swallowing, pain in the throat. Usually in this case, a light diet is prescribed, which includes only soft or pureed dishes.
You need to remember that at the moment, the removal of the tonsils is not such a frequent procedure as in the old days. Medicine has stepped forward, and today specialists use many types of therapy, the latest medicines that allow you to heal this organ. But the patient himself plays an important role in the treatment. He needs to drink fluids as much as possible, follow hygiene procedures. Surgery on the tonsils is the last resort a doctor can take.
Conclusion
Tonsils are an organ that has many important functions in the body. You should always monitor their condition in order to notice the symptoms of the disease in time, so it is very important to know how he althy tonsils should look.
