Disease of the week-Tonsillitis

     Health is wealth while awareness, knowledge, prevention, and precaution is health. In as much as tonsillitis is not a rare disease, its awareness is zero to nothing making it difficult for people to know how to prevent, or cure it when it occurs or even know its symptoms so as to ascertain if its tonsillitis or not.

     Tonsillitis is the inflammation of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat. The tonsils act as filters, trapping germs that enter the airways and causes infection. They also produce antibodies to fight infection but sometimes, the tonsils get infected. This condition occurs occasionally or recur frequently depending on its cause.

     Bacterial and viral infectins can cause tonsillitis.  A common.cause is Streptococcus (strep)bacteria.  Other common causes include: Adenovirus, Influenza virus, Epstein-Barr virus, Parainfluenza virus, Enterovirus, and Herpes simplex virus.

     The main symptoms of tonsillitis are inflammatiom and swelling of the tonsils, sometimes severe enough to block the airways. Other symptoms include;
   .Throat pain
   .Redness of the tonsils
   .A white or yellow coating of the tonsils
   .Painful blisters
   .Hoarseness or loss of voice
   .Headache
   .Loss of appetite
   .Ear pain
   .Bad breath
   .Difficulty in breathing through the mouth
    .Difficulty in swallowing
    .Swollen glands
    .Fever chills
  
   Treatment for tonsillitis depends on the cause of the infection. To determine the cause, your doctor may have to perform a rapid strep test or throat swab culture.Both tests involve gently swabbing the back of the throat close to the tonsils with a cotton swab. If tests reveal bacteris, treatment will consists of antibiotics to cure the infection. If the tonsillitis is caused by a virus, antibiotics won't work and your body will fight off the infection on its own

   Tonsillectomy is the surgical removal of the tonsils. Tonsils are important part of the immune system throughout life, so it is best to avoid removing them. However, if tonsillitis is recurrent or persistent, or if enlarged tonsils cause upper airway obstruction or difficulty in eating, it is best to perform a tonsillectomy. As with all surgeries, each of these has benefits and drawbacks.

     Having survived multiple recurrence of tonsillitis and still have my tonsils intact, I would really advise that we should all be mindful of the way we share things with people both familiar and unfamiliar, especially the things that goes into our bodies through the mouth. Remember prevention is better than cure.