Tonsil Stones

[CNS]

I would like to ask, for those of you who have had tonsil stones, do you experience a bad taste whenever you swallow saliva? The previous time I had one (I think it was a tonsil stone), I did have a bad taste whenever I swallow saliva, but the moment I got it out, the taste was gone.

The problem I have now is I'm experiencing the same bad taste again when I swallow saliva but the thing is, I've spent a lot of time using a flashlight to check my throat and tonsils and all, but I couldn't spot any trace of a tonsil stone. So I'm really bewildered as to what is causing the bad taste. At times , it does feel like there is something tiny stuck in my throat though. This is really driving me crazy. Anyone experienced the same thing before?

[halitosisux]

Yep, and because it's such a bad taste and you can kinda smell it when you breathe out of your nose, it gives the impression that it must be making your breath smell really bad.

In reality, I dont think it does, with the exception perhaps, of really huge stones or those made by the adenoids or other crypted structures. If you get hold of a tonsil stone, they don't really smell that much until you crush them. So while they're still lodged in somewhere and coated in mucus, they probably don't release much smell at all.

I have to say though, it was good to get rid of that after tonsillectomy. It was also good to know that one wouldn't shoot out my mouth if I coughed. Many times I coughed huge ones up into my mouth, but somehow they never shot right out.

[mike987]

Yep, and because it's such a bad taste and you can kinda smell it when you breathe out of your nose, it gives the impression that it must be making your breath smell really bad.

In reality, I dont think it does, with the exception perhaps, of really huge stones or those made by the adenoids or other crypted structures. If you get hold of a tonsil stone, they don't really smell that much until you crush them. So while they're still lodged in somewhere and coated in mucus, they probably don't release much smell at all.

I have to say though, it was good to get rid of that after tonsillectomy. It was also good to know that one wouldn't shoot out my mouth if I coughed. Many times I coughed huge ones up into my mouth, but somehow they never shot right out.

I've shot them out before... I also had them become dislodged during making out... So disgusting.

I'll always have a vivid memory of this... One time (back when I thought they were coming from my throat) I just hacked and hacked... Eventually an ENORMOUS one became dislodged... I was always fascinated by those gross things. This one had a little blood on it (from my forceful hacking) and I just examined it for the longest time. Hah. I've taken a handheld microscope to those things before, but there's nothing interesting to see.

Considering it now, I think they were the worst during times when I drank milk. When I stopped, they were always around, but needed a little more effort to find. That's when I discovered they were in the tonsils.

So happy those are gone.