Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

I did not realize until tonight that I do in fact have tonsil stones in my right-side tonsil. This tonsil has been reddish and swollen looking for months on end now, even before I had halitosis. I am trying very hard to get the stones out and smell them, but they are lodged very far in. Once I get one out I'm going to have a friend smell it and tell me if it smells like my breath.

I had my tonsils out at the age of 7/8. But a few weeks ago I was on a bus and next thing coughed up a really stinky tonsil stone, my first ever! It was round about the size of a peppercorn. I thought this was really bizarre. Where could it have come from? As I have had check-ups with at least 5 different ENTs going back a good few years now and none of them found anything. This has actually made me have another think about the laser treatment as it made me think that there could well be somewhere back there that all this bacteria is just festering...

You couldn't technically get 'tonsil stones' without having tonsils... so maybe there really is some kind of hard-to-reach area where chunks of food are getting stuck and rotting. Kind of like Zenker's diverticulum. Makes me want to request a barium swallow test, but they would probably just think I'm crazy since it would be highly unlikely a 21 year-old would have that condition.

Hi there,

I think i have tonsil stones too.
I can`t see them but i feel them, when i stick my finger into my mouth i feel some bumps.
I`m not sure these are tonsil stones.
I will do a tonsillectomy but i think the docter will not do for bad breath, it`s in the Netherlands.

Eric, have you tried irrigating your tonsils? I used to use similar technique to this (but only with a regular plastic syringe), and it helped to flush out some of the tonsilloliths that were impossible to reach otherwise.

katie, have you had your adenoids out? The term 'tonsil stone' is deceiving, as it is possible to have them in your adenoids (&, I guess, in the lingual tonsils) as well. Also, tonsils can grow back if any tonsillar tissue remains after the surgery.

Eric wrote:You couldn't technically get 'tonsil stones' without having tonsils

Lots of people have reported still getting stones after having their tonsils removed. Anyway, i don't think those small stones alone can cause severe halitosis. Maybe if your bb is mild, getting your tonsils removed will help but for most of us here with serious bb, it doesn't help.

I've recently taken out a huge tonsil stone and I haven't had much problem with BB for the last few days! It's not 100% gone, but it's been a good few days so far!

Eric, have you gotten out the tonsil stone you were trying to get out?

Also, I've been chewing Pepto Bismal tablets like one of the forum topics said and that's helped out too!

My tonsil stones kind of just disappeared by themselves after a couple of days. I think when I get small infections they get those white, pus-filled areas in them until my body fights its off. But its weird its like my tonsils are always sorta inflamed even if there are not stones.

^ When you rub your finger against your tonsils, do you detect any odor?

For me, visible tonsil stones were always only just the tip of the iceberg.

maybe you have a shitload of them in your throat and they never came out. my palatine tonsils are fine, but its my lingual tonsils that are holding like fifty thousand ****ing tonsil stones. ive been busting my ass for weeks trying to get approval from an ent or someone, ANYONE for the surgery. i hear that its the the most dreaded procedure for ent's, and that its rare.

i know im not ****ing crazy and i KNOW this is the cause of my bb, look:

The lingual tonsils measure from 1 to 0.5 inches and makeup about 1/4 of the tongue. They serve almost exactly the same purpose as the palatine tonsils, filtering blood vessels and excreting various white blood cells into the blood. These tonsils also catch bacteria from the air we inhale, similar to the palatine tonsils. When one inhales, the air moves over the crypt opening on the surface of the node (hence the persistant smell of the huge stone inside that crypt/s). Any bacteria in the air are caught on the lymphatic tissue surrounding the opening of the crypt. The bacteria then follow the path as in the palatine tonsils. Experts believe that the purpose of having two sets of lymph nodes the same is strictly efficiency of defense. The lingual tonsils filter the air that the palatine tonsils miss.

but you said that you had tonsillectomy?

you still have tonsil malodor? and even tonsil stones?
eager to know, thanks

nobody wrote:^ When you rub your finger against your tonsils, do you detect any odor?

For me, visible tonsil stones were always only just the tip of the iceberg.

sharon wrote:but you said that you had tonsillectomy?

you still have tonsil malodor? and even tonsil stones?
eager to know, thanks

No, after the tonsillectomy I haven't had any tonsil stones or odor coming from where the tonsils were.

What I meant was that when I still had my tonsils, the tonsil stones that I could actually see were just a small indication of what lay underneath. Sure, my breath got even worse when there were enough tonsilloliths to come to the surface, but it was always relentlessly bad nonetheless. Even though I might not have seen a single tonsil stone for months, it, alas, didn't mean that they had disappeared, but were just hiding in the crypts and wherever else by the millions.

To best demonstrate this, I spent several hours before my tonsillectomy probing, prodding, flushing and doing everything to cleanse my tonsils so as to make the surgery as pleasant for the surgeon & staff as possible. After having done that, I couldn't see any stones or detect any odor. Even the surgeon was fooled for a while – he said my tonsils had appeared to be perfectly healthy and that he hadn't really thought they even warranted a tonsillectomy. However, when he made the incision, tonsil stones and white pus squirted out like toothpaste.

English isn't my first language, so I am sorry if I'm inconsistent, vague or hard to understand. If you (or anyone) have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you so much for the information! I guess my tonsils should also be like that, looks heathy(or maybe not, cuz I can't see it, but the doctor said yes), but actually infested inside.

Thanks! wish you all the best,
(English is not my first language either:)

nobody wrote:

sharon wrote:but you said that you had tonsillectomy?

you still have tonsil malodor? and even tonsil stones?
eager to know, thanks

No, after the tonsillectomy I haven't had any tonsil stones or odor coming from where the tonsils were.

What I meant was that when I still had my tonsils, the tonsil stones that I could actually see were just a small indication of what lay underneath. Sure, my breath got even worse when there were enough tonsilloliths to come to the surface, but it was always relentlessly bad nonetheless. Even though I might not have seen a single tonsil stone for months, it, alas, didn't mean that they had disappeared, but were just hiding in the crypts and wherever else by the millions.

To best demonstrate this, I spent several hours before my tonsillectomy probing, prodding, flushing and doing everything to cleanse my tonsils so as to make the surgery as pleasant for the surgeon & staff as possible. After having done that, I couldn't see any stones or detect any odor. Even the surgeon was fooled for a while – he said my tonsils had appeared to be perfectly healthy and that he hadn't really thought they even warranted a tonsillectomy. However, when he made the incision, tonsil stones and white pus squirted out like toothpaste.

English isn't my first language, so I am sorry if I'm inconsistent, vague or hard to understand. If you (or anyone) have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.