My son has recurrent viral tonsillitis associated with earaches. Should we have his tonsils removed?He takes the entire course of antibiotics each time, and responds well to antibiotics within 24 hours, but when he is off antibiotics his tonsils slowly flare up again within a week or two. He has been on antibiotics every single month this year.
Last year wasn't as bad. He is 11 years old but is the size and height of a 14 year old.
Sherri F
Yes go to an ENT and insist, It is not fair to him to be sick all the time.They will take the adnoids too..
Bob T
Bad water with a high bacteria count, like old well water, can do that. Drink bottled water.
Mary D
Yes. If he has tonsilitis more than 3x per year, that is indicative of a tonsilectomy/adenoidectomy. I had mine out 11 yrs ago, when I was 24. It was pure hell, but I am so glad I had it done. My son had his out this past May, he is 4 yrs old. He kept getting sick too.
Think of this, as I told my son's ENT, (he thought the analogy was brilliant).. Your tonsils and adenoids (located behind the nose area) are like sponges. They filter the blood from bacteria and bad things we have in us. A person with recurring tonsillitis has a 'dirty sponge'. Just like your kitchen sponge, if you cant get the bacteria out of it, it will make everything it touches dirty. So your sons tonsils can't get clean, can't rid themselves of the bacteria/virus's it encounters.
I really hate recommending someone removing part of their limbic system, but if its only making them sick, you just have to do it. By the way, after I had mine out, and my son had his out, we are rarely ever sick. My son hasn't been sick at all since May, and I'm only sick about once every 18 months or so.
Also, my 4 yr old had the ear infections as well. He was on antibiotics for 2 weeks, then off, then on again, it was rediculous. The auditory canal drains near the adenoids, so if the adenoids are enlarged, then the auditory canal can not drain properly. So their removal is necessary as well. Which is very common with tonsil removal.
My only concern would be him missing school, but if hes too sick for school, thats a mute point. GL!
Rubym
It sounds like it could be the best bet, but check with more than one doctor to be sure.
It's funny in a way. Years ago, doctors went in and yanked the tonsils the first time a kid coughed. A kid in the 1950's was probably very likely to have his or her tonsils removed maybe even before he was old enough for school.
Doctors wised up and found out a good set of tonsils were part of the immune system and stopped yanking them out so fast. But maybe sometimes now they have gone the other extreme.
Jenn
I would say consult an ENT about it, with that many infections he would definitely recommend it because I think it's five infections in a year and they recommend surgery.
Getting the tonsils and adenoids out isn't a big deal for kids that age they bounce back from the surgery super fast but....now this is just a thought, I work at and ENT and the surgeon at our office has five kids. All of which suffered through many sore throats in their lives but all of whom still have their tonsils and adenoids intact. My 3 years old had had her share of sore throats but after talking it over with the doc I decided to wait and see. Kids out grow these things. i'm telling you because I see it five days a week. Alot of people rush to surgery as a quick fix but in the end most grow out of it.
Hundreds of kids come through our office every year and have them removed. So I guess it's not a huge deal but just don't think surgery is your only out. And the earaches kids almost always out grow because their Eustachian tube will grow as they age and drain fluid more efficiently. Tubes are always and option but they really cause mre problems than they help.
Got Ballet?
You should talk to a doctor about this, but they probably won't do it. He might just have allergies or something, so when he has a cold, it's like, really bad. Any how, it could be a lot of things. That's just what happend to me.
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