Should You Have Your Tonsils Removed?

Your tonsils are the useful body tissues in your throat which help kill bad bacteria, and reduce your risk of suffering from serious infections. Tonsils usually do a great job of keeping us healthy, but sometimes they become infected, becoming a serious problem needing to be removed to improve our health. While many people will suffer from infected tonsils at some point in their life, it is important to know when your tonsils are causing more harm than good, and need to be surgically removed in a procedure called a tonsillectomy.

Identifying a Problem

Your tonsils should be removed when they become infected repeatedly within a single year or even over a period of several years. Known as tonsillitis, you will experience a severe sore throat, inflammation, and difficulty swallowing foods when your tonsils are infected.

The Tonsillectomy Procedure

If your doctor decides that your health would benefit from having your tonsils removed, they will help you schedule an appointment for a tonsillectomy. A tonsillectomy is a simple procedure which requires general anesthesia, and often allows patients to go home the same day the surgery is performed.

Steps When Removing the Tonsils:

• You are put to sleep with a general anesthetic to keep you calm, and eliminate pain during the procedure.
• Your tonsils are removed with a sharp scalpel. There is no need for stitches.
• Your doctor will give you instructions about how to aid in the healing process, and will prescribe any necessary medications for your recovery.

It is normal for everyone to feel slight anxiety when they need to have any surgery performed. Tonsillectomies are safe procedures which leave patients with a slight sore throat for a few weeks after the surgery is performed, but they benefit from fewer throat infections over the rest of their life. Ask your doctor if your tonsils are doing more harm than good.