Tonsils, adenoids and throat infections — do doctors still recommend surgery?

"In the pre-1980s they were taken out all the time for very weak indications, like bed-wetting," he said. "Then in the '80s and '90s there was an overly conservative approach and many patients got long or multiple courses of antibiotics. "But we probably do way more of it now than we did in the '80s and '90s because of that concept that chronic antibiotic use is not a solution."

Curious Kids: Why do we have tonsils?????

The technical term for your tonsils is “palatine tonsils”, which means the tonsils of the palate. These lumpy things sit on either side at the back of our mouths. The palatine tonsils are one pair of a set of four tonsils that form a circle at the top of our throat.

Most children who have their tonsils removed don’t benefit

Bloodletting was mainstream medicine for 3,000 years. As late as 1915, it was recommended for soldiers who were gassed during World War I. Today it seems extraordinary that over the centuries so many patients were subjected to such harm. But could we be making the same mistake today? Our research into tonsillectomies suggests we might be.

Tonsils and Health

Tonsils are part of the body’s lymphatic system, which absorbs toxins and invading microorganisms and filters them out of the body. Tonsils are the first line of defense against germs and viruses that enter through the mouth or nose. This makes them vulnerable to infection — tonsillitis. When a child gets tonsillitis, he or she might have swelling and soreness in the back of the throat. Nearly all children get tonsillitis at some point, and it typically heals on its own within one week. Sometimes tonsils become infected with group-A streptococcus bacteria. This type of tonsillitis — called strep throat — is most common between ages 5 and 15, and it can be more serious than other types of tonsillitis. A rapid strep test or throat culture can help determine whether your child has strep throat. Your child’s doctor will usually prescribe an antibiotic to treat the condition.

Tonsils may help transmit HIV during oral sex

The tonsils might serve as a passageway through which HIV enters the body, suggests an analysis of cells from the mouth and throat. Researchers stress that the risk of acquiring HIV through oral sex is far too low to warrant preventive tonsillectomies. But they say the finding might have implications for preventing transmission of the virus from HIV-infected mothers to their children through breastfeeding.

Tonsils and Adenoids: What's the Difference?

Adenoids are small lymph tissues at the upper airway behind the throat that excel at fighting infections in babies and young children. As children age, their bodies develop other methods to combat germs, reducing the importance of adenoids. They can start to shrink once a child surpasses age five, and by the time kids reach their teen years, their adenoids have practically disappeared.