Avail Yourself of Acupuncture Treatment for Your Tonsillitis

Sore throat is a condition often accompanied by several other symptoms. The symptoms that appear often depend on the cause of the condition. Tonsil inflammation (tonsillitis), sensations of scratchiness and dryness, difficulty swallowing or pain may be some of the symptoms that a sore throat sufferer may experience.  Tonsillitis may be due to an infection that can lead to feelings of nausea, body aches and headaches, fever and cough.  If after a week, those symptoms frequently come back or persist, you may need to consult with your physician.

A viral or bacterial infection can cause the tonsils to become inflamed; most of the time, however, tonsillitis is caused by the streptococcus bacteria. The herpes simplex and the influenza virus are the viruses that usually cause tonsillitis. A patient suffering from tonsillitis may shows signs of blisters in the throat, a coating on the tonsils and swollen glands as well as symptoms such as fever, headache and/or ear ache. Conventional therapies for tonsillitis coming from a bacterial infection will involve antibiotics that are ineffective for viral infections.

The tonsil is actually a lymph node and a component of the immune system and one of its functions is to produce antibodies to help fight infection. Another function this organ serves is to stop toxins from infiltrating the respiratory system.  When the tonsillitis is severe, surgery may be required to excise the diseased tonsils.  Several years, ago tonsillectomy (the surgical removal of the tonsils) was the most common way to resolve tonsillitis; now, it is used in instances where the inflamed tonsils causes serious problems or when it keeps coming back.

The World Health Organization listed acupuncture as an acceptable form treatment for tonsillitis in 1979. In 1987, a controlled study was performed that showed tonsillitis symptoms being relieved by acupuncture. The conductors of this study concluded that sore throat and fever abatement was attained earlier in the test subjects than in the control group.

The Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the University of Heidelberg conducted a study and discovered that the length of relief of postsurgical pain was greatly lengthened with the use of acupuncture. The subjects who were given NSAIDs were also treated with acupuncture that even further stretched the alleviation of their post-tonsillectomy swallowing for an extra three hours.  The researchers concluded that the type of acupuncture treatment used in this study can also be used in patients who have intolerance to NSAIDs.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the acupuncturist first needs to identify the pattern consisting of excess toxin and heat that causes the tonsils to swell and become inflamed before treating the condition. This swelling causes obstructions in the energy pathways of the lung causing blood and qi to stagnate. The stagnation causes swelling of the lymph nodes.  People suffering from other sore throat issues may be diagnoses with a different diagnosis such as yin deficiency or wind heat invasion.

You should always seek treatment with a licensed acupuncturist. This practitioner will formulate an individualized plan of treatment based on the condition you manifest.

Scott Paglia is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist in Bellingham, WA and provides master level pulse diagnosis, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture in Whatcom County, WA.

Acupuncture for Tonsillitis

Besides the obvious painful discomfort of your throat when you gulp or swallow, sore throat brings with it a lot of other symptoms. The cause of the discomfort determines what kind of symptoms may appear. Symptoms may include tonsil inflammation, feelings of scratchiness and dryness, hoarseness of voice, swallowing difficulty and pain. Symptoms that may develop due to an infection which can involve feelings of nausea, body aches, headaches, fever and cough. The persistence or frequent recurrence of the symptoms for a week or more should be reasons enough for you to consult with your doctor.

Tonsillitis simply means the Inflammation of the tonsils. It can be either the result of a viral or bacterial infection. Viruses that can cause tonsillitis include herpes simplex or influenza. Bacterial infection is mainly due to streptococcus bacteria. If you suffer from tonsillitis you may exhibit signs and symptoms such as coating on the tonsils, fever, headache, ear ache, throat blisters, swollen lymph nodes and glands. The main treatment course for bacteria-caused tonsillitis is antibiotic therapy. For viral infections, antibiotics are useless.

Tonsils are tissues that are part of the immune system that produces antibodies to battle infection. They are responsible in protecting the body by preventing toxins from entering the respiratory system. For severe types of tonsillitis, surgery to remove the tonsil (tonsillectomy) may be needed. Tonsillectomy used to be the treatment of choice for treating tonsillitis but these days it is recommended only when the problem produces serious symptoms or is experienced frequently.

Acupuncture treatment is a viable treatment for tonsillitis as declared by the WHO (the World Health Organization) in 1979. A 1987 study involving 220 subjects saw that tonsillitis symptoms were relieved by acupuncture. The study also found that sore throat and fever abatement was attained more in the test group than in the control group.

In 2009, a study done by the University of Heidelberg ‘s Department of Otorhinolaryngology showed that the duration of post-surgical removal of tonsil pain relief was substantially prolonged with acupuncture therapy. Patients who were using NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) had extended relief of post-tonsillectomy swallowing pain by an average of three hours. The researchers concluded that the acupuncture protocol applied on these patients may also be appropriate for other patients who cannot tolerate NSAIDs.

Based on the principles followed by traditional Chinese medicine for treating tonsillitis, the acupuncturist addresses a pattern involving toxin and excess heat that causes tonsil swelling. The swelling causes blockages in the lung meridians which results in the stagnation of blood and qi. The stagnation of blood and qi then leads to the swelling of the lymph nodes. Some individuals suffer from other sore throat conditions that may entail a distinct diagnosis of yin deficiency or wind heat pathogenic attack.

 

Acupuncture Health Center
1303 Astor St #101
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 715-1824
http://www.bellinghamacupuncturecenter.com/

Tonsillitis Treatments and Drugs

You may not need to worry whether or not your tonsillitis stems from a bacterial or viral infection since your body’s immune system will resolve this infection in a matter of days. You can assist your body by doing some helpful things in the meantime.

You need to feed your child with lots of food and drink if he has tonsillitis even if he finds it hard to swallow.  A dehydrated and hungry child can lead to unnecessary symptoms like tiredness and headaches. Surgery may be needed if your child constantly suffers from tonsillitis.

Self-help

Analgesics bought over-the-counter (OTC) like ibuprofen and paracetamol can help assuage symptoms such as sore throat. Younger children need small dosages so seek advice from your pharmacist on what dosage is right for your child. If your child is below 16 years, never give him aspirin.

Oral sprays and lozenges bought OTC can also relieve sore throat.

You can also gargle with a light antiseptic solution or even with just warm salty water for sore throat relief. A liter of water can be added with about half a teaspoonful of salt. For younger children the salt solution should not be tried since they may tend to swallow the solution.

Antibiotics

If tests reveal that you suffer from bacterial tonsillitis, that doesn’t automatically mean you will be prescribed antibiotics. Why? There are two reasons for this:

Most tonsillitis cases have shown that antibiotics do not really work or speed up the healing process. Moreover, they have negative side effects like feeling sick and abdominal pain.
Frequent use of an antibiotic will lead to antibiotic resistance making it useless when a serious infection occurs.

Antibiotics may be given if:

Your child’s immune system is weak
His symptoms do not get better
He shows severe symptoms

Doctors usually recommend a 10-day penicillin course for the aforementioned circumstances.  If you or your child has penicillin allergy, other antibiotics like erythromycin may be given. Side effects caused by penicillin include:

Rash
Diarrhea
Upset stomach

Surgery

This procedure is now only performed if your child suffers from repeated bouts of tonsillitis or if his tonsillitis is especially disabling and severe that it causes work or school absences. A tonsillectomy is done to remove the tonsils.

This surgical procedure often entails the use of a general anesthetic and this implies that you will be sleeping the whole duration of the surgery. No skin incision is required and your mouth will be open during the surgery to enable surgeon to see and remove your tonsils.

The surgeon can opt for different surgical techniques to remove your tonsils:

Cold steel surgery – This technique uses a surgical knife to sever the tonsils out. Bleeding is regulated by using pressure or sometimes by searing shut the blood vessels through a process called diathermy.
Diathermy – The surgeon uses a diathermy probe in order to obliterate the surrounding tissue and eventually to excise the tonsils. The heat from the diathermy simultaneously shuts the blood vessels to prevent any bleeding.
Cold ablation or coblation – This is a similar technique as diathermy but instead of using heat the surgeon applies a 60 degree centigrade temperature to remove the tonsils. Coblation inflicts less pain to the patient compared to diathermy.
Lasers – Laser beams of the high energy sort are used as knives to slice out the tonsils and with the laser heat shut the underlying blood vessels.
Ultrasound – The surgeon uses high energy ultrasound waves instead of lasers to excise the tonsils.

Tonsillectomy is a minor procedure with the patient all ready to go home within the day of or the day after the surgery.

Post surgery

There will be some pain felt on the surgery site for up to a week after the operation. To address the pain, analgesics can be prescribed by the surgeon.

If a child has had a tonsillectomy he should not go to school for a couple of weeks. This precaution is important to prevent him from being infected by another child that can cause him discomfort and pain.

After surgery, the child will experience swallowing difficulties. However, it is essential that you make your child eat solid foods to make the healing process quicker.  Your child may need to drink copious amounts of liquids although acidic juices such as orange juice should not be given as it can sting your child’s throat.

Make sure your child’s teeth are kept clean to prevent any pathogen from infecting his mouth.

After the first week of the operation the pain gradually dissipates. There may be earaches felt from time to time which is a common occurrence with tonsillectomies and is something not to worry about.

Post surgical bleeding

Post surgical bleeding usually occurs on the surgical site. This usually happens during the first day post surgery or up to ten days post surgery. Statistics reveal that about one child in 100 as well as one adult out of 30 adults will develop post surgical bleeding. After-surgery bleeding should not be a concern since the bleeding resolves by itself. To limit the bleeding, you can gargle using cold water since cold water can constrict the blood vessels and limit the bleeding. There are a few cases where bleeding can be a lot resulting in the patient coughing up or vomiting out blood. When this happens, see your doctor immediately.

When a patient suffers from extensive bleeding, he may be required to undergo another surgery or given blood transfusion.

Acupuncture

For people who want a more natural approach to tonsillitis treatment, acupuncture can be a good, safe and natural procedure to relieve sore throat pain. Acupuncture can likewise help the body overcome whatever infection is causing the tonsillitis. If you have a chronic case of tonsillitis, acupuncture can help enhance the immune function of your body and stop recurrence. In addition, Chinese herbal medicine possesses a lot of antibiotic properties to stem the irritation and inflammation; you need a qualified acupuncturist that is well experienced in treating your particular symptoms.

Causes of Tonsillitis

Diagnosing tonsillitis is not always easy to do though in most cases, the inflammation can be completely traced to a bacterial or viral infection. The thing is it isn’t always easy to know what type of bacterial or viral infection is causing the condition. One’s tonsillitis can be due, for example, to the flu, common cold, or even long-term tonsillitis. Some kinds of tonsillitis can be either caused by staph or strep infections and in some instances the inflammation isn’t due to any infection at all. It is instead due to certain irritants or by the presence of tonsil stones.

Bacterial and Viral Infections

If your tonsillitis is brought about by a bacterial or viral infection, then you may manifest symptoms that are distinct from tonsil inflammation caused by tonsil stones. You may, for example show swollen lymph glands or a mild fever.

You can also have symptoms that will overlap with pathogen infections if your tonsillitis is caused by tonsil stones. You might, for example, exhibit a white film on your tongue, have swallowing difficulty or bad breath.  The overlapping of these symptoms may make it hard for the doctor to accurately diagnose your condition.

Whatever the case may be, if you feel your tonsil inflamed due to pathogenic causes, the first thing you need to do is to see your doctor who will perform diagnostic tests to correctly identify what type of tonsillitis you have.

Tonsil Stones

An inflamed tonsil caused by a condition called “tonsil stones,” will manifest symptoms like white and hard masses developing on your tonsils. These masses are the ones called tonsil stones.

If you are suffering from this condition, you can begin treatment by attempting to remove these stones on your own. Try gargling saline solutions and using oxygenating toothpaste and gently brush your tonsils with a moistened q-tip.  This procedure will aid in removing and preventing the future development of these stones.  If this procedure fails then you need to see a doctor.

To recap, if you are suffering from tonsillitis, it might be due to pathogenic infection, tonsil stones or to certain temporary or chronic condition. Try applying the aforementioned procedures methods to sort out between the possible causes when you want to know the cause of your tonsillitis.

Davis Acupuncture Clinic
2043 Anderson Rd
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 400-1239
http://www.davisacupuncturist.com/