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Tonsillitis is an infection in one or both tonsils, so one of the signs is swelling of the tonsils. Other symptoms are a reddening of the tonsils, white or yellow coating on the tonsils, slight voice change due to swelling, and, most commonly, a sore throat. When you experience uncomfortable or painful swallowing, swollen lymph nodes or glands in the neck, fever, or bad breath, you should pay a visit to the doctor.
Causes of tonsillitis
As previously explained, tonsils are a pair of specialized lymph nodes located on either side of the throat, just behind and above your tongue and they're part of your body's immune system, protecting our organism from microorganisms that can cause infection. Tonsils store white blood cells to engulf bacteria and viruses as they enter through your nose and mouth, so when bacteria and viruses are engulfed by white blood cells, this may result in a low-grade infection in your tonsils. This minor infection then stimulates your body's immune system to form antibodies. However, your tonsils may be overwhelmed by a bacterial or viral infection, and they swell and become inflamed, so the final result is tonsillitis.
A number of respiratory viruses can cause tonsillitis, including the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the same virus that causes mononucleosis. Some strains of bacteria can also cause tonsillitis, but the most common culprit is the same bacterium that causes an infection of the throat commonly known as strep throat - Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus.
Symptoms of enlarged adenoids
If your or your child's adenoids are enlarged, it may be hard to breathe through the nose, but there are more symptoms as well. Common symptoms of constant enlargement are breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. These patients also have nose sounds blocked in speech, noisy breathing during the day, recurrent ear infections, and snoring at night. Breathing could also be stopped for a few seconds at night during snoring, which is known as sleep apnea.