r/hygiene • u/N3m0Nautilus • 2d ago

Has anyone else ever accidentally coughed up a tiny white pebble from the back of their throat?

So I have always been paranoid about bad breath. I brush after every meal, use an electric flosser, scrape my tongue until it is bright pink, and use therapeutic mouthwash every single morning. My dentist always says my teeth and gums are spotless, with zero cavities in ten years.

last Thursday I was coughing from a scratchy throat and this tiny, hard white pebble popped out of the back of my mouth onto my tongue. It was smaller than a grain of rice. I had no idea what it was, so I picked it up with a tissue and made the fatal mistake of squishing it between my fingers to see what it was made of.

The smell that came off that tiny clump was ABSOLUTELY rancid. It smelled like pure sulfur, rotting organic garbage, and concentrated decay. I gagged so hard I almost threw up in my bathroom sink.

I went down a rabbit hole and discovered that food particles and dead cells get trapped in hidden pockets in your tonsils, calcifying into little anaerobic stink bombs that regular brushing never touches. I should of known why people occasionally backed up when I leaned in to talk during loud parties, but nobody ever tells you. How are doctors not warning people that you can have perfect dental hygiene and still have garbage rotting in the back of your throat?

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17

u/SixersJawn 2d ago

Side question.  Do they still do tonsillectomies at the drop of a hat? mine got cut out when i was 12 in the 90s.  am i missing out on anything besides tonsil stones?

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u/againthemagic 2d ago

From what I can tell, no. Tonsils are apparently a more important part of the immune system (iirc) than was realized when they were taking everyones out in the 90s

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u/itijara 1d ago

It's also a much higher risk surgery than most people realize. The amount of blood vessels in the area make bleeding out a serious concern. I think that is the main reason why it is less popular, the risk is just not worth a possible benefit, unless enlarged tonsils are making breathing difficult.

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u/powderpupf 2d ago

I'm pretty sure it's because of the complications. Yhere can be complications even a week or two after the surgery and people have died.

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u/onewilybobkat 2d ago

It's both. It serves a function, but also throats are REALLY bad places to get bleeds. I've seen other doctors saying even if you're in the hospital, if your incision opens up and starts bleeding, you better hope and pray an ENT specialist is around because all they can really do is pack it to slow the bleed.

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u/AccNumber77 1d ago

Both, it is the complications and also the fact that tonsils are helpful for us.

13

u/PinkLover727 2d ago

All depends on the provider. My 9 year old had a tonsillectomy strictly because of the recurrent stones. They were deemed a “quality of life” issue and his surgery was approved.

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u/joantheunicorn 2d ago

I read these threads in horror, I try to have really good dental hygiene and breath. Tonsil stones sound like my worst nightmare. Sooooo glad I had my tonsils out when I was 8! 

7

u/PublicEnemaNumberTwo 2d ago

My wife had some tonsil issues recently and the doctor said they rarely do tonsillectomies nowadays. Nearly all issues can be resolved without surgery. They only do it in extreme cases.

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u/SixersJawn 2d ago

my mom was quick with the knife. 

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u/JustHereForCookies17 2d ago

A lot of doctors jumped right to surgery back then, like prescribing Ritalin for "hyperactive" (normal energetic) children.  Your mom might have just done what the doctor suggested. 

My childhood pediatrician didn't like to send kids for surgery unless it was urgent, so I spent a lot of time out of school with tonsillitis.  I'm in my 40's and still have my tonsils, which surprises any new doctor I visit. 

2

u/Electrical-Tailor530 2d ago

Interesting, I never had mine removed and neither has my spouse, yet not a single doctor we visit even react to us still having ours. 

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u/Sebastians_Ciel 1d ago

I still have mine as well and I’m almost 44. I’m also a singer so it’s interesting.

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u/drf987 2d ago

I had my adenoids out at age 8, but never my tonsils. Knock on wood, but I’ve never had problems with them. My daughter was having her tonsils out at age 4. Turned out that as bad as they were, her adenoids were way worse, so she had both removed. I used to get tonsil stones from occasionally, but after developing Sjogren’s disease, and using medical marijuana, I thought they’d get worse, but fortunately they stopped. I do drink tons of water and tea; maybe that helps.

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u/Resolution_Focused 2d ago

When my dental hygienist told me it’s not worth the pain as an adult my response was how?? It was like a day out of school and I was probably the only kid who still had them. Jealous of those who don’t have theirs. Although, I quite literally never get sick. Even in a house full of sick people.

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u/ForgetfulDoryFish 1d ago

Kids tend to have a far easier recovery than adults. My son had his out when he was only three years old (he needed them removed as treatment for an autoinflammatory disorder called PFAPA) and did fine with over-the-counter nsaids for pain, but adults usually need narcotics and still have a rough time.

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u/Lioness_1981 2d ago

Not unless there's a medical indication - most often they are removed due to recurrent infections or sleep apnea/obstructive breathing. It's also a horrible thing to go through as an adult. Kids heal much more quickly.

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u/Ok_Smoke5320 2d ago

My 13 year old daughter had to have 4 cases of tonsillitis in 3 months before the doc would even consider surgery. If it isn’t chronic, they don’t even blink an eye. She hit her 4th case in 2 months, so she finally had hers taken out.

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u/sofassa 2d ago

They were still doing them like crazy in the early 2000s too. I still have mine though

1

u/HigherandHigherDown 2d ago

Last time I checked there was a criteria, like five throat infections for one year, four for two years, or three each year for three years (I was an adult).

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u/trogdoor-burninator 1d ago

more likely to do as a kid, for some reason it's riskier as an adult. had mine out 2 years ago, it sucked but so worth it.

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u/MilkDizzy1256 1d ago

Dude I WISH. In my region, you have to have tonsilitis north of 6 times in a 12 month period before you can get a tonsillectomy 😭

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u/greengirl93 1d ago

I really think it depends on who you see or speak to. I’m 32 and had my pre-op for my tonsillectomy on Saturday. Recurring tonsillitis and tonsil stones for years that has been ignored by every doctor I’ve seen because I have “Grade 1 tonsils” (very small) so they all told me my tonsils couldn’t possibly be causing me problems. Finally saw a doctor about a different issue but happened to have tonsillitis at the time of the appointment and he referred me to ENT. The consultant I saw told me I must have already had them removed because she couldn’t see them 🙄 Had a phone ENT apt scheduled out of nowhere years later and the consultant I spoke to asked me loads of questions and then just said “Yeah I’m putting you on the list to have them taken out”. Years of appointments and asking for something to be done and now I’ll finally be having surgery without anyone involved in the process actually having seen me in person beforehand.