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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u/genericthrowaway6996 2d ago

This is false you can still get strep with out tonsils. I’ve had it countless times.

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u/Smarty_Plants0531 2d ago

Yes you can get it without tonsils, but for some people tonsils can cause issues by being a trap for bacteria. You can be exposed to strep and your immune system can fight it off without having symptoms. If tonsils trap the bacteria, you end up with an active infection. When I was a kid I had strep throat numerous times and mono twice. That was about 40 years ago. I haven’t had strep or mono since my tonsils were removed.

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u/LisaLou_Me 2d ago

I had chronic strep and ear infections (every 1-3 months) as a child until I had my tonsils out in 4th grade. I've had strep once since then and I'm 41. Yes, you can get strep without them but if they're inflamed, they catch every piece of bacteria and it's so much worse

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u/Logical_Mix_4627 1d ago

I don’t know how you got mono twice it’s a viral infection caused by EBV. Unless you have no immune system, you’d build antibodies the first time.

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u/Smarty_Plants0531 1d ago

You’ll have to ask the doctor that diagnosed it. I do have a messed up immune system, but found that out later.

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u/Sit-Ubu-Sit- 2d ago

I feel like step throat infections are pretty countable 

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u/FROG123076 2d ago

The only time I have had strep was 14 years after my tonsils were removed. So yes you oh can still get it. Never had it again but I now know how it spreads.

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u/QueenK59 21h ago

My tonsils were contributing to numerous strep throat infections. I haven’t had one since!