I'm really surprised there isnt anything on this forum about tonsil stones. I've suffered with them for years.
They are little yellow or white stones that form in the cavity of your tonsils. Some people have really big tonsils that have holes and food and saliva mix together and form these stones which smell foul and cause halitosis or bad breath.
People suffer from these for years without knowing what they are. You can cough them up or you sometimes may feel like there is something stuck down the back of your throat.
I used every mouthwash on the UK market and even used to try and poke them out using a cotton wool bud. I googled tonsil stones and found a company in the US called Therabreath and they treat people with tonsil stones. They also have a product range and these products can be used at home.
In the UK, the main company selling these products is inpeakcondition but over here they are called California Breath. Basically the products claim to suffocate the bad bacteria and even though the products are a bit pricey, but tongue is now white and my tonsil stones occur less and less.
There are other products out there too, one is based on pro-biotics (its all about having the right bacteria). Think one of them is called Bliss or Blis12 or something, worth googling.
Hope this helps someone.
Hi ,I have the same problem. Did you see your GP in this regard or seek for any professional medical attention?? Did you manage to recover completely ? pls advise. Thank you.
Hi
I went to my doctor who told me to go to my dentist. My dentist then told me to go to the doctor> I visited the hygienist at the Dentist who had never heard of tonsil stones. She recommended to speak to the doctor too.
Thats why I went online. I still have the problem sometimes but the coating on my tongue has gone. I manage to keep it under control with some products. The only solution seems to be having the tonsils removed and I am too old for that.
Thank you so much for the reply.
May I ask pls, who recommended to remove tonsils & will it permanemtly resolv the the problem ?
How do you keep it under controll.. ? what products do u use ?? is it contagious ?
Hi
I read about tonsil removal over the internet, www.tonsilstones.co.uk/surgical-solutions-for-tonsil-stones, if you look on forums where people are discussing tonsil stones this is often mentioned. Its not ideal for adults though. NHS probably wouldnt do it and privately it is very expensive.
Its not contagious. Its just the way your body works. Its a horrible problem to have. I used the California Breath range to keep it under control. Its an American range of products which is sold in the UK (in the USA its known as Therabreath. If you look at official Therabreath site in the USA that has articles there about tonsil stones.
Your diet has a lot to do with it too, dry mouth caused by alcohol, dairy products are a real problem too. Have a read about it.
Best way to remove those horrid tonsil stones.(1) drink half botttle of wine to relax you. (2) make sure you are in front of bright light with good mirror. (3) have long plastic straw in hand. (4) Focus (5) Deep Breath and guide straw straight to the stones and gently manipulate. (6) Stone should come out on end of straw. (7) Rinse and gargel mouth. (8) Cheer! and swallow normally for the first time without the sensation of that seemingly big monster in your mouth!
Hope this helps. It took me awhile to sort out how to rid of these of which I found very distressing and after several other methods, this one worked for me!
Thanks asza - it sounds quite extreme to tackle it yourself with a straw but I'm willing to bear it in mind as I'm tired of having this gunky feeling in my throat all the time. Even though I have coughed some out on occasion they still seem to reform.
I will defo have a look on the Therabreath site recommended by KJJ first and hope to try their range of products.
I suffer with problems with my sinuses and have a problem with mucus going down the back of my throat rather than having a runny nose. Maybe the mucus in the throat builds up and causes the stones. Because of blocked sinuses I sleep with my mouth open and get a really dry throat overnight.
I also like to drink white wine and that can also dry out my throat but I would certainly need one before I go in with the straw!
No-one else seems to have heard of these stones so it's good to feel I'm not alone.
I have come on here to let people know that I now have a product that works for me. Instead of poking around I have bought a "power floss from oraldent" which is a lot like the electric water flossers that you can get but a manual version. It has a pump to action the water spray and I find it gentle enough to use on the tounsils. 1st time I used it I didn't think it was working as you have to press the pump a lot of times before the waters comes out. It has a long nossel which I use to get behind the flap of skin in front of the tounsils and give a little spray. Somehow it is actually working, my tonsils do not smell anymore at all. I am using it once a day after brushing, although I have only once actually managed to spit the stones out as I always seem to swallow as a reflex after a spray. I think that sometimes the crypts are too deep to reach with the likes of cotton buds so they don't always work but I can really feel the spray of this product get right into the area and cleaning it out. It does make me gag a little but I'm really happy with the result. It only costs about £15 on ebay or amazon, I bought it on ebay. I really hope this works for other people too as I was absolutely fed up of trying to remove the stones.
Hi Claire. Thanks for the recommendation which I will definitely try out. As you say the crypts are deep and they hide the horrid stones so even when you think you've got them out they're still lurking around. I have just sent off another order just today for more of the California Breath products which are costing me a fortune but they seem to be the only thing I can find that at least relieve some of the symptoms some of the time. I hate poking around with cotton buds and some stones are too far back and down the area to reach. I did actually try a straw last night for the first time with only a small amount of success and I found it scratched a little. Like you I'm absolutely fed up so I will give your suggestion a try and keep you posted.
Thanks Claire58110, that's very interesting. I used to have something similar years ago but it was electric and made a huge mess of the bathroom as you had to have your mouth open to see where it was going and it was like someone had sprayed the garden hose all round the bathroom. I will definitely give this is a go. I'm still using the California Breath range which is very good but my tonsils still give out the odd tonsil stone because I can't stop eating dairy which I know aggravates my problem.
Glad to be of help, I really hope it works for other people. I don't look in my mouth when I'm using it I just kind of blindly feel around gently then spray so this should work better for you. It isn't a really fast jet of water either, not really sure how it's supposed to work for the poor people who wanted it to floss their teeth or something as it doesn't seem to be very effective for that. It also makes me wonder if little plastic pipettes would work in a similar manner. Will have to buy one sometime and have a test, maybe be a bit too small or scratchy. Let me know how you get on. x
Actually I tried a syringe once that you get with the kids Calpol or Calprofen medicines and that worked well but I have quite big holes in my tonsils so was fine. I think a pipette would be a great idea but poking around inside the tonsils would introduce bacteria and maybe make the problem worse so could be that the most effective thing is the Powerfloss. Will try and order one soon. Thanks again.
Is Therabreath completely control bad bacterial? regular use of Therabreath would control reform of tonsils?
Therabreath/California Breath says it does control bad bacteria and stops tonsil stones reforming but they also highlight that you have to be careful you don't aggravate the problem by what you eat and drink. Also medication can cause extra problems. For me its dairy, I love cheese and eat lots of it and straight away I can feel it affecting my sinuses and that causes the post nasal drip and therefore it ends up in the crypts of my tonsils. I used to get tonsil stones in my mouth every day before I started using the Cal Breath range but get one every few months now, I am sure I would not get any if I stop eating dairy but there is no chance of that!
I am using the powerfloss from oraldent with the California Breath extra strength mouthwash (new formula) and after gargling with one spoonfull of mouthwash I use a second spoonful to squirt at the tonsils and the back of the throat. I think it's helping to treat the area especially after dislodging stones, though I do it everyday to try to flush out the crevices. I know I'm worse with diary and alcohol so have cut them both to absolute minimum. The post nasal drip is hard to cure so I wonder if anyone has a good product/method of nasal irrigation. I use California Breath sinus and nasal drops but feel more irrigation might be helpful. Thanks for the tonsilstoneremoval link above john2223. I have bought soda water and wonder if anyone has found or tried the grapefruit seed extract?
I've had a development with the self testing of not recommended products (naughty but I don't care, im desperate for a result). Previously I recommended the Powerfloss for removing the stones but I was noticing that the smell was eradicated for a day but would slowly return over the course of a day regardless of whether or not I'd eaten. I noticed someone saying that pro-biotics helped so I tried them and noticed a bit of an improvement. I wondered if sometimes there is more going on than just tonsil stones and whether there is sometimes actually a bacterial or fungal infection also underlying. So I bought some Daktarin oral gel and a Canesten oral tablet on Gumtree (must be oral not the kind for use on skin). They are supposed to be for Oral Thrush which is a kind of fungal thing. I took the tablet and it seemed to help a lot and I have been putting the Daktarin Oral Gel on my tounsils and around my mouth for 3 days and the smell is now completely gone. I have not used the Powerfloss or made any effort to remove stones for 3 days. Unfortunately I can not tell you whether the smell will return as soon as I stop using the gel but at least I am making some kind of progress with eradicating it. If the smell returns I may head to the doctor and tell them about the Daktarin having such a profound effect and maybe it will help them with diagnosis and they will be able to prescribe something. Guessing that long term use of Daktarin Oral Gel is not advised so I will continue for a week or so then stop. I'll let you know what happens when I stop. Just great to be free of the smell for a while. I hope this works for someone, guessing every case of tonsil stones is not the same and that not everyone's will have a fungal/bacterial problem attached to it but maybe it will help some people.
That's really interesting Claire. Please keep us posted on, hopefully, your continued progress. It would also be interesting to know if your GP has a response to this improvement.
I remember using Daktarin Gel just after I had my first daughter, I was on antibiotics and I got oral thrush so the doctor told me to use Daktarin and my tongue ended up being lovely, pink and clean. Even before the oral thrush my tongue was always coated . Problem is the Daktarin helps the tongue but how can it clear tonsil stones from the outside of your tonsils when the stones are actually inside the tonsil cavities? I may try it again to help clear my tongue but can't see how it can work on the tonsil stones. Dr. Katz at California Breath has probiotic sachets to help the good bacteria in the mouth but it ends up fairly expensive. Would love to find a cheaper solution!
I've been using it for a few days now just kinda pushing it into the tonsil area (my gag reflex is getting weaker by the day!) and it does continue to help with the smell, quite a bit! I notice reading the label it is for bacterial and fungal infections of the mouth and throat. However I have noticed when I have been at work for a full day and not used any gel the smell is returning until I use again which is a shame as I guess this means its only temporarily killing the bacteria/fungus but not curing the problem but I'll let you know if it comes back totally when I stop using the gel. I do wonder if there is an underlying cause to the tonsil problem though as I never had a problem then one day suddenly I did and it has been the same since, unless I am constantly removing the stones or using Daktarin the problem is always there in the backround. I'm gonna try some antifungal tablets that are supposed to be for thrush for a full week in case its something fungal more internal. They are called fluconazole from amazon at 1.85 each, just gonna try one a day for a week which is the dosage for oral thrush. When I said I bought the tablet and Daktarin on Gumtree last time I meant to say Amazon. (I'm terrible for taking things I shouldn't be!)
I wonder does anyone have any other symptoms with their tonsil stones? sometimes my throat feels really itchy and I seem to have difficulty swallowing food properly. I'm sure it wasn't always like this and wondered if its linked. If this fungal thing doesn't work I am defo going doctors. I will try to push to see a ear, nose and throat specialist to get my throat checked out.
Hope everyone doing ok cos this condition does really get you down.
just to update you all Daktarin no longer working. I'll let you know how fluconazole works, if it is candida infection I should notice difference pretty quick then I need to keep taking for a few weeks. I'll let you know how I get on. I definitely need to book a doctors appointment I'm fed up, back to the powerfloss for now