Golden Nuggets....
If you hear the words 'Golden Nuggets' you'd be excused for thinking that they are something good, something of value perhaps.... I guess you could even be excused for thinking of them as edible, after all, it sounds a little bit like 'chicken nuggets' I suppose or indeed the breakfast cereal.... this is NOT what I am talking about (although I do love edible nuggets!!!), please do not mistake them.... What I am talking about here, are actually 'tonsilloliths'......
What are tonsilloliths?
Also known as tonsil stones, these are those bad boy white/yellow (sometimes greyish) small smelly lumps that sit in the back of your throat that you can cough out.... revolting huh!
Sometimes, as they get bigger, you can begin to feel them with every swallow. These are not pleasant, although generally harmless. Some are really small and many people who have them probably don't even realise that they have them at all but the biggest recorded weighed in at a whopping 42 grams!!! They are actually debris (from lining of the mouth, bits of food etc), saliva, plaque mixed with bacteria that calcify and form in the pockets on your tonsils (they can also be on the roof of the mouth or under the tongue) and they STINK....
Why are tonsilloliths bad?
Tonsilloliths or 'stinky stones' as I refer to them can be a nuisance! They feel uncomfortable when they get a bit bigger and they stink, giving you bad breath and no one likes to smell halitosis (bad breath)!
What can I do to get rid of tonsilloliths?
There are couple of things that can aid in the prevention of these bad boys but if you have small pockets in your tonsils (perhaps from throat infections as a child) they are always going to keep coming back, unless you take the drastic action of having your tonsils removed. However, I hear that this procedure is none too pleasant as an adult no matter how much ice cream you get to eat after the procedure!!
So once they are there, you can brush the back of your tongue against them to help dislodge them - if you do this quickly it sometimes helps to bring them out. You could try coughing. Alternatively, you could use a cotton bud or your finger to dislodge them, depending on your gag reflex that is! I have heard of others using a tooth pick but I'd be cautious doing this as you don't want to damage your tonsils further. Poking anything into the back of the throat always runs the risk of further damage/infection. It would be advisable to gargle salt water after trying these methods to reduce the chance of further infection.
If tonsil stones get big enough to make breathing difficult or you cannot remove them yourself and they are causing discomfort then it would be advisable to see your GP.
Since many tonsil stones occur due to bacteria or infection, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatments may help to prevent tonsil stones from occurring. Suggestions may include eating probiotic yogurts, raw apples and carrots as well as including garlic and onions in your diet, gargling with diluted vinegar, gargling salt water or using some essential oils (diluted with water on a separate toothbrush and gently brushing the tonsil stones) that have antibacterial or anti-inflammatory properties such as thieves oil, lemongrass and myrrh.
