Tonsil stones can be very annoying. If you have found your way to this site
then you may already know what having tonsil stones is like. In either case,
it's safe to say you do not want to get them. I have not yet met anyone who was
excited about getting tonsil stones. The purpose of this article is to help
those of you who are still trying to figure out if that nasty white ball in your
throat is in fact a tonsil stone.
In this diagram, you'll notice the locations of the tongue, adenoids, tonsils
etc. These items have been labeled for reference. If the white ball you are
experiencing is located in the area of the tonsils, then it's most likely a
tonsil stone.
These photos give you an idea of what tonsil stones look like after being
removed.
I too have suffered from tonsil stones. It was some time before I
located a remedy that worked for me. You may need to try different things
before successfully ridding yourself of these annoying things. I went for
several years before discovering Dr. Katz' tonsil
stone remedy.
Be sure to see the other articles on this site
for information on removing tonsil stones and prevention of tonsil stones.
guest commented on 26 Sep 2007, 07:59:27 I feel your pain, I've been getting this stinky things since I was a child & i'm now 38. I poke the stones out at least twice a week, it works on my nerves. & I'm always wondering if my breath smells from the stones.
guest commented on 26 Sep 2007, 09:48:06 Also, good to know I am not alone. I am 27 and have been getting them for years. Gross! I will definitely try gargling with salt water. Anything that might do the trick to stop these gross balls from forming!
Chelsea commented on 26 Sep 2007, 22:58:54 Wow, I finally know what these little nasties are! I've been finding them for some time now. I only noticed them when I would cough them up when I was ill, thought it was just particularly nasty mucus. I found a huge batch of them last night and removed some ( I thought all, with a pair of tweezers) I checked again tonight and found more! Did some searching and found this website. When I had my wisdom teeth removes a while ago, my Doc gave me a "Monoject" syringe to irrigate and clean my sutures with. I still have it and used it tonight with some warm water in it. I can't believe how much came out, GROSS! But it worked really well. Its a very simple plastic syringe with a rubber plunger and a slightly curved, elongated cone tip. It was very handy! I recommend asking your dentist or oral surgeon, or even orthodontist for one. I'm going to check out the chemical remedy too!
Amber commented on 27 Sep 2007, 13:23:09 yeah im 15 yrs old...ive been looking in the back of my throat, it hurts at times and i have like wholes in my taunsals and idk y?? and also it seems like the vary back of my throat is getting torn up i smoke ciggs and stuff and i dont wanna tell my mom to take me to the doctor cuz she doesnt know bout me smokeing ciggs!!! i would really really apprisheat if u left me a e-mail tell me if i have this or not or is it from smokeing cuz i keep going to the doctor and they say nothings wrong....
guest commented on 28 Sep 2007, 18:53:49 I am SO relieved to finally find out that these are! You are not going to believe this, but I don't have my tonsils and have had these things for years. I even put some in a plastic bag and froze them to try and find out what they were. How many people have these and no tonsils? I have a pocket where they took my tonsils out as a child and this is where they come from.
guest commented on 30 Sep 2007, 20:43:58 i have had thses random smelin things comming out of my mouth i am 13 and dumb i thought i had throught cancer unntil i looked up this sight i hate havin to pop the poop smllin suckers out
lisa commented on 01 Oct 2007, 13:12:02 It is so good to know other people understand this awful problem!! I'm afraid to suggest this to my doctor in case they haven't a clue. Tongue scraping and Dentyl Ph mouthwash definitely help me keep it under control. It is so depressing constantly living in fear of knocking people out when you are talking to them. It really knocks your self esteem. This is bound to be more common than we think. We need a public awareness campaign!!!!
guest commented on 02 Oct 2007, 11:12:07 Wow, I can't believe how much info is on the net about tonsil stones, nor can I believe how relieved (and disgusted) I am to find out just what the hell the strange little funky white ball I coughed up last night was.
I only remember coughing one up a couple of times in my life over the past 10 years or so, but last night when it happened I got sufficiently freaked out and decided to go online and mess around with wording in a Google search until I could figure out what it was. At first I thought it was a filling (!) and then I thought maybe it was food that had formed in the shape of my tooth crevice or something. Lo and behold - tonsil stones!
I think my tonsils are too far down for me to get at them to manually remove the stones myself (not to mention it makes me a bit queasy at the thought), so I'm still trying to decide the best course of action.
I'm also thoroughly embarrassed at realizing that I've probably had horrible breath for most of my life because of these things and just never fully understood just how bad it is.
jess commented on 02 Oct 2007, 22:37:43 how do u know if u hav dem
guest commented on 05 Oct 2007, 03:39:45 I have been getting these for years, can never actually see them just suddenly feel it looses in my throat and taste a bad taste. I used to smoke very heavily and then stopped, found I got the problem even more when I stopped like there was loads trapped in my tonsils and was clearing out. Found after a while of stopping I stopped getting them at all. But then I started smoking again :_( After another 3 years I am finally giving up again, on my 5th week and getting loads of this horrible stuff again as if its been stuck there and finally clearing. Does anyone else suffering from this smoke???????
MisterBigs commented on 05 Oct 2007, 14:20:40 I was glad to see that I was not the only one with this problem (misery loves company, I guess). <br>
For as long as I have had these stones I've been able to squeeze them out by playing with my jaw and tongue. <br>
This was my dirty little secrete until I heard a friend talking about a bad smelling thing in her mouth. I right away joined the conversation and was happy to find out that it was not cancerous tissue that I was squeezing out.
Kari commented on 05 Oct 2007, 18:58:58 Ok guys. I've been dealing with this crap for about 15 years. I would pick them out with a toothpick. I even taught my mom. The bad breath is indescribable. Tonsil stones plus chronic sore throats are about all I can handle. At 28 I'm having a tonsillectomy in 10 days. I'm excited and nervous. I'll keep you posted!
Rod commented on 07 Oct 2007, 09:14:10 When i sneez i can smell them and i go right to the mirror and press them out....a lot of people breath smells like this and i wont to tell them but i dont want to offend them...i keep my own clear...
Nicole commented on 10 Oct 2007, 14:18:01 I have been getting these things for years now. This one time i got one so big, when it fell out it left a hole in my tonsil. I thought it was cancer. Scared the cr*p out of me. Still to this day, i have not spoken to my doctor about it.
MJ commented on 11 Oct 2007, 14:53:39 I get these all the time, it seems worse when I've eaten bread or pasta recently. I don't experience bad breath though. I have superb dental hygiene, and these tonsil stones don't seems to stink unless I mash one. They are nasty, glad to know I'm not alone.
guest commented on 11 Oct 2007, 15:31:45 My sister and I get them our name for them has been "doo doo balls"
guest commented on 11 Oct 2007, 18:39:38 i have been getting these things for about 3 years now, and just this week i coughed up 3 in a row. it is disgusting and i am so sick of feeling this horrible discomfort in the back of my throat. they are ugly, annoying and smell awful. they keep getting bigger, and i am just totally sick of it! i think i am going to try that doctor the other guy on this site suggested. good luck to everyone!
Dnt wanna lose ma boyfri commented on 11 Oct 2007, 19:36:39 im 15 and i get them so bad...okay maybe exaderation but i GET THEM at least. hehe im a girl and qirl and i feel bad cause it makes my boyfriend wander why i dont kiss him very often. they normally are on my tonsils and will pop right out but lastnight i realised their like on the sides of my throat and they arent budging its really pissing me off... please gimme some answers!!!
guest commented on 14 Oct 2007, 09:16:01 I don't understand why this problem is not more widely known to the medical and dental profession. I thought I was the only one with the problem. I was too embarrased to tell my dentist or my doctor. I told both repeatedly over the years that I was worried about my bad breath. They just tell you to brush and floss regularly. I knew my bad breath wasn't from my oral hygiene. I'm diligent in keeping my mouth clean.
Robin commented on 14 Oct 2007, 18:21:17 I put up with these for years, went to two dr. with "samples" who had no clue what they were, finally saw the ear,nose,throat dr. who told me they didn't meet the criteria for tonsil removal, I stood my ground, and questioned why quality of life was not a valid reason, and after being very persistant they agreed to do the surgery! Two years later and I have been free of all problems! Although the surgery and two week recovery were not fun, I would do it again in a heartbeat!! So if you have had it, demand that they remove your tonsils!! To think of all the time and energy I spent in the bathroom, digging and gagging, trying to look in there, plus having that nagging sore throat, only wish I had done it sooner!!!
guest commented on 15 Oct 2007, 06:04:18 Looks like no-one's posted here in a while, but I'm so relieved to find out I'm normal, I just had to chime in. I've gotten these things over the years, (my brother has too - we talked about them when we were young and in the stage of trying to out-gross each other) and boy do they stink. I hadn't gotten one in a long while, but I've had a very sore throat for the last two and a half weeks, and couldn't get rid of it. I got a throat culture, but it was not strep, and my doctor always tells me that if there's no yellow gunk, there's no infection, so he doesn't give me antibiotics, and tells me to drink hot drinks and gargle with salt water. I did all the right things and wasn't getting better. It was so frustrating! But then one of those tonsil stones popped out last night after gargling, and this morning I feel so much better! It's the first morning in 2 1/2 weeks that I woke up without major pain in my throat! I'll have to remember that the next time my throat is killing me. I'll start poking around for one of those stones.
guest commented on 15 Oct 2007, 19:54:25 I took my 5 year old daughter to the allergist for her yearly check up and the dr commented on her large tonsils. I mentioned I've always had issues with mine, and I've had weird secretions from them since I was 5 (now 32). She told me they were tonsil lithes, so here I am searching for them on the web. I am amazed at how many of you have the same issue. Some of mine get as large as a dime, and I can always tell when they are "ripe" and I need to squeeze them out of my left tonsil. I'd love to be done with these alltogether. The stones are mostly yellow, but every so often they look like a yellow tinted hunk of blue cheese--with a green or grey flecked appearance. I got brave and "disected" one a couple times. It's exactly like they described in the article. A few pebble-pearl like granules surrounded by a protective-cheesy-sheath. It sounds like a lot of you had tonsils removed and still suffer from these. Looks like that isn't the cure to ridding yourself of these awful tonsil-turds! It seems so trivial to hate such a minor affliction when there are cancers and other diseases out there people are fighting. But doesn't this seem like something that could be treated in a simple & effective manner? Until then...I will keep in tune with my potato-chip-is-stuck-in-my-throat feeling and my weekly dates with the 10x mirror mouth wide open to get these buggers out. Phhhlggh.
Kristy commented on 16 Oct 2007, 12:38:51 I have always been embarrassed to talk about it. The only people that new were my mom and a doctor. I got tired of hearing "it could be this, it could be that" so I took it upon myself to do some researching. I never knew how common it can be. I have been getting them for YEARS! I went to an oral surgeon and he suggested removing my tonsils. I think I might take him up on that since I hear it works very well.
guest commented on 18 Oct 2007, 10:08:51 Ive been dealing with them since I started smoking cigarrettes when I was around 13.To extract them, I stick out my toungue as far as it will gotilt my head to the side as far as it will go, and then hack as hard as I can into my hands.Huge ones will pop into my hand or onto my tounge. then I smear them in my fingers and smell them which seems to make more appear. I usually get about 3 or 4 large sized ones and multiple little ones from every day to sometimes many weeks in between. Due to my roomate situation now, I cant do it as often for fear of embarrassment, so sometime they will build up so bad I can taste them. Sometie they just pop out on thier own. GROSS! I like to stck em in my cat's face and gross him out too!
guest commented on 18 Oct 2007, 19:48:00 tonsil stones lick balls ... and they smell of balls too!
george commented on 18 Oct 2007, 23:45:33 i had this problem since childhood. my mum took me to a doctor but he only said it was an enlargement of my tonsil. I pick this tonsil stones with my finger and this stinks really bad. it is chronic. i need to undergo surgery
guest commented on 19 Oct 2007, 13:21:21 I had had tonsil stones for 19 years. Just last week, my 5 year old daughter said she wanted to show me why her breath always stinks in the morning. I almost fainted when I saw a tonsil stone at the end of her finger tip. I just made her an apt with her doctor. I DO NOT want her to be self concious about her breath like I have been for the majortiy of my life. Well, gotta go, its time for me to go clean out my own tonsil stones. GROSS
guest commented on 19 Oct 2007, 13:50:46 I didn't know the nature of my tonsil stones until I made a worried trip to the doctor, prompted by my girlfriend dumping me because of her mistaken belief that the hard white lumps lodged in my throat were symptoms of some rare STD. Fortunately I now know that was not the case. Unfortunately she never spoke to me again.....*sigh*
Dan31uk commented on 21 Oct 2007, 14:57:32 Ive just found out what these are called after suffering for 15 years! Im 31 now and the problem is getting much worse, im going to the docs tommorow and demanding my tonsils are removed, but.... is this a definate cure?????
guest commented on 23 Oct 2007, 06:17:19 water pik sounds like a great idea....these little things hurt my tonsills....like an annoying pressure.....i hate them so!
guest commented on 27 Oct 2007, 13:14:01 I have had these on and off since I was young. I never knew what they were and thought that It might be an infection in my tonsils. Has anyone ever noticed that they actually became physically tired alot around the time before they show up on the outside of the tonsil? I haven't had them for years until yesterday. I have since had around 10 or so come out of a hole in my tonsil . It freaked me out!! The big C? I found this website and was releaved. I had never heard of tonsil stones only kidney stones. I have never had anyone tell me that I have had bad breath. I would hate to think that my husband of 10 years wouldn't have told me!! I'll ask him tonight to make sure now!
guest commented on 27 Oct 2007, 14:34:49 ive been geting them since i was 12yrs old now iam24 i have noticed in the past 3 days i have been hacking them up more than usual but my question is if i get my tonsils removed will they keep comeing back?
guest commented on 27 Oct 2007, 20:12:31 if you leave this things to dry they turn red
guest commented on 01 Nov 2007, 23:58:01 I am SO glad there is information about this on the internet! I've been getting these for almost 20 years now...started when I was in grade school. I just found out yesterday what they are. Nice to know you can manually extract them yourself and not wait until they pop themselves out. For me, there are periods of time when it almost seems they attack - as in, I will get at least 3-4 huge tonsil stones a day. Then sometimes I will just get a few small ones a month. Very strange. Oddly enough, I am completely fascinated by these smelly things. Seems like I'm not alone, though!
sneaker commented on 03 Nov 2007, 21:30:56 Wow! I have had these since I was a little girl, and it was like my dirty little secret. Now my five year old son just coughed one up, and it's funny, because he's the one child of mine whose the most like me, poor kid! I hate it when I can't get them out. I have a bad gag reflex, so I can try to poke around, but usually end up gagging.
Noah commented on 04 Nov 2007, 13:50:48 i have been finding these little balls since i was about 13 they taste nasty and they smell terrible, i never knew exactly what they were but stumbled onto a page about them on the web and wow, i didnt know anyone else had this problem...
guest-ykr commented on 04 Nov 2007, 19:28:07 I've always had these and once when i was younger i took one to mom and asked her what they were and she said she didn't know but she smiled and smashed one up and said, "but smell it" it was horrible... i've hated them ever since... i guess she got them too... Today I coughed out three huge ones and decided it was finally time to figure out what these things are... i had no idea that they had a name! let alone a way to get rid of them!
guest commented on 05 Nov 2007, 02:06:21 Crazy girlfriend.
I have these, too. (I had asked a few of my friends if they got them, and a few did!) I had them for years before going to a throat specialist and finding out what they were. I was told to gargle with this concoction of water, vinegar, and salt. After a while, they just went away.
It was about two years later that I got my tongue pierced, and they came back! I don't know why that would happen - I guess because of how I had to eat afterwards.
*laugh* Oddly enough, I didn't know that they smelled bad until I started researching them. Then I took a wiff one day. Oh my. My. My. My. That wasn't good.
Kathy commented on 05 Nov 2007, 07:42:54 Having originally commented on tonsil stones back in June, I find it fascinating and humorous to read how many people actually suffer from these things and how they cope with them. We can't take all this too seriously. It's so true what they say though...laughter is the BEST medicine :)
Relieved commented on 05 Nov 2007, 23:30:11 Hello and praise the LORD. First and foremost I wanna say Heraolda you are NASTY. Who eats their kidney stones??? You are disgusting!!! Just pop those bad boys out and throw them into your 'Fish Tank!!!' Wow, I seriously thought I had HIV or AIDS. I'm not kidding around I'm serious. But I was tested a few times and the results were negative. But I was still freaked out in mentioning these "White Balls on my tonsil's to my doctor. I first discovered this at the age of 18. I am now 26. They would appear every now and then. However I haven't experienced the problem in a while until tonight. After giving myself a routine check up, which I do everyday, since the first discovery several years ago. Fed up, I went online and finally have come to the conclusion that they are 'kidney stones' which stinks when popped out. Looks just like the photo above. I'm walking in my doctor's office and will address this matter. Thanks yall, I feel a whole lot better knowing that many people have had to face this issue.
guest commented on 06 Nov 2007, 00:47:38 A good quality, smooth, varnished, or plastic reusable chopstick with a gently rounded tip has been very helpful in poking, proding, and extracting these little buggers. Because they're long and I'm dexterous, I can hold a small flashlight in one hand to better see what I'm doing, and the use the chopstick in the other to work them out.
samantha commented on 06 Nov 2007, 15:01:01 Omg im so sick of these tonsil stone things.. ive been to like 4 different doctors and they keep on saying its excess food getting stuck. i dont believe that because if that was the case it wood most like hapen to more people. i didnt know anyone else who had it until i googled my problem yesterday. im sick of it and doctors dont take me seriously. it really kills your self esteem down thinkig your breath is continouly stinkin and worried there gna pop out when your talkin to other people. i have to stand in front of the mirror nearly every day pikin them out with earbuds or my finger to get rid of the stench. its like im abnormal or something. i need help but i feel my only alternative it to have the surgery to get them taken out.
Prayer Warrior commented on 07 Nov 2007, 18:33:54 I am a victim of having tonsi stones since I was 15 years old. I have gone to the ENT doctor and I didn't get any results, I gaugle with vinger, salt, and water and the situation still didn't help. However, the "ONLY" solution that help for me was "THE POWER OF PRAYER." My advice to everyone who is currently experiencing having tounsil stones that have a horrific foul smell, which can be embarrassing and annoying is to make PRAYER as your number one thing to get rid of this devastating "thing". I prayed and ask God to deliver and get rid of every yellowish foul tonsil stone that developed into the crypts of my tonsils, and HE DID!!! I now are not a victim of this issue any longer. To God Be the Glory, and remember that NOTHING IS TO HARD FOR GOD!!! In Christian Love, Prayer Warrior
Prayer Warrior commented on 07 Nov 2007, 18:41:18 I am a victim of having tonsil stones since I was 15 years old. I have gone to the ENT doctor and I didn't get any results, I gargle with vinegar, salt, and water and the situation still didn't help. However, the "ONLY" solution that helps for me was "THE POWER OF PRAYER." My advice to everyone who is currently experiencing having tonsil stones that have a horrific foul smell, which can be embarrassing and annoying is to make PRAYER as your number one thing to get rid of this devastating "thing". I prayed and ask God to deliver and get rid of every yellowish foul tonsil stone that developed into the crypts of my tonsils, and HE DID!!! I now am not a victim of this issue any longer. To God Be the Glory, and remember that NOTHING IS TO HARD FOR GOD!!! In Christian Love, Prayer Warrior
guest commented on 09 Nov 2007, 10:17:26 big weight lifted of my chest. thought i had a terrible disease for almost 15 years dealing with it. glad i finally know what the nasty little buggers are and looking forward to possibly removing them for good
guest commented on 11 Nov 2007, 23:30:03 HAHA! Why is it that every one of us have smelled these things? LOL I've had tonsil stones for a while now and I pick them out with a toothpick. It's almost a fun little game since mine can get HUGE! LOL For those of you who worry so much about these things... don't. Just pick them out when you see or feel them and you'll be fine. It takes a lot of them to make your breath stink.
BEAUTQ commented on 12 Nov 2007, 19:53:54 i have suffered from bad breath since i was a child.Im now 34!My parents brought me to the doctor when I was small and were advised to stop giving me milk and dairy products.these "white/greeny smelly clusters(like a cauliflour)"have appeared to have taken over my life.I find it very embarassing to discuss this with anybone, yet i know i have disgutsing breath as i can feel and taste the smell in my mouth.I adhere rigously to oral hygiene to the extent where i find im becoming obsessive regarding the cleansing of my teeth!!This has taken over my life and like others i work in the caring profession and find this extremely embarassing and im forever chewing gum or sucking mints.Please post back and let me know if you would recommend getting my tonsils out.I really would consider anything at this stage of my life if i thought i could live a normal,worry free,paranoid life.Thanks so much for posting your comments and letting me know that this problem is so much more common than what i ever would have known.
hannah commented on 12 Nov 2007, 22:00:44 i just started noticing these. at first i thought they were little pieces of oatmeal, but i aat oatmeal very rarly so i started getting suspicious and once you smell them whoo! they definatly smell like poo. i showed it to my mom and she thought it was the most disgusting thing in the world and then a week later she started noticing them in her mouth! its just something i never thought to look up until now, i never thought they were anything. im so glad i found out it makes it that much more funny :]
grossed out... commented on 14 Nov 2007, 22:15:15 reading all these stories has me laughing uncontrollably... i thought i was dying of some creepy stinky throat ball disease, and to hear that everyone here has the exact same experiences just makes it so much easier to deal with!! it is the most horrendous feeling when you're talking to someone and all of a sudden you start to smell/taste one...i just want to crawl into a hole because i can't even imagine what they're thinking! gross... thanks for all the stories...y'all are great!!!!
guest commented on 15 Nov 2007, 12:38:36 I just started getting them. Mine seem to be related to post nasal drip from my allergies. I went out of town and my allergies cleared up along with the post nasal drip and no bad breath! I can't see them though... where exactly are they? I can feel them in my throat, sometimes I can taste the bad breath from it. What do I do if I can't see them?
I have suffered from these nasty critters [tonsil stones] for years. I just accepted that I would always have them. However, since using the tonsil stone remedy I learned about on tonsilstones.net, I have not experienced even one tonsil stone. - Mike, Missouri USA
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