When treating angina, it is important to distinguish between acute and chronic forms. Acute tonsillitis is usually treated symptomatically with painkillers or antibiotics.
painkillers
Painkillers that are often prescribed in tonsillitis therapy are ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and paracetamol. They can relieve the symptoms but have no effect on the course of the disease. Be sure to follow the dosage instructions in the package leaflet, as too low a dosage will not have the desired effect.
Local analgesics in the form of gurgle solutions, sprays or lozenges – often with an additional antiseptic component – can also be used, but are not recommended.
antibiotics
Usually doctors prescribe antibiotics for very severe symptoms or a severe course of angina tonsillaris. They are only helpful in bacterial infections, and it is difficult to diagnose them accurately. Studies in patients with sore throats show that antibiotics can shorten the duration of symptoms by about a day.
However, the side effects of antibiotics, including skin rash, digestive problems and vaginal fungal infections, are better known. Benefits and risks should therefore always be weighed against each other.
If your doctor has prescribed antibiotics for the treatment of angina tonsillaris, it is important to complete the treatment, i.e. not to stop it abruptly if the symptoms improve, even though only half of the pack has been used. This can prevent the development of resistance, i.e. the bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics, and the inflammation from rekindling.
household remedies
A household remedy proven in practice for tonsillitis are curd wraps. Fresh curd cheese is applied directly to the neck and wrapped in dry cloths. You should stay well covered in bed for at least half an hour. Curd cheese should have the ability to contain inflammations or “pull them out of the tissue”.
Another home remedy for angina – as with other infections of the pharynx – is oil extraction or oil slurping, which is supposed to bind toxins and pathogens. After getting up, ideally before breakfast, rinse your mouth with a tablespoon of virgin olive oil for 15 minutes. The oil turns white or yellow and should be spat into the toilet after 15-20 minutes. It is then important to rinse the mouth and throat thoroughly with warm water and brush the teeth to remove all toxins and pathogens released by the oil.
Gargling with sage tea or salt water can also be helpful – both should have an anti-inflammatory or disinfectant effect. In any case, it is important to drink enough, to spare yourself and not to smoke!
almond surgery
During an almond operation, both palatal almonds are cut out. If there is an almond enlargement, the almonds can also only be reduced in size.
During almond surgery, the patient lies supine with his head bent back. The procedure does not take long and is often regarded as routine, although complications often occur. For children the operation is performed under general anaesthesia, for adolescents and adults under local anaesthesia. A hospital stay of at least two to three days is necessary for children and for people with an increased risk of secondary bleeding.
Removal of the tonsils is usually recommended:
- more than five tonsillitis cases per year in two consecutive years
- high magnification of the tonsils so that respiration is impaired
What’s wrong with almond surgery?
Whereas in the past it was recommended relatively quickly to remove the tonsils from several inflammations per year, more and more doctors are now more reluctant to perform almond operations due to the risk of severe bleeding. This is particularly true for young children, who generally suffer more from tonsillitis, but also have the greatest risk of severe complications from almond surgery. As small children have a low blood volume, heavy post-operative bleeding can be more fatal for them than for adults. They are also more likely to inhale blood.
Postoperative bleeding is still possible in children for a few weeks after the operation, which is why they should always sleep close to adults after the operation. The risk of heavy bleeding, which must be stopped by another operation, is 1-4%.
In addition, the tonsils are an important part of the immune system. The consequences of their absence on the organism have not been researched in detail.
However, the effectiveness of almond surgery in reducing sore throats is also questionable. Studies show that children whose tonsils had been removed were less likely to have sore throat in the first two to three years after surgery. A little later, however, no difference was found between them and other children. It is believed that the tendency to develop tonsillitis decreases with age, regardless of the type of treatment. And in adults, there are currently no meaningful studies available on the benefits of a tonsillectomy.
Treatment of chronic tonsillitis
In chronic angina (lasting longer than three months), bacteria have settled permanently on the tonsils. The cause may be an incomplete antibiotic therapy of acute tonsillitis or a partial removal of the tonsils. The severity of the symptoms varies – from hardly noticeable to very severe. Typical symptoms are permanently swollen cervical lymph nodes and permanent bad breath.
The treatment of chronic angina is the same as that of acute angina, although the immune system should be strengthened at the same time – for example by homeopathic remedies. If there is no improvement or if the symptoms are severe, complete removal of the tonsils is often recommended.