Tonsils....the remove or not?????

[lukenick1]

My 6 yr old son has recurrent strep throat with this being his 5th one since October. He has been tested as a carrier but it was negative. Ped says he can still get strep with no tonsils, ENT said less frequent if at all, due to tonsils not harboring the strep bacteria. What to do????

 

[tluvstink]

My DD13 had hers taken out when she was 6. She was catching strep constantly (or so it seemed) and that would lead to an ear infection. This went on for a few years.

She hasn't had strep since so for us it was worth it She still occasionally gets sick but it's nothing like it was before.

I hope this helps.

Terri

 

[Feralpeg]

DD wrote the book on strep. She had it almost non-stop from the time she was two years old. At age five, her ped said she needed her tonsils out. It was getting to the point where the antibiotics were not effective in treating the strep. After having her tonsils out, she had strep a couple of times. It was well worth having them out!

 

[LuvBaloo]

I finally got my tonsils out in my early 30's, after repeat infections getting more and more frequent. I really wish I'd had them removed as a child, as the doctor said the earlier its done the quicker and easier it his (less pain, faster healing).

I have had strep once since I got them out 8 years ago, but it was not nearly as bad as the infections when the tonsils were in.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

I had my tonsils out a couple of years ago when I was 23--I wish I had it done when I was younger--i had a rough recovery and havent had strep since

 

[JessicaR]

My son had them out when he was 13. He is 17 now and has had a HUGE improvement in health since they were removed.

 

[Ohiodislover]

My DD (14) just had hers out in March. We have struggled with strep off/on for 8-9 years. When we tried to get them out at age 7, insurance wouldn't cover it, and then had a few better years, but the past 2 years have been miserable.

We tried 2 months of clindamycin d/t the chronic infections, which did not work, and then decided to get them out. We did tonsils and adenoids. She feels so incredibly better now. It just makes me sad that we couldn't get it approved before. She can breath, doesn't snore, and gets more rest with less sleep than ever before.

Good Luck w. your decision. I don't think I would wait.. DDs tonsils were necrotic and a source of constant infection. Why put your kid thru that, KWIM??

 

[Wonders10]

Just curious, are they planning on taking out your DS's adenoids as well? How about ear infections?

 

[lukenick1]

Just curious, are they planning on taking out your DS's adenoids as well? How about ear infections?

Hi there



My son has had ear infection after ear infection since birth. Never had tubes though cuz they weren't always in the same ear and they always responded well to antibiotics. Never thought about adnoids, what are there purpose???
Thanks everyone so far that gave their advice

 

[mckryan]

We're getting DDs out next week at age 18. I so wish we had pushed for it sooner. The ENT said that she'll be much healthier without them. I hope her recovery isn't horrible. I'm really hoping.

 

[Wonders10]

Hi there



My son has had ear infection after ear infection since birth. Never had tubes though cuz they weren't always in the same ear and they always responded well to antibiotics. Never thought about adnoids, what are there purpose???
Thanks everyone so far that gave their advice

Well the adenoids are the "tonsils" you can't see. Sort of underneath the tonsils we can see when we open our mouth. I would assume they could also harbor infection so it's not uncommon to have both out at the same time. Like another poster mentioned, it can affect your breathing, reduce snoring if there is any, could also reduce the number of ear infections since the ears and throat (and nose) are truly all connected.

In severe cases, like cleft palates and the like, adenoids can have a huge impact on what sort of repair surgery you might have and how your speech will sound. Just as an FYI, I'm a speech pathologist and these things come up from time to time in our patients - not just some random person who talks about adenoids and tonsils with internet people

Good luck!

 

[krcit]

Both of my daughters had their tonsils out at age 6. My older dd had strep 13(!!!!!!!) times in 12 months. The strep was just living in her tonsils and the Dr said that they had to come out, it was not good for her to be on so many antibiotics. Poor kid would throw up non-stop every time she had it too-even had to get the antibiotic shot in her butt a few times. My younger dd had strep 8 times in a year and they took hers out also. Both of them have had strep since getting tonsils out but only once. I'm very happy that we had them out. My ds who is 9 has never had strep I thought for sure we would be 3 for 3, lol but we lucked out with him so far.

 

[dislaney]

My 6 yr old son has recurrent strep throat with this being his 5th one since October. He has been tested as a carrier but it was negative. Ped says he can still get strep with no tonsils, ENT said less frequent if at all, due to tonsils not harboring the strep bacteria. What to do????

My youngest dd had strep constantly when she was a child. One year I think she had it 9 or 10 times. We had her tonsils taken out at age 10 and has never had strep again. Best decision ever for her!

 

[kimono rose]

I had mine taken out when I was 7, before that I was always sick, since then I occasionally get sick (plus I have allergies) but nothing like before. If you're debating I think it's worth it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would start improving his immune system with diet, making sure his nutrition is good, and chiropractic. All will help a person's immune system behave better, and lower the chances that he will continue to succumb to strep.

My mom fought the good fight with my nutrition and then I ruined it all at 20 by having my second-line immune system (nasal passages being the first spot that germs are caught) yanked out.

Went from painful but ultimately not terribly bad strep to letting the germs go into my lungs (poor tonsils were swollen because they were *working* for me), and now I get SCARY illnesses when I get sick. I'd prefer the sick and wrong sore throats, quite frankly!

And good for the ENT for knowing you can still get strep without tonsils.

 

[lukenick1]

I would start improving his immune system with diet, making sure his nutrition is good, and chiropractic. All will help a person's immune system behave better, and lower the chances that he will continue to succumb to strep.

My mom fought the good fight with my nutrition and then I ruined it all at 20 by having my second-line immune system (nasal passages being the first spot that germs are caught) yanked out.

Went from painful but ultimately not terribly bad strep to letting the germs go into my lungs (poor tonsils were swollen because they were *working* for me), and now I get SCARY illnesses when I get sick. I'd prefer the sick and wrong sore throats, quite frankly!

And good for the ENT for knowing you can still get strep without tonsils.

The Pediatrician is the one who is hesitant for them to come out cuz he can still get strep. The ENT is the one who wants to take them out as they are harboring bacteria. I am not a big fan of RX meds so the fact that my son is on anti's every other month is not good. I'm leaning towards taking them out. The tonsils seem to serve no purpose for him. He is still getting terrible respiratory viruses, asthma, and strep throat. How can they be helping???? BTW he was breast fed for a whole year and yet still gets sick all the time and has developed food allergies and asthma. Guess that theory is out the door too.

 

[Kit'smommy]

My 6 year old had his tonsils and adenoids out in February. He had only had strep once, but they were causing a lot of other issues: sleep apnea, snoring, ears not draining and choking. Every cold also turned into 3 weeks or more of being sick and ending up on antibiotics.

Life is much better now! He is so much healthier and has not been sick at all.

On the other hand, I have had strep 3 times in the last 2 months (without DS getting it!). I should have had my tonsils out as a child, but never did and as an adult, I know the recovery would be awful.

I understand my child can still get strep, but it is less likely and infections will probably be less severe. In your case, I would go with the ENT's opinion or get a second opinion from a different ped or ENT, if you are still unsure.

Good nutrition is great for your child in general, however, it will not keep a child (or adult) whose tonsils need to come out from getting ill.

 

[golfgal]

DD15 had her tonsils out when she was 5 after having strep 10 times in 9 months. They actually took her tonsils out with an active case of strep because they just couldn't knock it out. She hasn't had strep since. I had my tonsils out when I was 4, still remember how much that hurt but I have NEVER had strep. I say have them removed.

 

[mom2boys77]

Ds8 got his tonsils and adenoids out last April..best thing we ever did! He has had little more than a cold since then and he doesn't snore anymore! Recovery wasn't terribly bad either he was back to himself within 2 weeks. Good luck!

 

[iwrbnd]

They mostly take tonsils out now for sleep apnea. Her strep must be really bad to take them out for that!

My daughter got them out at 2 yrs old. It was awful but not nearly as awful as when I got them out as a teen! The younger the better!