Growths of the Throat

I have had the white cottage cheese lumps in my tonsils for years and i am now in my 30's. They have never bothered me and have not caused any illness. I usually clean my tonsils out every 2 weeks or sooner if i need to. I use a bobby pin that has a rubber tip. The only thing i can think that causes it is pockets of food getting caught in my tonsils. It is weird that i can't find an answer on what causes it so if anyone has a reasonable explanation please share. I am glad however that there are other folks out there that have the same issue.

My throat has been sore for almost two weeks, started with a cold and hasn't gotten better. I've been gargling with salt water & using throat spray on a regular basis, and tonight decided to search out a flashlight to look into my throat - and found what looks like a cottage-cheese curd stuck there on the back/side of my throat & I think that there are a couple more. I searched online and found this message board, but also a lot of stuff came up about thrush - here's a link to one of the sites that came up: http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/dental/dent4380.html

Good Luck with your throats, too!

Actually this is a good thing because your body is trying to eject bacteria which would otherwise be trapped in your system. By these lumps coming out is just the bodys way of getting rid of the bacteria that has collected. it will go away for the most part. I rarely get them now and I too am in my early thirties. I just used a toothpick and poked or pryed them out. Seems to be more of an adolescence thing that would go into the late 20's or so. I remember them sometimes coming out really big when I was in grade 5 or so. I remember having to swallow one during a presentation because I had nowhere to spit it out... Dear God I still remember the experience! yeeesh! NOT recommended! Anyways point is don't worry it is actually good that your body can do this!

I'm 17 now and I've been getting the same since I was about 11! I'm so glad I have an answer! I went to the doctors about it and all he said was "The tonsils aren't meant to be a smooth surface". My doctor refuses to let me have a tonsilectomy despite more than one case of tonsilitis, this (whatever it's called), the fact I have a cyst on my left tonsil (and i think I've developed more because I have lots of slightly smaller lumps similar to my cyst all along the back wall of my throat), and I get a lot of throat infections where my glands or my tonsils swell up and I can't swallow and find it difficult to breathe.

Incidentally, I came across this forum searching for something throat related - I keep getting really sharp pains in a particular point of my throat at the right side. I went to make a doctors appointment today and the woman said "this isn't a walk in clinic" and wouldn't let me make an appointment. Instead she told me I have to phone up for an appointment (Even though I've made SEVERAL appointments by walking in) It's rediculous because I live on the opposite side of the road to the surgery, and I can see the surgery from my window right now! Grrr NHS... *mumble moan mumble*

This is to the person who posted just before me. I've been having the same problem for years. I'd suggest getting a 2nd opinion, since your symptoms seem to be severe. I've been getting the same answer from my personal doctor too, but a couple of times in the past year I had to go to the ER on unrelated illnesses, and upon looking in my throat, the doctors or nurses would say, "Wow, your tonsils are really big!" Mine have been large all my life, and as I type this I'm near tears because of one "tonsil nugget" (as I call them) stuck under my tongue, so far down that I can't reach it, and it's driving me crazy. It feels like something sharp is stuck in my throat.

I usually dig the tonsil nuggets out, but the past few weeks I've been getting at least one a day. This is no longer acceptable. Add that to the fact that I've had trouble breathing through my nose all my life, especially when I'm sleeping, and I snore anytime I'm actually attempting to breathe through my nose asleep.

Tomorrow I'm calling my doctor to set up an appointment and demand, and if need be, BEG for an appointment to get my tonsils removed. I'm tired of the constant scratching at the back of my throat, the sore throats when the tonsil nuggets get really big, and not being able to breathe through my nose. I don't care that it's harder for adults to recover from a tonsillectomy. I've had 6 kids, one of them was a labor with no pain meds, 3 were c-sections, so I'm used to pain! I can deal with 2 weeks of a sore throat if it means no more annoying tonsil problems for the rest of my life!

I'm pretty sure what you guys are complaining about is the same thing I have. They're called "tonsilloliths" - they're caused by small bits of food getting lodged in the recesses of your tonsils (called "crypts"), where bacteria hitch a ride and, in a sense, "calcify" the deposited food. Basically it's like plaque for your tonsils, and it's horrible.

As a sufferer I've found that digging them out can be a little odd and sometimes painful if you damage the tonsil tissues themselves - I have really gotten into the habit of practicing good oral hygiene (lots of mouthwash!) and not eating too soon before bed (when you're sleeping, you swallow less and so there's a lesser chance of getting your throat to remove the things stuck in your tonsils).

Water picks are good for this sort of thing, I hear, but chronic cases need to be treated by a professional.

Check out a great article on tonsilloliths: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith

The talk page on this site has some remedies you may've not tried, either: wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tonsillolith

Best of luck!

RF81

well i have also a similar problem with the coughing up smelly white balls of cottage cheese but recently i was diagnosed with strep throat, given antibiotics from my doctor that didnt work, went to the Emergency room and they gave me better antibiotics and 2 shots that helped it much better than the antibiotics prescribed by my doctor but now i have smaller but still swollen tonsils with holes that are pretty scary every time i get chills when i look at them but they sting when i try to eat and drink stuff how do i make them feel better for everyday life? or until the holes go away? which i hear go away after some time but they hurt alot and im still hacking up most of the pus that was in them

hey, i have a white lump on the right hand side at the back of my throat and it feels solid. I have looked on many websites and tried to get it loose but it wasnt happening. It hurts when i swallow, eat and drink, like it is tender and the food, drink etc is stinging it, does anyone have any ideas? its starting to worry me

i get those too. and up until a few minutes ago i never knew where they were comin from. i thought they were comin from my throat. i didnt even know these two holes existed in the back there. as soon as i realized where they were comin from i rushed online to do a search. thanks so much for the info.

i've been having this same problem for some time now but never knew where these white chunks were comin from. until a few minutes ago wen i looked in the mirror and saw 2 holes one on either side of my throat but only one was clogged this time. this seems to be happening more frequently these. wen i realised i had 2 holes i panicked and came online to do a search to see if this was normal. thanks so much to everyone who posted info on their experiences. it really does help to know i'm not alone. i love this site.