White Spots/Bleeding Tonsils

I've had little white things on my throat for over a year now. Recently I noticed if my tonsils are iritated they bleed abit. They also just plain look sick. Any ideas?

when i was sick a while back, afterwards my tonsils were really large and red looking, and they got this white gunk on them. the doctor gave me antibiotics immediately - basically the white stuff means an infection. you should get it looked at, as there is a chance the infection can spread to your vocal cords.

hi, from your description the white substance you are referring to is known as a tonsillolith, or tonsil stone. your tonsils have little craters in them known as crypts, and bacteria, food deposits, skin cells etc all collect here and form a tonsil stone. the problem is that repeated tonsillitis or tonsil stones cause these spaces to stretch and this just makes you prone to repeated occurences and them becoming irritated. using a mouthwash and being really careful with your oral hygiene should help as will removing any stones as soon as you spot them. if you develop a fever and or a lot of pain then it would be worth seeing your doctor as this could indicate a bout of tonsillitis which may require a dose of antibiotics. unfortunately there is no benefit from antibiotics with tonsil stones, just prevention methods. hope this helps.

Last month I was brushing my teeth and I happened to notice a white piece of material on one of my tonsils.. After gently prodding my tonsil with my toothbrush it came out!!! I started to prod a little more and more gunk started coming out of my tonsils. OMG I freaked out.

I never heard of tonsil stones before and I immediately started searching online for people with similar issues. I found it's pretty normal? So I wasn't too worried. I did some more prodding around and cleaned out as much as I could from each side.

Well several weeks later I decided to see if there was any accumulation in there and something startled me. I started prodding around with the backside of my toothbrush and I noticed on the top of my tonsil I started to see a massive amount of this "white stuff" trying to come out. As it was coming out, my tonsil started bleeding profusely!

I managed to get it all out, but I swear a piece of this stuff came out that was about 1/4th inch in length and like 1/8th inch wide.. it looked like a little white wooden plank! WTF is this? I thought tonsil stones were only like little "balls" or what not. This seemed like a huge collection. I'm starting to get worried.

I'm wondering if I have a real problem here. I've been having major sinus issues for the past say 7 years. Horrible allergies and nothing seems to work. My doctor keeps just putting me on various allergy medicines, but it doesn't seem anything has any long term effects.

Could this white gunk be related in anyway to the sinus issues I'm having or is it just food trapped in my tonsils from probably birth lol.. ?

I get those tonsil stones all the time, and no they are not little balls, they can be all different shapes.

Now, my tonsils have never bled from it though....

Hi, yes you are absolutely right in that this is a relatively common problem. Tonsil stones are an accumulation of lots of things from food to dead skin cells and bacteria, basically a form of plaque. The size depends on the size of the crypt and how long it has been collecting for, sinus problems can contribute to the problem but are unlikely to be directly affected by any tonsil stones. As in my previous posts good oral hygiene and cleaning any noticeable discharge as soon as seen will help reduce the frequency and size of the stones. Some people recommend tonsillectomy as the only treatment, however this too has been reported not to have solved the problem as crypts still remain, and the first line of defence - your tonsils - has been removed, therefore increasing the chance of a more serious infection. Keep on with what you are doing and you will hopefully notice a difference. hope this info helps

mcdonamw wrote:

Last month I was brushing my teeth and I happened to notice a white piece of material on one of my tonsils.. After gently prodding my tonsil with my toothbrush it came out!!! I started to prod a little more and more gunk started coming out of my tonsils. OMG I freaked out. I never heard of tonsil stones before and I immediately started searching online for people with similar issues. I found it's pretty normal? So I wasn't too worried. I did some more prodding around and cleaned out as much as I could from each side. Well several weeks later I decided to see if there was any accumulation in there and something startled me. I started prodding around with the backside of my toothbrush and I noticed on the top of my tonsil I started to see a massive amount of this "white stuff" trying to come out. As it was coming out, my tonsil started bleeding profusely! I managed to get it all out, but I swear a piece of this stuff came out that was about 1/4th inch in length and like 1/8th inch wide.. it looked like a little white wooden plank! WTF is this? I thought tonsil stones were only like little "balls" or what not. This seemed like a huge collection. I'm starting to get worried. I'm wondering if I have a real problem here. I've been having major sinus issues for the past say 7 years. Horrible allergies and nothing seems to work. My doctor keeps just putting me on various allergy medicines, but it doesn't seem anything has any long term effects. Could this white gunk be related in anyway to the sinus issues I'm having or is it just food trapped in my tonsils from probably birth lol.. ?

I had almost the same exact experience.

White stuff... hard to get out because I gag...

I got some out with a water stream (nasal/throat irrigator) and then my tonsils started bleeding.

Have you learned anything more about your case?

can someone die from this?

no, as i said above this is simply a collection of skin cells, bacteria, food etc, it is annoying and may affect someones confidence if they are aware of their breath being unpleasant, but I am unaware of any fatalities due to this condition.

Today I had a horrible sore throat and i looked in the mirror and saw this huge white thing on my tonsil! I freaked out and searched for what this is. I figured out its a tonsil stone and was ok. then i coughed and it came flying out! It was the size of around my pinky nail! and I still feel more in there. Im glad its only a tonsil stone and not a tumor or something