Bacterial tonsillitis or tonsillitis is an inflammatory process in the area of the tonsils, which occurs against the background of the penetration of bacteria. Most often, streptococcus or staphylococcus acts as bacteria. Pathology is characterized by vivid symptoms, severe intoxication, therefore, requires immediate medical attention.
Causes and forms of tonsillitis
Palatine tonsils or tonsils are a paired organ located in the throat. The main task of the glands is to protect the body from foreign agents. That is, in essence, this is a filter that is designed to protect the body from bacteria that can penetrate by air, with food or liquid.
In turn, the inflammatory process can also begin on the tonsils. The main provocateur of this process is hypothermia. You can get sore throat from a sick person.
Symptomatology
To date, five forms of bacterial tonsillitis are distinguished, the treatment of which is completely dependent on the pathogen or symptoms.
Common symptoms include:
- increased body temperature;
- weakness throughout the body;
- chills;
- sore throat, especially when swallowing;
- external changes in the tonsils, which can be noticed during examination.
Specific symptoms
Depending on the form of the disease, the following symptoms are distinguished:
The form | Main symptoms |
Catarrhal | The easiest form of pathology, but appears completely suddenly. In the throat begins to tickle, pain and dryness appear. The patient feels overwhelmed, but body temperature very rarely rises above 38 degrees. The tonsils are usually clean, but the cervical lymph nodes are enlarged. The disease rarely lasts more than 5 days. |
Follicular | Body temperature rarely rises, and if this happens, then no higher than 39 degrees. The patient has a feeling of weakness and aches throughout the body. But there may be more complex symptoms, confusion, vomiting. Purulent plugs, which open on about 3 days, are clearly visible on the tonsils. This type of pathology lasts no more than 7 days. |
Lacunar | Symptoms with this type are almost the same as with follicular pathology, but they occur in a more severe form, so the treatment of bacterial tonsillitis of this type should be under the supervision of a doctor. Corks form on the tonsils, but pus spreads over the entire surface of the affected organ, due to the fact that these foci can merge, it may seem that they cover the entire surface of the glands. There is a huge risk of complications in the absence or improper treatment. |
Fibrous | This form occurs only against the background of a previously existing lacunar or follicular form of the disease. It is characterized by fibrous plaque on the tonsils, which has a whitish-yellow color and looks like a film that is well removed. If we are talking about total plaque, then it is removed heavily and after such a procedure, glands can be damaged. |
Phlegmonous | This is a rather rare pathology. In fact, it is an intratonsillar abscess, this is an accumulation of pus in the fiber near the glands. Tonsils significantly increase in size, with palpation, severe pain is felt. This type of tonsillitis requires surgical intervention. |
Acute and chronic form
The acute form is characterized by rapid penetration, with an increase in body temperature up to 39 degrees. A chronic form of angina can develop if the treatment of bacterial tonsillitis was carried out incorrectly, or if there were no therapeutic measures at all. In such cases, sore throats either appear or disappear.
Treatment
Doctors distinguish two ways of helping with sore throat: conservative therapy and surgery. The choice is not based on the wishes of the patient, but on the general condition of the patient, symptoms and form of pathology.
Conservative therapy
Treatment of bacterial tonsillitis with traditional methods is indicated in the acute form of the disease or, in some cases, in the chronic form (if it appeared not so long ago) and there are no pronounced signs of intoxication.
In acute form, the following treatment is performed:
- Assigned to bed rest.
- Dietary food, which involves the rejection of spicy, salty and acidic foods. At the initial stage, you will have to eat only soft and well-ground food.
- It will take a lot of warm liquid, it can be herbal decoctions, tea or jelly.
- Gargling. Such procedures will have to be carried out once every 1-1.5 hours. It can be antiseptics or decoctions of herbs, baking soda. Pharmacy medicines, for example, Hexoral, Miramistin and others can also be used.
In addition, bacterial tonsillitis will be treated with antibiotics, with severe pain, pain medications, for example, Nimesulide or Paracetamol, can be prescribed.
Also, to improve the functioning of the immune system, “Ribomunil” or “Immunal” is prescribed. And local immunity is enhanced by nasal sprays and special lozenges.
Chronic pathology treatment
First of all, depending on the symptoms, treatment of chronic bacterial tonsillitis is carried out both in remission and in the acute stage. With exacerbation, antibiotic therapy and gargling are performed.
During the period of calm of the disease, the following activities are carried out:
- Reorganization of the tonsils. This procedure involves the use of electrophoresis with a medicinal solution, for example, it may be Tonsillor.
- Hydrovacuum aspiration. This is a rather complicated procedure, in which the tonsils are first washed, then pus is sucked off with a special apparatus.
- Physiotherapy. It can be UHF, electrophoresis, quantum therapy.
As drug therapy, vitamins and immunomodulators are used.
In the chronic form of the disease, all recommended procedures should be performed at least every 6 months for 2 years.
Surgical intervention
Is bacterial tonsillitis treatment possible without antibiotics? In principle, yes, especially if conservative therapy did not give the proper results. The operation can be shown in a number of cases if other diseases began to develop against the background of angina:
- rheumatism;
- nephritis;
- myocarditis;
- paratonsillar abscess.
Surgery is performed under local anesthesia. The operation can be carried out using an ordinary scalpel, laser or ultrasound. Monitoring the condition and rehabilitation after surgery does not last more than 10 days.
What can be done at home
In any circumstances, all the procedures that the patient plans to carry out at home must be agreed with the attending physician, despite the transience of the pathology, it is quite insidious.
Treatment of bacterial tonsillitis at home can be carried out with a rinse, as medicines you can use:
- "Furacilin";
- fees or mono products from sage and / or chamomile, tea tree and eucalyptus;
- rinsing can be carried out using soda-salt solutions;
At home, almost sterile cleanliness should be maintained, and the room where the patient is located should be regularly ventilated.
Folk recipes
What else can be the treatment of bacterial tonsillitis at home? You can use the recipes of traditional medicine. With angina, chamomile is very often used.
The rinse is prepared as follows: in one glass of boiling water, one tablespoon of chamomile flowers is brewed. After the mixture is infused for 30 minutes, you can start rinsing.
You can gargle with honey, a spoon of which is dissolved in a glass of water.
You can use propolis, a piece of which is placed in your mouth and chew for an hour. Propolis has an antiseptic effect on the oral cavity. From propolis, you can make tincture and then treat her throat. Such a tool burns a little, but the pain disappears almost instantly. For preparation, you need to dilute about 20 grams of propolis in 100 ml of vodka. To succeed in crushing propolis, it can be pre-frozen. The product can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.
You can conduct an independent treatment of the throat with cotton swabs, which are moistened in essential oils. In such cases, you can use fir oil.
Onion is an indispensable root crop in the fight against angina. From it you can make a decoction. The onion is cut and poured with water (so that it is slightly covered with liquid), the mixture is cooked until the condensed juice is formed. After this, the resulting broth can gargle, slightly diluted with warm water. Similarly, you can make tincture for rinsing. Grind the onion and pour boiling water in the proportion: medium onion for half a liter of boiling water. After the tincture has cooled to a comfortable temperature, you can gargle.
For the treatment of tonsillitis, garlic is suitable, because it is an excellent immunomodulator, and of natural origin. For tincture, which should then be drunk, you need three medium-sized cloves of garlic: they are chopped and poured with hot milk (200-250 ml). After the mixture is infused, it should be drunk in small sips.
What is not worth doing?
Despite the outward harmlessness of angina, the treatment of bacterial tonsillitis in children and adults cannot be carried out exclusively with the help of alternative recipes. You should definitely go to the hospital, as serious complications are possible if untreated. Recipes of traditional medicine really help relieve symptoms, but do not completely get rid of bacteria.
If the doctor prescribed antibacterial agents, then in no case should you interrupt the course of treatment, otherwise you will have to start all over again. Do not stop drinking pills as soon as you feel the first signs of improvement.
Treatment of bacterial tonsillitis in adults and children involves the rejection of solid foods, so as not to irritate the mucous membrane once again. Avoid drafts and avoid overcooling the whole body.