Swollen tonsils and pain
In children, a sudden loss of appetite is noticeable due to pain while eating. In babies, the pain manifests itself as weakness in drinking. In addition, the pain can radiate into the ear, especially if the so-called lateral cords are affected.
Often the swollen lymph nodes are also painful to touch. Furthermore, mild to severe headaches can occur. Children often experience abdominal pain at the beginning of tonsillitis.
Swollen tonsils and no pain
In some cases, the tonsils can swell painlessly and after a few days they can swell again spontaneously without any consequential damage. But also in the case of permanently swollen tonsils, in the context of chronic tonsillitis, pain can be avoided.
Swollen almonds with pus
Pus is always a sign of bacterial inflammation. A bacterial tonsillitis can therefore be characterized by the development of pus. The so-called angina tonsillaris is often caused by the bacterium Strepptococcus pyogenes.
Its name describes its characteristics: “pus-inducing streptococcus”. In addition, Plaut Vincent angina, diphtheria angina and scarlet angina are among the bacterial, purulent tonsillitis. Pus consists of inflammatory cells, the so-called living and dead granulocytes, as well as body cells and bacteria.
In principle, it indicates the fight between bacteria and the body’s own defense system. Pus appears on the tonsils as yellowish spots or coatings. Some authors divide tonsillitis into stages.
Accordingly, bacterial inflammation with yellowish pustule is classified as stage 2, the so-called angina follicularis. In the subsequent 3rd stage, a so-called angina lacunaris, confluent yellowish fibrin coatings appear. In the case of chronic tonsillitis, an additional mass, the so-called detrius, is seen which is mushy due to cell and tissue decay.
Pus often emerges from the tonsils when the doctor presses on them during the examination. Most of the time the pus is very foul-smelling. In the case of Diphteria angina, it has a sweetish smell.
Swollen almonds without pus
Swollen tonsils, in the sense of tonsillitis, can be accompanied by fever. Children in particular are more likely to have a fever with tonsillitis. Fever helps the body to kill the pathogens.
Fever is often mild to moderate in viral inflammations. However, Pfeiffer’s glandular fever is usually accompanied by high fever, even if it is caused by viruses. Furthermore, fever can be very high in cases of bacterial inflammation. In case of fever a doctor should be consulted.
