Begone, tonsil stone!

[SongsOfDragons]

It's just sitting there...mocking me. Half-exposed cheesy little lump of tonsil shit that stings, makes me cough and constantly feels as if something is stuck to the back-side of my throat...

You know, tonsil stones are those little smelly white lumps you get in your mouth sometimes. AFAIK they are a natural waste system. But this one is particularly annoying. How should I try to get rid of the little begger? The first advice on Googling says to dig it out with a bent paperclip hello gag reflex. I've just tried gargling to much the same result.

And how long should I let him sit there until I attack him with a toilet cleaning brush - er, I mean, go get him looked at? I've got my annual dentist checkup next month; would it be worth mentioning I get these a lot?

[paperfiend]

Ugh, I hate those! I usually just take my finger and gently press on the tonsil next to where I can see it and that usually pops it out. I'm pretty good at suppressing my gag reflex, though. It helps if I'm leaning over a sink so it just falls out instead of me needing to try not to swallow it...

[AnaKhouri]

I've miraculously gone several months without having one, but for a period of about 3 years I was getting them every 2 weeks. As soon as I coughed up one, another one would form. Always on the same tonsil, so I guess that one is extra-wrinkly or something (they are bits of food that are caught in your tonsil wrinkles- they look like raisins, apparently- that calcify, thus the horrific smell when one is broken open. That's what my ENT told me anyway).

I also could never use anything to get them out as it made me gag. I just lived with them and the sore throat they inevitable produced. I did gargle with warm salt water once or twice to ease the soreness but it doesn't really help get the stone out.

I don't know what your dentist will tell you; I asked an ENT about it and his solution was to remove my tonsils. He was a little weird though (I did not have my tonsils removed, obviously).

I sympathize with you. So annoying.

[EvilEmpryss]

I had them so bad I got my tonsils removed. Haven't had a problem since. Well worth gagging on a bloodclot during the healing process.

[Geek King]

My sister used to clean them out with Q-tips, until they got so bad her tonsils had to go.

[crazylegs]

You could gargle with a fizzy drink - the nucleation sites might help to loosen it a little.

[Luna Baby]

I get them sometimes. I use a q-tip to gently push at the edge and they will usually "pop" out. If they don't pop out easily, I risk irritation and bleeding (never good) and just leave them be for a couple extra days then try again. I have had them to be very small, like less than a couple of millimeters to as large as a large raisin. The larger they are, the more my throat/neck hurt.

[EvilEmpryss]

By the way, thank you, guys. I thought I was the only one who had this problem.

[Slayer]

I get them, too. I use a combo of cotton swabs and a chopstick, oddly enough. I'm not really able to to reach in with my fingers and still see what I'm doing so the chopstick works great for me. Particularly because my tonsils have a lot of small holes and folds so it'd easy to poke around. I can't seem them without moving the creases.

Sometimes I'll use the end of a toothbrush (wash it well or use a new one only for that) because it's smooth and can apply pressure to a greater area. Flashlight on my phone is a big help, too

I saw an ENT, who wants them removed but I just can't take off work now. Maybe after the summer.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Huh, I wonder if those things I used to spit out that tasted really bad were tonsil stones. Ugh, but I did something stupid.

I was curious, so I googled tonsil stones, and found a video on youtube of a tonsil removal and as the surgeon lifted the tonsil out it exposed a huge NEST of the things under it. I'm totally grossed out.

I wish you well on your quest to remove the stone or treat the pain until it falls out... but oh my god am I grossed out. I hope I never get them again and I'm sending the best vibes I can to everyone who does get them to not get them or to get very minor ones that pop out fast.

...uggghhh... >_<

[Seshat]

... wow. I've never heard of them.

My tonsils were removed when I was in first grade.

[SongsOfDragons]

Sorry for leading you to be grossed out, Ambrosia ^^

Little bastard's still there...I'm seriously considering deephroatig a wirebrush...

I found a better torch and had a look in the mirror. Right in the corner too where it interferes with the movement...and there seems to be another on the underside. >.< It's not overly bad I guess. I'm beginning to swill and attempt to gargle with antiseptic (doesn't work well as I gag too easily). Poking it may not work for the same reason, because of he gagging. Usually I find mine after I wake up, or when I cough or sneeze...a friend has suggested fizzy drinks to see if the bubbles and the resultant burping will help, so I'll make some Sodastream apple tonight after voting.

I first discovered the thought of 'huh, I didn't know these white things were so common - hooray I'm normal!' in a book of short stories I studied in uni. Then I finally looked up what they were. It just seema to be one of those weird bodily functions which aren't taboo per se but just almost unconcerning to the point of not mentioning them...

[LillFilly]

I ALWAYS get these on the right side tonsil. My trick, and I've practiced it a lot, is this: Get a plastic fork. Cut all the tines off except for one; I kept only the leftmost tine when the fork is facing up so I can reach into the right side of my throat (opposite for the other side). I hold the flashlight, open wide, relax the throat and the stone pops out a little. Then I give it a little 'flick' with the tine and usually get it first try. If I do touch the sides of the tonsil, I do cough, but I've gotten good at not hitting them. If I can't quite get it, I gargle a bit and try to loosen it for get it further out. If I can't get it today, It will probably be far enough out I can get it tomorrow. Getting these things out when I see them has really improved my breath and I get fewer sore throats; haven't had one since I started getting these things over a year ago. Good luck!

[Kheldarson]

I just popped a couple out myself. Well, they popped themselves out. But when they take longer than I like, I use the bristles of my toothbrush to try and help the process.

[AccountingDrone]

I have a quarter inch inside diameter glass tube that I occasionally use as a straw that has the edges fire burnished to smoothness that I can gently poke in so it surrounds the tonsolith and as I press in, the stone sort of gets extruded into the center of the tube and I can get it out that way. I have issues gargling, it makes me throw up.