Maybe it has never happened to you or maybe you have ever felt a small ball in your mouth and when you took it out you found an unpleasant white (or yellowish) and quite stinky ball. If it has happened to you, you may have no idea what it is and what it is doing there. The first thing you should know is that they are nothing serious.
They are called caseum or tonsilloliths and are formed by the blatant epithelium of the tonsil itself, the decomposition of food residues and the action of bacteria that produce the whitish color and that characteristic pestilential stench.
Most of the time, unless we check our throat regularly, we are not aware that they are there. But sometimes these stones reach a considerable size and generate slight discomfort that tells us that they are there.
How to prevent and eliminate them
Caseums are one of the reasons why we can have bad breath, “a problem that 25% of the population suffers from and affects our social relationships,” explains Dr. Jordi Coromina, otorhinolaryngologist at the Halitosis Unit of the Medical Center. Teknon. So how can we remove these nasty little balls and prevent them from appearing again?
Many times, these stones come loose on their own from the tonsils, but if they do not do so and cause discomfort, there are special mouthwashes with which, by gargling, we can help expel them. Another way, depending on where you are, is to lightly press with a Q-tip. But if we do it at home, we must be careful, because we can hurt ourselves.
The best option is to go to an ENT doctor to remove it with a blunt tip or tell us the appropriate way to do it.
In extreme cases, some consider “cutting the bullet” and resorting to a tonsillectomy (removal of the tonsils). But it is not necessary to eliminate them completely. Coromina explains that today there are other alternative techniques such as the one that eliminates all the superficial layers of the tonsils and their crypts using a laser. This is a quick intervention (about 20 minutes), painless and without bleeding. The patient can leave the clinic after a few hours and go about his normal life.