tonsils

[Rachel W]

Hi guys,

I went through a scare during the past year and a half worrying about ALS. I went to the doctors but had continuing fear. One thing that it made me do was look at the back of my throat and I noticed that one of my tonsils is more noticeable on one side and that side of my throat is more in than the other. Once my ALS fear subsided I did not think of it, but I was looking at my teeth today with a light and saw it again.

I am now panicking that I could have a growth or tumour. It has not changed in appearance since I first noticed it (probably a year ago) and don't know if my mouth was like that for a while before.

Is it possible that someone can have a unilaterally shaped mouth and tonsil without it being something serious?

I am really panicking now so much. I am really scared.

Please help!!!

[louise123_uk]

Ive been to docs twice in last week as one tonsil is bigger than the other and like you I think I looked a while ago and the difference in size was apparent then. The first doc felt all my neck, shoulder etc to check for swollen glands and there were none, He had a look in my mouth and agreed one was bigger but that our bodies can differ i.e. one foot slightly bigger than the other. He said your tonsils dont have to be perfectly symmetrical. He asked if I had other symptoms such as night sweats, fevers, low immune system etc, and I have none, and he said if it had been like this a while (which tihnk it has) then id have some of those other symptoms.

The second doc also felt all my neck and found nothing. Then she had a look in my mouth also agreed one was bigger than the other but she didnt seem concerned. She said since it seems to be worrying me to go back in furture if I think its changed or to go back anyway in about a month and to let her have a look and see if theres a change.

Go to docs if you are really worried and want reassurance but it seems that they can be asymmetrical and not sinister, or they may not even be diff size it may be one side of your mouth where the tonsils sit is slightly shallower than the other.

[Rachel W]

I made myself gag a little while ago, and when I could see the other one it seemed about the same size (from the second I could see it before gagging completely). The flesh behind it is shaped differently in that it is further across so wonder whether it is just that this difference in shape just makes it stick out further. It has definitely not changed in a year, and I don't get night sweats, or any other symptoms that I am aware of. i very occasionally get a fleeting sore throat (the kind that you wake up with but wears off during the day) and it tends to be more on that side, but this in iteslf is only mild and does not happen that often.

The tonsil is not redder or anything and absolutely no pain, and my lymph nodes so not seem swollen at all, and definitely not sore.

Did the doctor say that throats can make then sit differently? The other tonsil is not even visible normally. Thanks so much for your reply.

Rachel

[darrenc]

I had the exact same worry a couple of months ago, one tonsil was bigger than the other, and also covered in some white gunk. I also felt like I had something trapped at the back of my mouth. After this feeling had lasted for at least two weeks, I finally saw the doctor about it, and he said it was probably a viral infection and it would eventually clear.

After about another month, the white covering had gone, but the tonsil was still swollen. I checked with the doctor again, and he said it could take months for it to return to normal. I still have one tonsil larger than the other, but I'm not worried about it now.

[Rachel W]

After looking at it again, I am not convinced that my tonsil itself is swollen.
The shape of the skin in front of it seems to be a little more to the edge than the other side, and the skin behind it seems to be more toward my throat/glotus which means that the area where the tonsil is is more visible (if that makes sense). i.e. as the skin in front and behind the tonsil on the other side are even, the tonsil is hidden between them, whereas the fact that the flap of skin in front is closer to the side of my mouth and the back skin is more in, then the tonsil is not as hidden.

My worry would be why my throat is shaped differently on one side, and of course that still leads to the fear of perhaps a mass pushing some of the skin out. I had never noticed it before early last year as I had not had any reason to shine a light in my mouth and look, in normal light conditions, it is quite dark back there and so it could have been like that for even longer than a year. Surely if I had a growth pushing part of my throat further across there would have been a change in over a year?

[louise123_uk]

Hi Rachel

My larger tonsil is not actually swollen or redder than the other either. The docs never said it was swollen either, just agreed that one did look larger and more lumpybumpy (well you can see more of one).

They did just say that tonsils dont have to be symmetrical and that with no other symptoms, pain or swollen glands (neck, collarbone) then there was no reason to suspect anything. The first doc just left it at that. The second one said that I could come back in a month or so for her to have another look if I wanted but no real reason unless there was a noticeable change i.e. bigger or something like that.

Im finding it hard to ust accept (mainly because im a worrier and I alays think but did they look properly etc). However when you look at other tonsils threads on here a few people seem to mention asymmetrical tonsils and are told they can just be like this. Plus I agree if it was soemthing growing I think there would have been some noticeable change in a year, my docs agreed that there should be noticeable changes over mch shorter periods of time than a year if was anything sinister.