Inflammation of the tonsils most often results from a viral or bacterial infection. The number of complaints of sore throat increases significantly in the autumn-winter period. Most adults have information about at least a few home treatments that adults have used around them in childhood - from advice to wrap a warm scarf around their neck tighter to advice on the composition of rinses. What home remedies really come in handy in the fight against an infectious and inflammatory process? It is important to know how to effectively cure tonsils at home and whether to rely only on home treatment.
Basic methods
Tonsils are lymphoid formations (accumulations of lymphoid tissue), which are also often called glands. They are divided as paired (palatine, tubal) and unpaired (pharyngeal, lingual), located in the oropharynx, forming a lymphatic ring. Since the Latin definition of tonsils is tonsillae, the inflammatory process affecting them is called tonsillitis.
Tonsillitis is a collective term that combines a number of diseases with different etiology and severity of the course. There are viral, bacterial, mycotic and allergic tonsillitis, which are acute or chronic. Tonsillitis can also be isolated as a pathological syndrome. In accordance with this, in the generally accepted classifications, tonsillitis include oropharyngeal diphtheria, fusospirochetal sore throat of Simanovsky-Plaut-Vincent, infectious mononucleosis, scarlet fever, anginal form of tularemia and listeriosis, herpetic sore throat. The defeat of the tonsils can be observed with tuberculosis, syphilis.
Taking into account the variety of forms of pathological changes in the tonsils, it should be understood that home treatment is not possible in all cases. Therefore, before starting it, the patient's condition should be assessed. Nevertheless, not always patients suffering from tonsillitis are hospitalized in a hospital. Home methods can be successfully combined with medication prescribed by your doctor. At home, it is permissible to treat acute viral and bacterial tonsillitis, which proceed without complications - in general, it is these types of tonsil pathology that are most common.
What are the main methods used to treat tonsils at home? These include:
- Gargling.
- Aromatherapy.
- Reception of folk remedies inside.
Usually several methods are used at the same time. In this case, it is important to monitor the patient's reaction, to note whether the condition has improved. Even when using home treatment, it is better not to give up the drugs prescribed by the doctor. You can get better faster if you combine home and hospital-recommended methods.
No home remedy can kill viruses and bacteria.
It is important to remember this in case of infectious and inflammatory processes. Home remedies cannot fight pathogenic agents as effectively as medications. If, with tonsillitis, provoked by respiratory viruses, it is permissible to rely on the result from the use of folk recipes, then in the case of bacterial tonsillitis (streptococcal sore throat), delay in starting antibiotic therapy can cause serious complications.
Than gargle
Gargling is the procedure without which home treatment of tonsillitis is unthinkable. The variety of means used in this makes you wonder: which one to choose in a particular case? The most accurate and correct recommendations can be obtained only during an internal examination from a doctor, but there are several main criteria for choosing a rinse solution:
- type of inflammatory process;
- the age of the patient;
- special conditions of the body.
Salt and soda
A universal option for rinsing a throat can be called a solution of soda, salt, or a product containing both of these components. It is prepared as follows: in a glass of warm water, boiled, dissolve a teaspoon of each component. Such rinsing is suitable for patients of all age groups, as well as for pregnant and breastfeeding women, it is useful both in the absence of pus and in purulent inflammation. Adult women and men, as well as adolescents, can add a few drops of iodine to the remedy described above.
Cranberry juice and honey
You will need a glass of cranberry juice and honey in the amount of 3 tablespoons. The ingredients are mixed, a gargle is performed for bacterial tonsillitis.
Siberian elder
To prepare the medicine, take the flowers of Siberian elderberry (from 3 to 4 tablespoons). They are poured with boiling water (200 ml), then boiled for about 5 minutes over low heat. When the broth has cooled, strain it. The indications for rinsing are various forms of tonsillitis, including purulent ones.
Camel tail
Dry raw materials in the amount of 1 tablespoon are poured with a glass of boiling water, kept for about half an hour in a water bath. Used in strained form. The dried aerial part of the plant is suitable for preparing the medicine. The infusion is used for various forms of tonsil lesion.
Kalanchoe juice
The plant sap is mixed with warm boiled water in equal proportions. Used to treat viral and bacterial tonsillitis.
It is best not to use multi-component solutions for small children, pregnant and lactating women.
You can not add iodine to solutions for gargling, use Lugol's solution. To rinse the tonsils with antiseptics (hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, Furacilin), these categories of patients are allowed only as directed by a doctor. You should be wary of herbal products, as they can provoke allergic reactions.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy refers to the treatment with essential oils. They are used for inhalation, preparation of rinses. The use of aroma lamps is also common. Both the tonsils and other anatomical structures located next to them can be treated using the aromatherapy method. It should be emphasized immediately: this is only an additional way of influencing the inflamed areas. It should not be used for allergies, the risk of bronchospasm.
What are the essential oils included in the treatment of tonsillitis? You can name such as:
- Eucalyptus oil.
- Cedar oil.
- Tea tree oil.
- Lavender oil.
- Grapefruit oil.
They have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, are most effective in chronic tonsillitis in combination with the use of other local therapy.
What to take inside
How to treat tonsillitis with home remedies? Herbal ingredients are used to prepare the medicine. Before starting the appointment, you should carefully study the contraindications, consult your doctor.
Anise infusion
Take a teaspoon of the fruit of the plant per 200 ml of boiling water. After insisting for 20 minutes, the product should be filtered. Take 0.25 volume 4 times a day half an hour before meals.
Onion juice
You need fresh onion juice, diluted with warm boiled water in a 1: 2 ratio. They drink it a teaspoon 3 times a day. Use with caution - there is a danger of burning the mucous membranes.
Carrots and garlic
Mix freshly squeezed carrot juice (200 ml) with grated garlic clove. Take 40 minutes before meals twice a day for 3 days.
Honey is often used in treatment - it is added to other components of folk medicines (for example, onion-honey gruel is prepared in a 1: 1 ratio, which is taken a teaspoon three times a day). It is also permissible to use it in its pure form, dissolving in the mouth several times a day.
Treatment features
Treatment at home is considered the most comfortable for the patient, since he does not have to adapt to the conditions of the hospital. If the condition allows the patient to stay out of the hospital with an infectious and inflammatory lesion of the tonsils, it is worth remembering the mandatory requirements.
The first rule is the correction of microclimate parameters. The patient needs to breathe humidified and cool air, for which the room temperature is set at 20 ° C, and the humidity is adjusted to 50–70%.
Also important:
- observe bed rest during a fever;
monitor the composition, temperature and consistency of food and drinks (everything is warm, not spicy, not crumbly, preferably liquid and semi-liquid);- drink enough fluids, avoid alcohol and smoking.
monitor the composition, temperature and consistency of food and drinks (everything is warm, not spicy, not crumbly, preferably liquid and semi-liquid);Home treatment requires a responsible attitude, since the patient is charged with the need to monitor the quality of the procedures, compliance with the above rules. Most home methods - for example, rinsing - require constant preparation of fresh solutions, multiple repetitions of the procedure.
For treatment to be successful, it is recommended that you consult with your doctor before starting home methods. You should not reject those medications that are prescribed in a medical institution, since for many diseases of the tonsils, you cannot do without pharmaceuticals - for example, in the case of streptococcal sore throat, antibiotics are needed. Satisfactory results can only be achieved with the judicious and informed use of all treatment options, both at home and those recommended by a doctor.
