Tonsillitis symptoms infection?

Hi,

Symptoms
Tonsillitis most commonly affects children between preschool ages and the midteenage years. Common signs and symptoms of tonsillitis include:

Red, swollen tonsils
White or yellow coating or patches on the tonsils
Sore throat
Difficult or painful swallowing
Fever
Enlarged, tender glands (lymph nodes) in the neck
A scratchy, muffled or throaty voice
Bad breath
Stomachache
Neck pain or stiff neck
Headache
In young children who are unable to describe how they feel, signs of tonsillitis may include:

Drooling due to difficult or painful swallowing
Refusal to eat
Unusual fussiness

Treatment
At-home care
Whether tonsillitis is caused by a viral or bacterial infection, at-home care strategies can make your child more comfortable and promote better recovery.

If a virus is the expected cause of tonsillitis, these strategies are the only treatment. Your doctor won't prescribe antibiotics. Your child will likely be better within seven to 10 days.

At-home care strategies to use during the recovery time include the following:

Encourage rest. Encourage your child to get plenty of sleep.
Provide adequate fluids. Give your child plenty of water to keep his or her throat moist and prevent dehydration.
Provide comforting foods and beverage. Warm liquids — broth, caffeine-free tea or warm water with honey — and cold treats like ice pops can soothe a sore throat.
Prepare a saltwater gargle. If your child can gargle, a saltwater gargle of 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of table salt to 8 ounces (237 milliliters) of warm water can help soothe a sore throat. Have your child gargle the solution and then spit it out.
Humidify the air. Use a cool-air humidifier to eliminate dry air that may further irritate a sore throat, or sit with your child for several minutes in a steamy bathroom.
Offer lozenges. Children older than age 4 can suck on lozenges to relieve a sore throat.
Avoid irritants. Keep your home free from cigarette smoke and cleaning products that can irritate the throat.
Treat pain and fever. Talk to your doctor about using ibuprofen (Advil, Children's Motrin, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to minimize throat pain and control a fever. Low fevers without pain do not require treatment.

Unless aspirin is prescribed by a doctor to treat a particular disease, children and teenagers should not take aspirin. Aspirin use by children to treat symptoms of cold or flu-like illnesses has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition.

Antibiotics
If tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe a course of antibiotics. Penicillin taken by mouth for 10 days is the most common antibiotic treatment prescribed for tonsillitis caused by group A streptococcus. If your child is allergic to penicillin, your doctor will prescribe an alternative antibiotic.

Your child must take the full course of antibiotics as prescribed even if the symptoms go away completely. Failure to take all of the medication as directed may result in the infection worsening or spreading to other parts of the body. Not completing the full course of antibiotics can, in particular, increase your child's risk of rheumatic fever and serious kidney inflammation.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about what to do if you forget to give your child a dose.

Surgery
Surgery to remove tonsils (tonsillectomy) may be used to treat frequently recurring tonsillitis, chronic tonsillitis or bacterial tonsillitis that doesn't respond to antibiotic treatment. Frequent tonsillitis is generally defined as:

At least seven episodes in the preceding year
At least five episodes a year in the past two years
At least three episodes a year in the past three years
A tonsillectomy may also be performed if tonsillitis results in difficult-to-manage complications, such as:

Obstructive sleep apnea
Breathing difficulty
Swallowing difficulty, especially meats and other chunky foods
An abscess that doesn't improve with antibiotic treatment
A tonsillectomy is usually done as an outpatient procedure, unless your child is very young, has a complex medical condition or if complications arise during surgery. That means your child should be able to go home the day of the surgery. A complete recovery usually takes seven to 14 days.

Source: Mayo Clinic

Regards, masso