Tonsils are the first protective barriers of our immune system against respiratory microbes. The term “tonsillitis”, which originates from Latin and means tonsil infection, is widely used both in medical language and in daily speech. What are the symptoms and causes of tonsillitis? Inflammation and swelling of the tonsils Sore throat or tenderness Headache Loss of appetite Earache Difficulty swallowing or breathing fever, chills bad breath Additionally, children may experience symptoms of nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal pain. Treatment for tonsillitis will depend on its cause. A rapid strep test or throat culture may be done to determine the cause. In some cases, physical findings are convincing enough to diagnose a possible bacterial infection. Treatment of bacterial tonsillitis will require the use of antibiotics. More than half of tonsillitis is of viral origin. It is unnecessary to use antibiotics in viral infections. Your doctor must determine whether tonsillitis is of viral or bacterial origin. When is a tonsillectomy called tonsillectomy necessary? Frequent acute tonsillitis (7 infections in 1 year or 5 infections per year for the last 2 years or 3-4 infections per year for 3 consecutive years); In cases where the infection becomes chronic and permanent in the tonsils, the tonsils grow too large, making it difficult to eat and obstruct the respiratory tract, or an abscess develops around the tonsils, patients must be evaluated by an ENT specialist and their tonsils must be surgically removed (tonsillectomy). What are the complications of acute tonsillitis? Although acute tonsillitis is easy to treat, if it is late to consult a doctor or if the treatment given by the doctor is left unfinished, it may cause the following complications: Abscess around tonsil Infection of the middle ear and the bone behind the ear Lung infection Rheumatic Heart Inflammation kidney inflammation deep neck infection meninges infection Bone and bone marrow infection joint infection Spread of microbes into the blood