Tonsillitis is an infection of one’s tonsils – two glands on both sides at the back of the throat. They form part of the body’s immune system and play a role in defending us against germs in the mouth. Anyone can get tonsillitis, but the disease is particularly common among children. It typically strikes when the child has a cold, with a cough and a runny nose. Teenagers who get glandular fever can develop severe tonsillitis.

Tonsils can be infected by bacteria or viruses. The former type is called bacterial tonsillitis. The difference is important since that determines the type of treatment that is required.

Symptoms of Tonsillitis in Toddlers as Well as Older Children

Since a sore throat is one of the most typical symptoms of tonsillitis, parents often find it difficult to determine whether their child’s sore throat could be tonsillitis or not. There are a couple of other symptoms that might also point to tonsillitis:

  • Pain when the child tries to swallow
  • Tonsils that are swollen
  • Redness in his or her throat
  • Pain in their ears. This is typically referred pain, but the doctor should check the ears since the child could also have a middle ear infection
  • Tender or swollen lymph nodes in the child’s neck
  • A runny nose or congestion
  • Pustules or blisters on the tonsils
  • The child suffers from lethargy or fatigue
  • A fever
  • Unexplained stomach ache
  • Loss of appetite
  • Bad breath

Different Causes of Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is typically caused by a virus. Examples include the flu, adenovirus, or Epstein-Barr virus. It can, however, also be caused by bacteria. The most common type of bacteria that causes tonsillitis is streptococcus, the same type that’s behind the very common strep throat. It’s very seldom that something other than an infection would cause tonsillitis.

The little girl has a sore throat, chest

How Does a Physician Diagnose Tonsillitis?

Your GP or podiatrist will do an examination and ask a couple of questions. They will also check the back of the throat, the inside of the mouth, and the neck. He or she might also collect a sample of the back of the throat and the tonsils with a soft cotton swab. This can then either be tested on the spot with a rapid strep test that takes only minutes to give a result, or it can be sent to a laboratory. The latter will take a couple of days before you know the outcome. If the rapid strep test shows no signs of strep, the GP or pediatrist will wait for the lab test for a final diagnosis.

Tonsillitis in Toddlers Treatment: Home Care

It’s never a bad decision to take your child to a pediatrician or a GP if you suspect that he or she has tonsillitis. After the doctor’s visit, however, most kids respond well to home care. Below are some tips on how to care for a child that has tonsillitis:

  • Give them ibuprofen or paracetamol for pain relief. Another good option is acetaminophen.
  • Make sure he or she gets lots of rest
  • Although technically the child is allowed to eat or drink anything, if he or she has a sore throat, they might prefer softer food
  • Let him or her regularly gargle with salt water
  • Throat lozenges will help soothe the throat
  • Make sure they drink lots of fluid. This will help to make the throat feel less painful and dry and prevent the kid from becoming dehydrated.
  • If the physician prescribed antibiotics, make sure the child takes them as directed and does not stop before he or she has completed the full course – even if they feel much better after a couple of days. Stopping too soon can cause the infection to come back. Finishing the prescription will also help to prevent rheumatic fever, a much more serious complication that could damage the child’s heart.
  • Keep your child at home until he or she no longer has a fever and can swallow easily and without pain. Tonsillitis in toddler recovery time is usually around three to four days.

Tonsillitis in Toddlers Treatment: Your GP or a Pediatrician

If you believe your kid suffers from tonsillitis and he or she has never had this disease before, it’s best to take them to your family doctor or a pediatrician. If the child already had tonsillitis in the past and got well with home care, you do not necessarily have to go to the doctor if it happens again.

If the kid (particularly a toddler) is extremely unwell, finding it hard to breathe, and drooling, immediately call an ambulance. The tonsils can sometimes become swollen to such an extent that it causes breathing problems. Your child could also have a serious inflammation of a flap in the throat known as the epiglottis.

If he or she finds it hard to swallow, the GP or pediatrician might prescribe an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid medication such as prednisolone, combined with or in the place of antibiotics. This will help for the swollen tonsils.

Parents often expect the doctor to immediately prescribe an antibiotic. But since it’s often a virus that causes tonsillitis, the doctor might prescribe something else because antibiotics don’t work on virus infections.

In some cases, however, the child will have to get an antibiotic. These include:

  1. Where tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection
  2. Your child has had rheumatic heart disease in the past
  3. There is a complication, such as an abscess in the glands in the neck or behind the tonsils
  4. The child has a very serious form of tonsillitis, particularly if he or she also has a rash

What antibiotics treat tonsillitis? Penicillin taken orally, typically for 10 days, is the antibiotic most prescribed by physicians for the treatment of tonsillitis in children, particularly if it’s caused by group A streptococcus. Only if the kid is allergic to penicillin will the doctor prescribe a different antibiotic.

Woman doctor examining little girl mouth at office

Tonsillitis in Toddlers Treatment: Tonsillectomy

If your child gets tonsillitis time after time or develops sleeping problems because of enlarged tonsils, the GP or pediatrician might advise a tonsillectomy, i.e. a complete or partial removal of the tonsils. If the child suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, an adenoidectomy, as well as a tonsillectomy, will normally be recommended. A tonsillectomy is usually performed during a visit to outpatients. After the operation, you can expect your child to be able to return to normal activities within 7 to 10 days.

Tonsillectomies used to be a very common surgery, but it has become much rarer. Nowadays your GP or pediatrist uses guidelines before making a decision on whether to treat the infection or remove the tonsils. A tonsillectomy is typically only considered if the kid has three sore throat episodes per year in three consecutive years, five episodes per year in two consecutive years, or seven episodes in any one year.

Important: Take the child back to a GP or pediatrician if any of the following is true:

  • The child finds it difficult to swallow and develops symptoms of dehydration
  • He or she finds it hard to breathe and there is an increase in snoring when they sleep
  • He or she finds it difficult to open their mouth
  • The child has a sore throat that becomes worse, particularly on one side. This might be a symptom of a peritonsillar abscess caused by bacteria spreading from one or both tonsils to the surrounding tissue, which then becomes filled with pus. The following could confirm that an abscess is most likely present: headache, fever, drooling, earache, a muffled voice. An abscess is usually treated in a hospital. It sometimes requires surgery to drain the pus.
  • You are concerned about something else. Trust your instincts. Better be safe than sorry.

We hope we have answered most of your questions about tonsillitis in children with this article. In case we missed something, please leave a comment down below and we will try to help. If your toddler is suffering from tonsillitis, be sure to make an appointment with us as soon as possible!