How to Get Rid of Tonsillitis

There are two oval shaped pads of tissue at the back of our throat. These are called Tonsils and they are the first line of defense for our body against the external pathogens. When tonsils get infected, we suffer from tonsillitis. So, what causes tonsillitis and what are its typical symptoms? Let’s find out. Let’s first start with some more information about what is tonsillitis?

What is Tonsillitis?

It is the viral infection, and sometimes bacterial infection of the tonsils- the two tissue pads lying at the back of our throats. If your doctor says, you have got strep throat then you are suffering from a specific type of tonsillitis caused by group A streptococcus bacteria. If not bacteria, some virus might have given you tonsillitis.

What causes Tonsillitis?

There are only two causes of tonsillitis

1. Virus
2. Bacteria

However, there are number of viruses and bacteria that can infect your tonsils and give you tonsillitis. Virus of common cold can also cause tonsillitis. Group A streptococcus bacteria cause tonsillitis known as strep throat.

Sometimes fungi and parasites can also cause tonsillitis but it is a rare case, especially in people with healthy immune system.

Is Tonsillitis contagious?

Yes, it is. When a person infected with tonsillitis breathes, coughs or sneezes, the droplets of infectious pathogens pass through the air. If you are in close contact with such an infected person and you breathe the air carrying such pathogens, you too can catch tonsillitis. Symptoms of tonsillitis then occur in 2-5 days after you catch the infected pathogens.

Once the patient of tonsillitis starts having antibiotics, he doesn’t remain contagious after 24-48 hours from starting the antibiotic medicines. In case no treatment is done, a patient may remain contagious for about 2 weeks.

What are the Symptoms of Tonsillitis?

Pain in throat is one of the major symptoms of tonsillitis. There are many others too:

• Sore throat
• Pain while swallowing
• Inflammation of tonsils
• Fever at high temperature
• Headache
• Pain in ears
• Fatigue
• Sleeplessness
• Coughing
• Chills
• Swollen lymph glands

In few people, only about 10 percent of those who get tonsillitis, there may occur tonsilloliths that are also known as tonsil stones or tonsillar calculi.. A tonsillolith can be defined as a calcified build-up of material in the crevices of the tonsils. When the patient with a tonsillolith tries to swallow, he feels like as if a hard stone is present there in his throat.

Does Tonsillitis go away on its own?

In most of the cases, tonsillitis gets cured itself within 3 to 10 days. This is when tonsillitis is caused by virus. If tonsillitis is caused by bacteria, particularly the one that gives strep throat, it needs a proper treatment with antibiotics prescribed by doctor.

Tonsillitis caused by virus usually doesn’t require any specific treatment and can be managed by using home remedies like warm tea, pain relieving remedies etc. However, for tonsillitis caused by strep bacteria, proper treatment with antibiotics is essential. If you feel extreme symptoms such as dry tongue and mouth, ear pain along with generalized symptoms of tonsillitis, this might be a case of strep throat.

When your doctor confirms, it is not bacterial infection caused by strep bacteria, you may consider getting rid of tonsillitis with the help of certain home remedies.

Ways to get rid of Tonsillitis

One thing has been confirmed by the experts that tonsillitis usually happens to those who have weaker immunity. Therefore, the first and the foremost thing to do is to boost your immunity. Secondly, because tonsillitis generally get cured on its own within a week or two, you just need to follow certain home remedies to soothe the irritating and painful symptoms of tonsillitis. This improves the recovery time and you get healed faster.

Take rest

Stress leads to a weaker immunity. If you have already caught the tonsillitis virus, you need to avoid stress as much as you can. Sleep a lot because this speeds up healing and also boosts immunity. Skip your daily exercise routine for a couple of days. This will help you keep your energies intact for healing. Avoid any other stressful condition to get rid of tonsillitis faster.

Use Humidifier or Vaporizer

It is not always possible to get fresh and pollution free air. Whenever inside your home, try using humidifier or vaporizer. Moistened air helps in relieving discomforts associated with throat infection that tonsillitis brings on. When you breathe clean air, your body recovers faster.

Boost your immunity

When you suffer from tonsillitis, you know your immune system has been compromised. Take steps to boost your immunity. Have plenty of foods that are naturally nutritious. Vegetables and fruits will help you a lot. Go on anti-inflammatory diet. Have more fruits, vegetables, herbs, herb-spices and avoid fried and junk food. Try to have as much organic food as you can.

Use home remedies

Yes, to get rid of symptoms associated with tonsillitis, the best bet is to use home remedies. There are plenty of ingredients in your kitchen and otherwise that will help you get rid of sore throat, fever, pain and other such symptoms of tonsillitis. This helps you recover faster. Here are some home remedies for tonsillitis to help you out.

Tonsillitis Home Remedies

Here are some home remedies for you to get rid of tonsillitis.

Gargle with Warm Salt Water

This is the most common and one of the very effective home remedies for sore throat that you get from tonsillitis. Warm water flushes your throat and helps in loosening up the phlegm if any so that it can get cleared from the area and you get relief from pain and inflammation. Salt also helps you a lot when it comes to fight off bacteria and virus. It promotes osmosis which simply means that all moisture either in bacteria or in the swollen tissue will be drawn out so that you get rid of tonsillitis symptoms.

Get this:

• Warm water- 1 glass
• Salt- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp

Do this:

• Take the tolerably warm water and add salt to this
• Stir well and take some of it in your mouth
• Raise your head and take it backwards while containing the water in your mouth
• Let the water flow inside, in your throat, don’t swallow it though
• Now move the water inside your throat, it will produce a gurgling sound
• Keep moving the water for few seconds or a minute, as long as you can
• Now spit the water out of your mouth
• Again take some water and repeat the steps
• Keep doing this until you finish the warm salt water in the glass
• Do this 3-4 times a day.

Take precaution not to gargle with salt water just after having meals. Give a gap of at least 1-2 hours.

Have Ginger Tea to get rid of Tonsillitis

Ginger root is a common herb we use in our kitchens. It is a very good remedy for throat related conditions such as tonsillitis, cold and flu etc. The active components of ginger namely gingerdiols, shogaols and gingerols make this herb anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. These properties can help you get rid of tonsillitis. Warm tea will of course soothe your aching throat too.

Get this:

• Fresh ginger root- 1-2 inch piece
• Water- 1-2 cups
• Lemon juice (optional)- few drops
• Honey (optional)- 1-2 tsp

Do this:

• Bring the water to a boil
• Add chopped or grated ginger to this boiling water
• Simmer for about 3-4 minutes
• Put off the flame and strain the tea
• Add lemon juice if you wish to make it some more effective and tasty
• If you want your ginger tea to be sweetened, add some honey to it
• Give it a stir and enjoy your ginger tea 3-4 times a day

Onions are good for Tonsillitis Remedy

Not only ginger, onion too has antiseptic and antibacterial properties that can help you soothe sore throat due to tonsillitis. In fact, many people believe it to be a good remedy for strep throat too. If you can, chew some raw onion so that its juice touches your throat and goes inside your body to heal you internally. If you can’t do that, gargle with onion juice as described here.

Get this:

• Onions- 1-2
• Warm water- 1 glass

Do this:

• Peel and grate the onions
• Now extract the juice of grated onions.
• Add this to warm water and mix well
• Gargle with this water

Garlic Tea for Tonsillitis

Garlic is yet another very strong anti-bacterial herb. You can make use of it to get rid of tonsillitis, especially the one you get from bacterial infection.

Get this:

• Garlic cloves- 2-3
• Water- 1 cup
• Honey- 1-2 tsp

Do this:

• Bring the water to a boil
• Crush the garlic cloves and add them to the water
• Lower the flame and simmer it for 1-2 minutes
• Strain the tea and add honey to this
• Mix well and sip it warm to sooth your throat

Cumin seeds Remedy for Tonsillitis

Cumin seeds have been used traditionally in many countries to fight off such conditions as cold and cough, sore throat etc. These seeds are a rich source of vitamin C and also have anti-viral properties. If you have some cumin seeds lying in your kitchen cabinet, why not make use of them and get rid of tonsillitis?

Get this:

• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Ginger (grated)- 1 tsp
• Cognac or Whiskey (optional, preferable especially in winter months)- 1 tbsp
• Water- 1 glass

Do this:

• Boil the water
• Add cumin seeds and grated ginger once the water starts boiling
• Simmer it for about 15 minutes or till the time when it remains just a thick liquid mass with grainy texture
• Strain the liquid
• Once again add a cup of water and bring it to a rolling boil and put off the flame
• If you opt to use whisky or cognac, add 1 tbsp now
• Let it cool down a little
• You can have 1 tbsp of this every one hour

• You should get relief in roughly 3-4 hours. If so, stop having it after 4 hours. If not, continue having it after every one hour for next 3-4 hours

Lemon juice for Tonsillitis

Lemon is a rich source of vitamin C. And it is a well known fact that vitamin C not only boosts immunity but also cures infections due to its anti-microbial properties. Moreover, lemon is  one of the best anti-inflammatory foods, just what you need during such conditions as tonsillitis.

Get this:

• Lemon juice- from 1 lemon
• Salt- a pinch of it
• Honey- 1 tsp
• Warm water- 1 glass

Do this:

• Take the glass filled with warm water
• Add lemon juice, salt and honey to this water
• Stir well so that everything gets mixed well
• Sip it while feeling the solution going through your throat and soothing it effectively
• Have two glass of such warm lemon juice a day

Honey for Tonsillitis

Honey is naturally produced by bees. If you can lay hands on such natural honey, you may use it for recovering from such bacterial infections as tonsillitis. Not only is honey rich in antioxidants, iron, various minerals and vitamins but it is also a very good anti-bacterial agent. When you consume honey, it coats your throat in a way that you can feel its soothing effect. A  study has also found that manuka honey is effective in killing Streptococcus. Thus, you can even get rid of strep throat by having honey.

Ways to have honey to treat tonsillitis

• Consume a teaspoon of plain honey several times a day
• Add a pinch of cinnamon powder to a tsp of honey and have it 3-4 times a day
• Add 1-2 tsp of honey to your warm ginger tea or any other herbal tea and have it
• Add 1-2 tsp of honey and lemon juice to a glass of warm water and drink it

Juice Therapy to cure Tonsillitis

Some experts are of the opinion that when our body goes through difficult periods due to bacterial or viral infections, it needs a plenty of rest. This rest should not only be physical but also internal rest. This means, you need  to give rest to all your internal bodily functions so that your body can wholly work towards curing your infection. This also means that your digestive system needs rest. Therefore, instead of having solid foods, you can have juices. These juices will give you full nutrition but save your digestive system from working a lot. Juices also detoxify body so that all the toxins including virus, bacteria and microbial waste are flushed out of your system.

How to make Fruit Juice for Tonsillitis

Make banana smoothie or apple juice by adding other fruits like blueberry, blackberry, elderberry, lemon, passion fruit, orange, grapes, papaya, pear and pomegranate.

This means the base will be banana or apple and there would be other fruits in smaller quantities. No need to have all the suggested fruits. Have 3-4 types of fruits with banana or apples.

You may also add certain herbs along with fruit juices throughout the day. Use anti-inflammatory herbs and anti-microbial herbs for the purpose. Some of such herbs include mint, chamomile, sage, fenugreek, hyssop, marshmallow and mullein and thyme etc.

Along with fruit juices, you need to have vegetable juice too, which is also our next remedy for tonsillitis.

Vegetable Juice for Tonsillitis

If you decide to go for juice therapy for reasons explained in the previous remedy, you will also need vegetable juice along with fruit juice.

Get this:

• 2 carrots
• 1 beetroot
• 2 cucumbers

Do this:

• Cut them all and put in blender
• Pour in a glass
• If needed, add a dash of lemon juice and have it

Holy Basil for Tonsillitis

This is a holy herb used in India for variety of reasons. Indians use it in their daily worship and also to purify environment. The most common use of Tulsi or basil is for home remedies, especially to boost immunity and curing infectious diseases like cold and of course sore throat and tonsillitis. Basil has amazing anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties so use it to treat your tonsillitis faster.

Get this:

• Holy basil leaves- 10-12
• Lemon juice- 1 tsp
• Honey- 1 tsp
• Water- 1 cup

Do this:

• Bring the water to a boil
• Add basil leaves and simmer for 5-10 minutes
• Strain it and add honey and lemon juice
• Have it 3-4 times a day

Turmeric for Tonsillitis

Yet another miracle herb-spice is turmeric. It has been studied a lot all around the world and it is now beyond doubt that turmeric is one of the best natural anti-inflammatory agents. It is also anti-microbial and immune boosting ingredient, so have it to get rid of tonsillitis too.

Get this:

• Turmeric powder- 1/2 -1 tsp
• Black pepper powder  – 1/2 tsp
• Warm milk- 1 glass

Do this:

• Add turmeric and pepper powder to warm milk
• Stir well and have it at bedtime
• Have it for 3-4 days and speed up the healing process

Echinacea for Tonsillitis

As we now know that compromised immune system makes you an easy victim of tonsillitis, you should also take steps to make your immunity stronger. Echinacea can help in this. This herb boosts your immune system and also helps clear your blood of toxins. Many research studies have shown that Echinacea is capable of reducing frequency of colds and flu. Make this Echinacea tea for your tonsillitis cure

Get this:

• Echinacea herb- 1-2 tsp
• Lemon grass- 1/2 tsp
• Spearmint leaves -1/2 tsp
• Honey
• Water- 1-2 cups

Do this:

• Boil the water
• Add Echinacea, lemon grass and spearmint leaves.
• Brew it for few minutes
• Strain and add honey
• Have it

Slippery Elm for Tonsillitis

Slippery elm herb has been used since years to soothe sore throat. It contains mucilage (gel-like substance) that eases soreness, inflammation and pain and thus is perfect for tonsillitis remedy. It has demulcent, emollient, expectorant, diuretic, and nutritive properties. Make slippery elm tea for yourself and soothe your throat.

Get this:

• Slippery elm powder- 1 tsp
• Cinnamon- 1/4 tsp
• lemon juice- few drops
• Water- 1 cup

Do this:

• Using a little water, make a thin paste of slippery elm powder
• Now pour boiling water over this paste.
• Mix well and add cinnamon powder and lemon juice
• Sip it to soothe and heal your tonsillitis

Remember, hot fluids will soothe your throat to a great extent. So, have tea and soups and broths and don’t forget to add such herbs and spices in these fluids that are good remedies for sore throat and tonsillitis. You can get rid of tonsillitis with just the right ingredients used in home remedies for tonsillitis as well as by having plenty of rest. By boosting your immunity, you can ensure that you never get tonsillitis ever in your life.