Tonsillitis

The tonsils are two small lymphoid organs that lie one on each side of the throat. They can be seen just behind the back of the tongue between two folds of membrane running up to the soft palate. Normally, they are about the size of a lima bean but they can become very much larger if severely infected. They are valuable organs of selective elimination and perform a two-fold function. 

Firstly, they protect the throat against disease germs. Secondly, they serve as barometers for indicating infection elsewhere in the body, when they become sore and swollen.

Symptoms
The main symptoms of tonsillitis are sore throat, fever, headache, and pain in various parts of the body, difficulty in swallowing and general weakness. The tonsils are seen to be inflamed and red when the mouth is opened wide. In many cases, spots of pus exude from them. Externally, the tonsilar lymph glands which lie just behind the angle of the jaw are tender and enlarged. In several cases there may be pain in the ear.

Causes
The chief cause of tonsillitis is a toxic condition of the system generally and is brought to a head by sudden lowering of vitality resulting from exposure and sudden chill. Tonsils enlarge and get inflamed when the toxins cannot be got rid of through the normal channels of elimination such as the bowels, kidneys and skin. Throat afflictions of this kind are also associated with the result of chronic constipation, when toxin, which should have been ejected from the system in the normal way, is reabsorbed into the blood-stream.

Treatment