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Medical Author:

Joseph Lauro, MD

Coauthor:

Erik D Barton, MD, MS

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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When to Seek Medical Care

The majority of people that develop tonsillitis recover without medical care. Call a doctor for advice if you a person has some of the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Pain with swallowing
• Social contact with a person with strep throat
• Tender glands in the neck
• Rash
• Pain is not relieved with home care
• Pain worsens
• Unable to control secretions; unable to eat, drink, or take medicines
• Change in voice, such as muffled speech or "hot potato" voice (speaking as if a hot object is being held in the mouth)
• Difficulty breathing

Tonsillitis can develop into more serious medical conditions in some people. Anyone with tonsillitis who is drooling, unable to eat or drink, or has any breathing difficulty needs to go to a hospital's Emergency Department immediately for evaluation.

Sometimes the tonsils may swell or form a peritonsillar abscess resulting in intermittent blockage of the feeding and breathing pathways. If the affected person may have difficulty breathing or eating, they should seek medical care.