My Daughter Has HUGE Tonsils

My daughter had the same issues and actually just had her tonsils removed yesterday! We see Dr. Mancuso in the East Valley and he is AMAZING! He also removed my sons adnoids and placed ear tubes. My son is 22 months and my daugter is 4 1/2! My daughter is already sleeping better, no more loud snoring nor sleep apnea!

I would definitely take her in to the ear, nose, throat specialist. One of my sons had that problem, along with lots of ear infections. When he was 18 months old, we had his adenoids out and put in ear tubes. At that time, the specialist would not take out his tonsils because the minimum age was 5 years old. So, two weeks before his 5th birthday, I took him back and we scheduled the operation, which he had a few days after his birthday. They said at the hospital that he should have had them out years ago. And, he could hear better after that operation! If there is any way to get them taken out, I would.

I would take her to an ENT before I made any decisions, but my daughter and I both had very large tonsils that did touch. She had chronic ear infections and snored VERY loud. We had her tonsils and adenoids out at 5 and she never had another ear infection. I had my tonsils out at 36 because of frequent strep and snoring(don't have any adenoids) and it was really not a big deal but wish my parents had done it when I was litle to save the years of strep.

Hi D. -

Often virus' and bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. In that case, you might consider turning to herbs. Anytime there is redness and swelling, there is inflammation. The herb OSHA has an affinity for the throat and is very soothing. There are several other herbs that have antibacterial and antiviral qualities that will often work when antibiotics don't. I would suggest checking out the herb section at Whole Foods or try Desert Sage Herbs. An herbalist on staff will be able to direct you to the most appropriate herbal remedy.

I hope this helps,

M. M. Ernsberger
Certified Herbalist
www.wellnessgardening.com

We saw am ENT doctor who put her on allergy medicine. He said unless she is getting infections/illnesses once a month, that we should try to live with it. In reagrds top the snoring, if her snoring wakes her up, then it is an issue. If not, we are suppose to live with that as well.

It is major surgery so he was trying to avoid that. Clearly as they get older the tonsils become less visible, but I know what you mean about their size. They are scarey.

I was like that as a child. Mine was a sensitivity to cow's milk. Before doing anything drastic, you may want to take her for an evaluation with a naturopath and see if there's something that can be done naturally.

Hi D.,
My son is now 14 and he had hugh tonsils as a baby and our Dr. told us not to remove them unless he got repeated infections. He was just diagnosed with sleep apnea and has to have his tonsils removed. He is the size of an adult and the surgery will be very painful so I would find a good ENT and ask them what the long term affects would be. My son snores and always had, I wished I had pushed further when he was your daughter's age. My daughter had sinus/adnoid surgery when she was 4 and she bounced back very quickly so I would consider listening to your pediatrician!

Tonsils are part of our immune system. When they become large and inflamed, they are fighting an infection. Your child may have allergies that are causing her body to "fight". Some exploration is warranted, which many conventional doctors may not be informed well enough to understand. Find a good naturopathic doctor...they might be able to help. Or a good herbalist.

Hello D.,
Well, Yes I have had experience with this. My daughter eventually had her tonsils removed. Make sure she sees an E.N.T. (Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor). Also, I am a Respiratory Therapist, so I can agree with your pediatrician. The snoring DOES indicate that she's having difficulty maintaining her airway while she sleeps. This is because when we sleep our body "relaxes"... and that includes the airway. Normally it's ok that our airway gets a little smaller because we don't breathe as deep or as fast while we sleep, but if she's already got an "obstruction" from the tonsils the airway is just getting too small for her to breathe correctly. DON'T FREAK!!! She is waking herself up because she has "triggers" in the brain that will wake her up to keep her breathing.
For my daughter, allergies REALLY bothered her tonsils and they would swell up immediately... and they were HUGE and very red!! So, maybe your doctor can recommend an allergy med to help keep sinus drainage from irritating her airway/tonsils even more than they're already irritated.
At any rate, my daughter had her tonsils out when she was 6. It wasn't a bad surgery or recovery-- about 7-10 days and she was running all over the place again. And the BEST part is that she's NEVER had that trouble again!!!!... and her ear infections went away too!!!

Good luck!!!
C.

You may want to take her in to have a sleep study test. Then she can be monitored while sleeping to see how her breathing is etc. I work with Valley Oximetry Sleep Disorders Center www.valleysleepcenter.com and we see alot of pediatrics cases, many referrals by Phoenix Children's Hospital. We just had a little 5-yr girl come in due to her tonsils and pediatrician wanted them taken out, yet parents hesitant. She went through it, parents met with Board Certified Sleep Physician for the results and she will keep her tonsils and be re-checked. The owner of Valley Oximetry is Lauri Leadley, Registered Polysomnographer Technician and mother of 3, so she could answer your questions and give you another perspective. Best wishes.

Hi D.,

My youngest had that same problem, with snoring and all. We checked her tonsils when she was about 3 1/2, because everything that she drank or ate was being choked on. We took her to her peds dr. and he suggested that the best thing would be to remove them. Now she is 11 and just recently has started snoring again, but nothing like before. So my suggestion, esecially since it is not allowing her to have a good night's sleep.
Hope it works.
D.

I don't remember my daughters tonsils being that large, but she snored and actually would stop breathing and then gasp for air. She had very large adenoids and had frequent ear infections. She had her tonils and adenoids removed when she was 3. She is 15 now and is still doing great. I wouldn't recommend surgery unless all other avenues were exhausted, but when they x-rayed her and saw how large the adenoids were they realized that was the trouble. It took me a long time to get the doctors to listen to how serious the sleeping problem was; they said it was allergies, which she was tested for and there were no allergies. Good luck!

I personally had always had one huge tonsil that everyone wondered about but nothing was done. It never bothered my breathing or waking hours except when I'd get REALLY bad strep throat, which was often. I was finally diagnosed with sleep apnea in my 20's, when I had them removed along with other parts of the system related to affecting the sleep apnea. Since then I've improved greatly. I agree with postings stating the younger the better to have them removed, due to the recovery time. Anyway, I would certainly make sure to have the best ENT you can to check it out and explore that.

My son began to develop sleep apnea right around two years old. The final result that helped the problem was getting his tonsils and adenoids removed. I'd definetly have an Ear, Nose, Throat Specialist (ENT) look at you daughter, so they have a base line idea of size and inflamation. Then over time they'll be able to see if the tonsils are causing problems/getting bigger etc. I thought sleep apnea in children was rare--plus my son was slim, not heavy which apparently contributes to the problem in adults, but then TWO of my close friends' daughters ended up with the same problem! And had there tonsils etc. taken out. All 4 kiddos were under five years old! A great ENT in town is Dr. Cohen also Dr. Blatchford.

I should also mention that I tried MANY alternative therapies before finally agreeing to the T&A surgery, but it helped instantly and my husband and I have never regretted the decision.

Best of luck to you!

My daughter does too! She had tubes put in her ears over a year ago. At that time the ENT doctor said she would need to return to have her adenoids (sp?) out and that they were enlarged. I have often wondered if that would causer her tonsils to be so big? I know that the ears, nose, throat all have a lot to do with one another, you may look into an ENT. We used Dr. Dyer at ENTegrity, very KID friendly doctor!!!!!!!!!!!

Megan

My daughter had the SAME thing when she was almost 4. It can actually lead to sleep apnea, which can be deadly. Because of this fact, the ENT we went to removed them immediately. Get her in soon, and make sure you mention the snoring because that's key to diagnosis.

Kayle had the same problem. I asked her pediatrician and he referred us to an ENT. The doctor told me that he figured he'd just tell us to come back in a year or so, but once he looked in her throat, he scheduled us for surgery. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed. It took 15 min and 1 night stay at PCH.

Before the surgery she snored, had difficulty swallowing and would gag on her food. It was a bit traumatic (FOR ME), but well worth it. I would do it again in a second. Get her to an ENT and have them removed.

I know absolutely nothing about this condition, but I would like to encourage you to hang on to your kiddo's tonsils if at all possible. They are a really important part of the immune system and are not "disposable." If you can see a doctor who can deal with this issue without surgery, it would be a really good thing.

My daughter is 3 and she had huge tonsils as well. We noticed how big they were at her 1 year well baby visit. They almost touched in back. We were overseas at the time and were advised to wait until we reutrned to the states to have anything done. She was sick all the time and when she was sick it lasted forever. She had her tonsils and adenoids out 4 weeks ago. And is perfectly fine now. We had her post-op check up yesterday. She is sleeping better and we can understand her speech so much better.

We saw Dr. Onyia (ENT) at Presbyterian. He was great. The surgery is quick. We went in first thing in the morning and were home by 11. Recovery is a little tough for the parents especially when the child doesn't understand. But after 7 days she was back to normal.

There are many children who have large tonsils and they are also affected by sleep apnea.
There has been a trend over the last 20 years NOT to take tonsils out. Now that parents and doctors are familiar with pediatric sleep apnea they are reconsidering. You will need to be your child's advocate and keep insisting they be taken out until you find a doctor who is willing to take them out.
My son had bad tonsils for years. It took me 10 years to convince a doctor to take the tonsils out, he was 19! When the doctor came out after surgery he said my sons tonsils were the most infected he had ever seen. My son now has a severe cough that will never go away due to all the scare tissue from infected tonsils. The doctor said all of the infection was under the tonsils and no one could see it.
Good luck and keep trying!
The Mommie Mentor. www.proactiveparenting.net (notice .net)

D.,
Two of my four children had HUGE tonsils. They nearly touched in the middle. My daughter constantly had ear infections and my son had strept throat quite often. When my daughter was 5 we took her to an ENT. She could barely breathe! She breathed through her mouth, snored and couldn't eat too much. Her adenoids were HUGE as well. The doctor removed her tonsils and adenoids and she grew like 6 inches in one year! Then our son who is two years younger went through basically the same thing 3 years later. But he was always choking on food. They did the same thing and he sprouted up like crazy too. I really think it has to do with being able to eat and sleep better. It's totally what they needed. But 5 or 6 is the youngest I would do it. At least they can understand a little about what is going on.
K.

If her tonsils remain big she needs to be taken to the doctor
. Not only can it affect her breathing it can affect her palate which can affect how her permanent teeth come in eventually. That is if her tonsils don't get smaller over time. This can possibly cause her to have to have braces when she gets older. My son ended up having to have to have braces put on when he was 9 and it was partly caused by his large tonsils. He never ever had any problems with his tonsils. An ENT Dr. had told me this once That enlarged tonsils can affect the upper palate , so wasn't surprised when I asked the orthodontist if his tonsils were big enough to be causing part of his problems and he said that they were and needed to be needed to be taken out.

I've had two kids with that same problem. The first were big enough to almost touch in the back and shifted his speech just slightly, but started to go down when he was 4 or 5. My second one to have this happen was more like yours with the snoring, but also choked on food a lot. The doctor referred him to an ENT (ear nose throat), and they were taken out within two weeks. At 19 months, he was running around the next day. He became a new boy! He slept better, was happier, and he even spurted up a little in height.

I grew up with constant tonsil infections as a kid, and my doctor did not want to take them out. I ended up having them taken out when I was 27 when seeing a doctor about my sinus infections. It is very true it's harder as an adult!

When I was a child I too had very large tonsils. I was sick a lot and very small for my age because I could not eat at a normal pace (it would take me one hour to eat a McDonald's hamburger). I also had trouble breathing at night and snored very loudly. My parents had my tonsils removed when I was 3 (that has now been 26 years ago). I have been exceptionally healthy ever since then. My son, now 5, also had his tonsils removed 1 year ago for the same reasons. He no longer snores, is better rested and has not been sick since.

I know a couple of young kids who had surgery for that, but they were around 4 years old. They ate more, spoke better, and were healthier after the surgery, but I know it was traumatic for the mommies to put their baby under anesthesia.

We just went through this with our 3rd son who just turned 3. If she is snoring then it is a problem. We learned that children are not supposed to sleep. He didn't have the problem until this past August and it was drastic. He stopped growing. He wasn't talking and he had a hard time eating and he definitely wasn't getting good sleep. This past January he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and he has grown 5 inches and he is talking like crazy. We are so happy we had it done. He sleeps so good now too! I would highly recommend going to a pediatric ENT specialist and they will tell you if she should have the surgery or not.

This happened to my 18mo. nephew. He had trouble breathing at night (like sleep apnea) so my brother and sister-in-law finally took him to an ENT (ear,nose and throat doctor). The ENT said that although the tonsils are useful for helping the body to fight infections, when they become chronically inflamed and cause other serious problems (like apnea) then the deficits outweigh the benefits, and it's time to take them out. My nephew had his tonsils removed in November and has had no more breathing problems at night! Although going through the surgery process was stressful on my brother and his wife, they are very grateful they did because that stress was short-lived compared to the stress they felt before each night, not knowing if he'd stop breathing altogether.

M.

My son is 11 months old and we have already been told he may have to have his tonsils out. Usualy the earliest it is done is at 2-3 years old unless there is another reason to do it earlier. I don't know too much but from what I understand it is realitivly fast and is an out patient procedure.