|
If someone asked you where stones can form in the human body, you might
immediately think of the kidneys. But, the kidneys aren't the only
place. The tonsils are another location where hard, and sometimes,
painful stones may develop in certain people - They are yellowish-white bump-looking stones which often times smells extremely bad!
Well, if you have these symptoms of tonsil stones,
don't worry too much! I'm not telling you the above to scare you, and
you're not going to die of these stones, no cancer, no nothing - These
are called tonsil stones (also tonsilloliths in medical term), which
are formed of a combination of food debris, bacteria, old-cells in your
mouth lining etc...
.. and usually is the major cause towards your embarrassing bad breathe!
Why Do I Have These White Bumps In Throat?
Tonsils are like the guardians of your mouth cavity - they are part
of your immune system that function like nets. What they do is - these
tonsils trap incoming bacteria & virus that's trying to invade your
body through throat, also including some dead cells and mucous that's
produced by your mouth lining.
Because saliva contains
digestive enzymes, trapped food begins to break down. Particularly, the
starch or carbohydrate part of the food melts away, leaving firmer,
harder remains of food in the tonsils. This does not look like the food
that went into the mouth.
Some of the cells produced from your
mouth contain small amounts of keratin, the same substance found in
fingernails and rhinoceros horns. Whatever the nature of the debris, it
is then attacked by white blood cells. The aftermath of this battle
leaves the crevices of the tonsil strewn with hardened remains.
Microscopic
studies of these tonsilloliths have shown them to contain a combination
of food particles, bacteria, oral debris, and white blood cells in a
concentrically laminated pattern -- rather like white bumps in throat.
If
you happen to have these white bumps in throat, don't get too stressed.
Most people with calculi of the tonsils have no associated symptoms. In
that case nothing need be done, except perhaps for brushing or scraping
them out.
|
