Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils. It’s usually caused by a viral infection or, less commonly, a bacterial infection.

Tonsillitis is a common condition in children, teenagers and young adults.

The symptoms of tonsillitis include:

a sore throat and pain when swallowing earache high temperature (fever) over 38C (100.4F) coughing headache

Symptoms usually pass within three to four days.

Contact your GP or, if your GP’s closed, phone 111 if: symptoms last longer than four days and don’t show any signs of improvement symptoms are severe – for example, if you’re unable to eat or drink due to the pain, or you have difficulty breathing

About tonsillitis

If necessary, your GP will examine your throat and ask you some questions about your symptoms. If needed, a throat swab can be taken to confirm the diagnosis. The results usually take a few days to return.

If your tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection, they may prescribe antibiotics. Typical signs of a bacterial infection include white pus-filled spots on the tonsils, no cough and swollen or tender lymph glands.

If you develop severe tonsillitis as a teenager or adult, your GP may recommend a blood test for glandular fever.

Symptoms

The main symptom of tonsillitis is a sore throat.

Your tonsils will be red and swollen, and your throat may be very painful, making swallowing difficult.

In some cases, the tonsils are coated or have white, pus-filled spots on them.

Other common symptoms of tonsillitis include:

high temperature (fever) over 38C (100.4F) coughing headache earache feeling sick feeling tired swollen, painful lymph glands in your neck loss of voice or changes to your voice

The symptoms of tonsillitis usually get better after three to four days.

If you have tonsillitis that’s caused by a viral infection, such as the common cold or flu, your symptoms may be milder.

If your tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection, such as a streptococcal infection, your symptoms will usually be more severe and you may also have bad breath.

It’s difficult to tell just by looking at a person’s throat whether they have tonsillitis as a result of a virus or a bacterial infection. Tests are needed to confirm this.

Antibiotics may be recommended if test results show that your tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection.