Kind: captions
Language: en
I'm about to show you one of the most
revolting pieces of footage I've ever
seen. You've been warned.
All right, I know that was deeply
horrifying. So, let me explain. What I
just showed you was called a tonsil
stone or a tonsillith. And they're
really common. In fact, you might have
one in your mouth right now. I'm Anna
Rothschild and this is Gross Science.
Tonsil stones often occur if you've had
repeated bouts of tonsillitis or if you
just have largeish tonsils with lots of
nooks and crannies. You might not even
know you have them cuz they can grow
behind the tonsil where you can't see
them.
>> Peekaboo.
>> There aren't great estimates for how
many people have tonsil stones, but in
one small study of 150 CT scans of
people's heads, about 24% showed signs
of them. though I've seen other studies
with higher and lower numbers as well.
There's some debate about how exactly
they form, but what we know is that dead
cells, mucus, and food get trapped in
the crevices of the tonsil and harden or
calcify. Most of the time, the stones
are so small that they don't pose a
problem. But when they get larger, they
can cause sore throats, ear pain, and
really bad breath. That's because
bacteria and other microbes will feast
on the globs of organic matter. Yeah.
And the sulfurous waste products they
release give off a deeply unpleasant
scent. If you have tonsil stones and
they bother you, some people recommend
gargling with salt water or other
special mouthwashes, flushing them out
with a water pick, or popping them out
with something soft like your finger or
a cotton swab. And if the problem gets
really severe, your doctor might
recommend a tonslectomy or a procedure
to smooth out the tonsil. On a personal
note, I actually know what having tonsil
stones is like. A bunch of years ago, I
kept coming down with tonsillitis and
along with it, I developed some small
tonsil stones. Because I'm me, I was
kind of just fascinated by the whole
thing. But I was totally relieved when
they went away.
Ew.