Removing Tonsils

Visit the Getting Your Tonsils Out site to read about what it's like to have your tonsils out and to play games.

What did one tonsil say to the other tonsil?

Get dressed, the doctor is taking us out tonight.

How does a doctor take apart her Christmas tree?

She performs a tinselectomy.

Tonsils are two chunks of tissue in the back of your throat. If you open up your mouth really wide and look into a mirror, you should be able to see them. You may be wondering why your body has tonsils. You have them because they help stop germs before they get down your throat, or into your stomach or lungs. They also make antibodies that help fight against infections. Sometimes tonsils get infected, and they have to be removed

They may be taken out because they become swollen and make it difficult to breathe. Tonsils may also need to be removed because germs hang around on them. These germs can give kids a lot of sore throats. Having your tonsils taken out is called a tonsillectomy. A tonsillectomy will reduce the number of sore throats you have.

Before having your tonsils taken out, you may need to take a test and you cannot eat, drink, or chew anything. You will wear a special bracelet with your name on it and wear hospital clothes. Right before the procedure, you will have to take an anesthetic, a medicine that makes you fall asleep fast.

Doctors take the tonsils out through the mouth. You don’t wake up or feel anything during the surgery. After you wake up you may have a sore throat and an earache. milkshake

During your recovery, you should stay in bed and drink lots of fluids. Some things you may want to have a lot of handy are soft drinks, Popsicles, ice cream, and gelatin snacks.

The doctor will give you medicine to help you swallow less painfully, like acetaminophen. They may also give you antibiotics. In two weeks time you’ll be good as new!

Credits

Images

Image of milkshake from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004).

Websites

The Nemours Foundation. "KidsHealth for Kids" 1995-2004. <http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/> (January-February, 2004).

Jokes

Bernstein, Joanne E. and Paul Cohen. Dizzy Doctor Riddles. Niles, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company. 1989.