Long Time 'sufferer' of the Tonsil Stone

T he first time a tonsil stone came out of my mouth was when I was six years old.  This is rather uncommon as this usually starts with adolescent adults.   At that age I had NO idea what it could be, and wasn't old enough to be worried about it.  So, I never told anyone about it.  I would get the stones off and on over the next 20 or so years, and usually wouldn't know they were there until they dislodged themselves and came out on their own. 

Over the last couple of years I have noticed they are now happening much more frequently (I'm 30 now).  Up until several months ago the stones only showed up on the left tonsil.  Now, both tonsils get the stones (only the right as I type this).  I've always used Q-Tips to pick the stones out of their hiding spots, though, digging too hard would often lead to blood showing up on the Q-Tip.  Now that the problem is increasingly more frequent I'm going to look into getting a water pick as it seems to be a much more effective way to clean out the crypts on my tonsils. 

One thing I have discovered over the years is that more people get tonsil stones than you would think.  I have 5 friends I can name off the top of my head that have had them at one time or another.  Because it is such a disgusting problem to have, and because it is scary to think about when you don't know what they are, people who do have them keep it to themselves.  None of the 5 friends would have said anything about it if I had not initiated the conversation about the tonsil stones.  They were relieved when I let them know that tonsil stones are actually common, and very rarely a sign of more serious problems.  To me they are an annoyance that I have learned to live with for nearly 25 years.