I went to be last night feeling completely normal. When I woke up this morning I could barely swallow because my throat was swollen and in pain. When I looked at the back of my throat with a flashlight I noticed that my right tonsil is considerably larger than my left. In addition there is a black/dark red bump with accompanying small white spots on the right tonsil. I have ruled out a possible case of strep since I don't have any other symptoms (fever, nausea, etc) and since the irritation is only present on one tonsil. I went to the campus nurse today and her only recommendation is that I gargle warm salt water for a few days to see if my symptoms improve/go away. My first question is what exactly could this be? Second, are there any other remedies for this?
P.S. Not sure if this could influence anything but I am a smoker (appx 4-5 cigarettes per day).