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What Does White Spots On The Back Of Throat Indicate?
I am a smoker and lately my throat has been hurting when I swallow. I didnt think anything of it until I saw something white on the back of my throat near my tonsils.I thought maybe it was a piece of food that I had eaten,but it wont go away no matter what I do. Please help. I dont want to have throat cancer.
Thu, 21 May 2020
Hello,
There are few possibilities of white material on tonsils / in throat.
1. If you are feeling sick with a sore throat, swollen neck lymph nodes and / or a fever for example, it could be a throat infection such as strep that may require an antibiotic. This would require an examination from a doctor and possibly a throat swab to determine that. Viral throat infections are even more common and produce similar symptoms but those usually resolve on their own and do not require any treatment.
2. Small indentation can occur in tonsils and small particle of food can get trapped in those little caverns and decompose causing "tonsillar stones". These do not always come out easily but can be removed with some skill. once they get large enough they sometimes pop out on their own. While these are not painful at all or dangerous, they are certainly unpleasant as they can produce some undesirable odor.
3. Being a smoker certainly increases chances or developing many different cancers including throat cancer. If this problem does not resolve for you you will need to get an examination from a doctor who can determine if a biopsy is needed. A biopsy (a small tissue sample of scraping from the affected area) would confirm or rule out presence of abnormal cells or cancerous cells.
I strongly encourage you to consider quitting smoking to maintain good health!
Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Kamila Seilhan, Internal Medicine Specialist
There are few possibilities of white material on tonsils / in throat.
1. If you are feeling sick with a sore throat, swollen neck lymph nodes and / or a fever for example, it could be a throat infection such as strep that may require an antibiotic. This would require an examination from a doctor and possibly a throat swab to determine that. Viral throat infections are even more common and produce similar symptoms but those usually resolve on their own and do not require any treatment.
2. Small indentation can occur in tonsils and small particle of food can get trapped in those little caverns and decompose causing "tonsillar stones". These do not always come out easily but can be removed with some skill. once they get large enough they sometimes pop out on their own. While these are not painful at all or dangerous, they are certainly unpleasant as they can produce some undesirable odor.
3. Being a smoker certainly increases chances or developing many different cancers including throat cancer. If this problem does not resolve for you you will need to get an examination from a doctor who can determine if a biopsy is needed. A biopsy (a small tissue sample of scraping from the affected area) would confirm or rule out presence of abnormal cells or cancerous cells.
I strongly encourage you to consider quitting smoking to maintain good health!
Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Kamila Seilhan, Internal Medicine Specialist
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