>U Mom Knows Best: How To Tell If My Child Needs His Tonsils Removed

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

How To Tell If My Child Needs His Tonsils Removed

After many sleepless nights and doctor appointments, we found out my son needed his tonsils removed


    My youngest son just had his tonsils and adenoids removed. The above picture is before the surgery. What I thought was just a persistent winter cough turned out to be much more. I am going to share with you the events that led up to my son needing his tonsils and adenoids removed so you can know if your child may need his removed. I am not a doctor, just a mom, so seeing a doctor is always best to get the proper diagnosis. Read on to discover if your child might need a visit to the doctor to see if they are a candidate for this childhood surgery. My son had sleep apnea that was caused by swollen tonsils and adenoids.


Coughing and snoring

 Last winter my son had a cough, that only happened at night time when he was sleeping. He would cough several times throughout the night but not during the day. I mentioned it to his doctor and she said that it was a cold. The doctor said that the cough needed time to go away. I thought maybe it was asthma or the air was too dry. So I placed a humidifier in my son's bedroom. The humidifier did not help the cough and my son continued to cough all night. This nightly coughing episode woke me up several times during the night, so I was not getting any sleep.  During this time my son also sounded nasal, snored and was a mouth breather but he had been like that since he was 3 so I thought nothing of it.  I later found out these were symptoms of adenoid swelling. It makes me wonder if my son had sleep breathing issues since he was three. 

The cough did not go away

 When spring came and my son had his yearly doctor visit, I mentioned to the doctor that he was still coughing at night time. The doctor examined him and said with hesitation "maybe we need to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor to look at the adenoids."

Sleep study

  I made an appointment with the ENT doctor and was surprised to find out my son's adenoids were swollen. The doctor had to insert a camera in my son's nose to see the adenoids as they are behind the nose. The doctor ordered a sleep study right away to determine if my son's swollen adenoids and tonsils were causing my son to have sleep apnea episodes. I later found out my son had severe sleep apnea. The swollen adenoids were causing him to stop breathing 18 times an hour, thus causing the night time coughing. The doctor also looked at my son's tonsils after his sleep study and found those to be swollen too. The swollen tonsils and adenoids were causing his sleep apnea. The doctor said that the removal of the tonsils and adenoids would hopefully solve the sleep apnea problem.

 The ear, nose and throat doctor scheduled the tonsillectomy surgery for my son to get his tonsils and adenoids out. When the surgery was over, the doctor told me that my son's adenoids were as big as his tonsils. She also told me one of the tonsils had an infection. If we had not had the surgery, my son would have had more problems like a persistent infection along with the sleep apnea.


The symptoms

Through this experience, I want to share with you some symptoms to watch out for indicating swollen adenoids and /or sleep apnea.

+ A cough that happens only at bedtime
+ Nasal congestion  
+ Speaking with a nasal sound   
+ Breathing through  the mouth
+ Snoring        
+Ear Pain
+ a Sore throat
+ Sleep problems
+ Tiredness or Hyperactivity during the day


 I am so glad my son had the surgery as now he can start getting a good night's sleep. Lack of sleep was causing my son to be hyper and have some behavior problems. The surgery was not fun for my son.  Read about the tonsil and adenoid surgery here. My son was in a lot of pain afterward the tonsil operation but pain medicine and popsicles helped that. My son had to rest and eat soft food for a week. I thought that I was prepared for recovery after a tonsil operation but it was a difficult two weeks for my son. The tonsil surgery and adenoid operation were scary for me to see my son experience but it was worth it as my son did not experience any sleep apnea symptoms after he recovered from the tonsillitis surgery. My son finally was able to sleep without coughing. 

So if your child has some of these symptoms, ask your doctor to refer your child to an ear, nose, and throat doctor as it just might be swollen adenoids and/or tonsils.

Feel free to ask me questions and I will try my best to answer them based on my son's experience.     
I will next post about my son's surgery experience and recovery. 
     

Read more

Recovery from the surgery
http://www.momknowsbest.net/2014/08/what-recovery-from-tonsillectomy-and.html

Surgery information
http://www.momknowsbest.net/2014/08/what-happens-when-your-child-needs.html

38 comments:

Ashley S said...

Thanks for the info! I've never thought about this before....

Jamie said...

My son had his out a few years back and it made a big difference. He was constantly having ear infections and after these were removed, no problems. Weird.

Erin S said...

He will feel such a difference now that he had it done!

A GAL NEEDS... said...

I remember when I had this done when I was about his age. Somehow when I woke up, I was very much in pain and no amount of ice cream would help. I think they knocked me out with painkillers after that. Hope he had a better wake up experience than I did!

Buzz4Mommies said...

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, this is a great way to help other moms out!!

ReviewsSheRote said...

Nice to know what to look for.

Unknown said...

This is so scary! Thank you for sharing! It's so important to know what to look for! Glad everything worked out okay. :)

Melissa said...

Oh wow. Thank you so very much for sharing, I would have never put two & two together.

Jay | Life of Creed said...

Thanks for sharing! Glad everything worked out well for your family.

Mom Knows Best said...

He had an awful wake up. They had to knock him out twice with the strong stuff.

Cali Julz said...

Wow! Glad everything worked out. Great info! Thanks for sharing.

Ascending Butterfly said...

My poor cousin went through the exact same thing when we were that age, and now one of my nephews is undergoing the sleep study thing too. It's great that you shared the warning signs, because I'm sure other people wouldn't have put those symptoms together as a sign of tonsil or adenoid trouble.

Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly

Ellen said...

Lots of great information. I had no idea.

Yona Williams said...

Good information to know - I would have never known that a persistent cough could indicate something like this.

C.Mahan said...

I had mine removed when I was 9. My parents had no idea I had problems until I went to the dentist and he realized I was breathing out of my mouth.

The Minister's Wife said...

Great reference to have! I was not aware of what to look for exactly. We never dealt with this in our kids. Thanks!

Lexis @ BabyStuff.tips said...

That is scary! Thanks for posting. This would not be something I would have thought of if my son was having sleeping problems.

AiringMyLaundry said...

This is great to keep in mind. I had to get mine out as a child! So far, my kids seem to be okay.

Melissa said...

I haven’t had to deal with this yet, but this is good to know.

Unknown said...

So glad that he is feeling better! These are some great tips to keep an eye out for-thanks for sharing!

Abrah said...

Yep. Went through this. This are awesome tips!

Shelley Zurek -- Still Blonde after all these YEARS said...

out of my 4 kids, not one ever had their tonsils out. Nor did I. So many kids have though. Great tips.

Jasmine said...

these are great tips I don't have any expire with tonsils needing to be taken out!

tannawings said...

Years ago, at least around here, having your tonsils out was really common place. One of my brothers who had constant ear infections had the tonsils/adenoids at the same time. I want to say he was about 5 or 6. Later that year the rest of us were all done - myself and 2 brothers and were all in the same room. I even remember my youngest brother being in one of the crib type beds so he was maybe 3!
It seems Drs really hold off now for tonsils and adenoids these days but I am so glad your son got the surgery he needed. It sounds like you had advocate on that cough to get him referred out. I am sure he will feel so much better after having his corrected. He will be bouncing around in no time.
This was a really good post as are your others as it isn't as common of a procedure as it once was, so parents arent as familiar with it.

Delhifundos said...

I was looking for something similar but not able to find. Lucky me I saw your blog. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing your experience! We went through the same thing with my brother when he was younger - so much better to have them out!

Champayne said...

Thanks for this. I have always wondered. I'll bookmark this page for the fuutre.

Unknown said...

Oh no! No mother ever wants to have to go through this but it sounds like you did an amazing job! Good information if this ever comes up, thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

This was super helpful! My daughter does a lot of these things you mentioned. I hadn't even thought about her tonsils being a contributor.

Princess Quinn said...

Good thing the doctors have diagnosed what's causing his sleep apnea. I pray for his fast recovery.

Brittany said...

Oh no. Tonsils removed!?!? Glad he is able to get a good nights rest now!

Natalie Loves Beauty said...

Glad he can now get a more restful sleep! That must have been stressful for the entire family. Wishing him a quick recovery.

Unknown said...

Gah, tonsil removal is so hard. I had mine removed when I was young, it was tough but I sleep much better. Here's to hoping for a quick recovery! <3

styledecor1@gmail.com said...

When I was younger the protocol was laxed and the tonsils came out after a few sore throats. I loved the popsicles, but ooohhh my throat hurt. Luckily, docs don't rush into surgeries today and when it is done it is because it is best for the child.
I hope your son feels better soon!

Dana Brillante-Peller said...

My friends son had similar symptoms, but it turned out to be a head cold. It's scary how certain symptoms are present throughout.

casey said...

Wow, What an experience for such young boy. Wish you a quick recovery and all the best!

Katjaaa said...

Hope my son will not need it but If one day the doctor will tell me needs it I will not hesitate

Unknown said...

I need to have mine removed badly. I can't imagine my kiddos needing it too.

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