Tonsillitis

The tonsils are small “Lymph nodes” in the back of the throat. “Tonsillitis” is a term used to describe conditions when the tonsils are inflamed or infected. In the normal pet they function to kill germs that enter the body through the mouth. Sometimes the tonsils become chronically infected leading to recurrent sore throats. The mouth of dogs and cats normally contains many types of bacteria. These bacteria do NOT cause any problem, until the pet is stressed in some way, allowing the bacteria to multiply. Since most cases of tonsillitis in dogs are bacterial (usually streptococcus), antibiotics are routinely used in treatment. Human sore throats are usually caused by a virus, and therefore antibiotics are not often used. Tonsillitis may spread among your pets, and occasionally to man, but this is not generally a problem.

Pets with tonsillitis often have a fever, eat poorly, swallow with difficulty, retch up white frothy mucus, or have a mucus, jelly-like bowel movement. Response to antibiotic therapy is often slow and it is common for antibiotics to be needed for several weeks. Cases of recurring tonsillitis may require a tonsillectomy to solve the problem. Since the tonsils in a “normal” animal help fight disease, we do NOT recommend removal, except in chronic cases which seem to flare up several times a year.