All about Tonsils

Everybody's got them (well, unless YOU had them removed), but they're not really a part of the body that we think about much. They just hang around in the back of our mouths and do whatever it is that tonsils are supposed to do. But, lately, Noah's tonsils have been the subject of many conversations at our house.

A few years ago I talked to his pediatrician about his snoring. Basically, my concern was that someday no one would want to be his college roommate because of his horrible snoring! He checked them, said there were large, but a lot of times they do shrink.

Fast forward to a month ago when we took him in for a bad cold. The doctor looked at his throat and his tonsils were so huge (they actually touch each other when he opens his mouth) that she thought he might have strep. He didn't have strep, but she said to have them rechecked at his 4 year well visit, but her thinking was that they're too big and they'll need to be removed. Last week, he had an ear infection and the pediatrician he saw this time, said that we need to get him to a ENT doctor ASAP to have them looked at. Her personal opinion is that they're going to have to come out.

They also told us to pay attention to how he sleeps - to see if he gasps and/or startles during his sleep -- which he does. (In between loud snores). This could be sleep apnea and if left untreated could mean some problems down the road. So that's where we are. We'll see what the specialist has to say, but from the people that I've talked to, my non-professional opinion is that they're going to need to come out. So it will be 2 weeks worth of popsicles and Jell-O for Noah.