Function of Tonsils - Part of Our Immune System

win231

win231

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The main function of tonsils is to trap germs (bacteria and viruses) which you may breathe in. Proteins called antibodies produced by the immune cells in the tonsils help to kill germs and help to prevent throat and lung infections. That would include the Flu and Covid.
I don't know if doctors still routinely remove tonsils, but if they're not causing problems, it's a really stupid thing to do & may account for the lack of resistance we have to disease.
And we should trust everything doctors say?
 

I recall back in the day... 1970's and even into the 80's, when the removal of tonsils was a common thing, and in fact looking back on it now in retrospect, it was almost as if it was a sort of automatic medical practice the instant any sort of tonsil woes reared up. Inflamed tonsils, let's cut them out, a case of tonsillitis, let's get rid of them, tonsil stones, out the tonsils come.

By the 90's, I seem to remember a turning point in relation to this, and today I rarely (if ever) hear of stories anymore where people get their tonsils removed.

Same for gallbladder removal. Seemed there was a period where gallbladder removal was common, and even though the liver will still make enough bile to digest food, IMO, that adds extra strain on the liver.

Hubby and I still have our tonsils, as do our kids, but I know countless others who don't, and they're always shocked to learn that we haven't had ours out.

I agree, we were given what we were given for a purpose, and I believe our bodies function better with all.
 
win231 said:
The main function of tonsils is to trap germs (bacteria and viruses) which you may breathe in. Proteins called antibodies produced by the immune cells in the tonsils help to kill germs and help to prevent throat and lung infections. That would include the Flu and Covid.
I don't know if doctors still routinely remove tonsils, but if they're not causing problems, it's a really stupid thing to do & may account for the lack of resistance we have to disease.
And we should trust everything doctors say?
Click to expand...
I remember telling a surgeon to pound sand when he said he could take my tonsils out while I would be under for surgery to repair a hernia back in HS. I figured the tonsils wouldn't be there if they weren't good for something. Same thing for the appendix, which is something else I told him not to mess with. Back then, they were sure intent on yanking these things out at any opportunity. My though then was, and still is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. " Putting doctors up on some pedestal is just not smart.
 

JonDouglas said:
I remember telling a surgeon to pound sand when he said he could take my tonsils out while I would be under for surgery to repair a hernia back in HS. I figured the tonsils wouldn't be there if they weren't good for something. Same thing for the appendix, which is something else I told him not to mess with. Back then, they were sure intent on yanking these things out at any opportunity. My though then was, and still is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. " Putting doctors up on some pedestal is just not smart.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I (and most of my generation) had no say in such ritualistic mutilations as routine surgeries that cause harm.
We've all been paying the price for such stupidity & now we're expected to just follow every doctor's recommendation & "go with the program" like robots.
 
Tonsillectomies were recommended for my kids, but I said no. My younger son used to get a lot of ear-aches. When I asked his doctor what that had to do with tonsils he suggested drainage instead - those little tubes they put through the eardrums. I went to another doctor. Liam did wind up getting the ear tubes, and that did solve the problem, but all the kids still have tonsils, and they very, very rarely get sick.

Liam is now experiencing slight hearing loss, he says. He's 44. I imagine those ear tubes leave tiny scars, but I'm not sure.
 
I had my tonsils out at seven because I did get sick a lot with tonsillitis. Back then I trusted my family doctor. He delivered me, treated the whole family including grandma and grandpa. He made housecalls. He cared. Doctors did back then. Now they have no autonomy at all but are controlled by HMOs and big pharma. šŸ˜”
 
Had mine out (tonsils and adenoids) at about age 6 or 7. Both of my kids had theirs out when they were about that age. Never caused any problems. And yes, I still trust my doctors. They've all been to med school and stuff.
 
Buckeye said:
Had mine out (tonsils and adenoids) at about age 6 or 7. Both of my kids had theirs out when they were about that age. Never caused any problems. And yes, I still trust my doctors. They've all been to med school and stuff.
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Interesting that you have no comment on the absurd practice of removing tonsils.
 
Murrmurr said:
Tonsillectomies were recommended for my kids, but I said no. My younger son used to get a lot of ear-aches. When I asked his doctor what that had to do with tonsils he suggested drainage instead - those little tubes they put through the eardrums. I went to another doctor. Liam did wind up getting the ear tubes, and that did solve the problem, but all the kids still have tonsils, and they very, very rarely get sick.

Liam is now experiencing slight hearing loss, he says. He's 44. I imagine those ear tubes leave tiny scars, but I'm not sure.
Click to expand...
Heard tubes aren't that used/ necessary anymore. Know people who had them including children. The frustrating part is extreme caution against getting them wet ie no swimming for kids and very cautious showers for adults.

I've had severe swimmers ear and the medication is basically a variation of cough medicine with an expectorant which helps get the fluid out.

I go by the old adage one is never the same after a major injury or surgery ie those tube scars might indeed be an issue. Alot of tech has been used over the decades so were just finding out many of the longer term affects of these procedures and pills.
 
WhatInThe said:
Heard tubes aren't that used/ necessary anymore. Know people who had them including children. The frustrating part is extreme caution against getting them wet ie no swimming for kids and very cautious showers for adults.

I've had severe swimmers ear and the medication is basically a variation of cough medicine with an expectorant which helps get the fluid out.

I go by the old adage one is never the same after a major injury or surgery ie those tube scars might indeed be an issue. Alot of tech has been used over the decades so were just finding out many of the longer term affects of these procedures and pills.
Click to expand...
Those tiny wire contraptions that go in your blood vein comes to mind (IVC). My parents' doctor recommended one of those for my dad to prevent clots/embolisms, but he didn't have any sort of blockage or clotting issues, so I advised dad not to get it. He was 76, and he was very healthy, in great shape, still playing league baseball, in fact. Turns out those things punctured a few people's veins, and they bled to death internally.

They still use IVCs, but they're designed a little differently. Dad had a stroke several years later, but it was from an undetected build up of fluid on his brain. The IVC wouldn't have prevented it. They put in a brain shunt, but not till after he had the stroke.
 
I don't think doctors ever just remove tonsils any more for no particular reason, although they used to do that. I had mine out when I was 4; it was routine in those days.
 
I'm a war baby and I still have my tonsils although the majority of my schoolmates had theirs out in the early 50's.
 

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