Have you ever had a foul, rotten-egg smell in your throat that won’t go away?
Anyone who has ever had a tonsil stone can attest to the fact that they are not pleasant. It’s hard to breathe, it feels like there is something stuck in your throat, and they smell really, really bad.
Don’t panic; I’ll let you know why your throat smells so bad and let you know how to cure it.
Tonsil stones smell so bad because they house anaerobic bacteria that produce volatile sulfur compounds which smell like rotten eggs. If you want the smell to go away, you can remove your tonsil stones by gargling a vinegar solution or peroxide and adding probiotic-rich foods like yogurt to your diet.
So, if you want to do something about your tonsil stones and their foul smell, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll discuss why tonsil stones smell bad and walk you through how you can reduce the smell and remove your tonsil stones.
What Are Tonsil Stones and What Causes Them?
Tonsils stones are little white nuggets that form inside your tonsils.
They start to grow when you eat food and bacteria gets caught in the folds of your skin, and your body can produce them on its own! This stuff sticks around for a while before it turns into what I like to call “tonsil rocks” or “throat pearls.”
Eventually this sludge will turn hard enough to calcify – so if you want them gone then you’re going to have to be proactive!
Since food and bacteria that get caught in the folds cause tonsil stones, tonsilloliths most commonly grow in the crevices where your tonsils and adenoids meet your throat.
If your tonsils are inflamed, already infected, or swollen, it’s more likely you’ll develop tonsil stones. That’s because swollen tonsils have more wrinkles and crevices where food and bacteria can accumulate.
These tiny abscesses are usually only a couple of millimeters wide, so it can be challenging to find them. Still, one of the most noticeable symptoms of tonsil stones is the rotten-egg smell of sulfur.
So, if you have terrible, incurably bad-smelling breath that you can’t get rid of through brushing, you just might have a tonsil stone.
Halitosis
, which is the scientific name for bad breath, is often caused by volatile sulfur compounds. Volatile sulfur compounds are foul-smelling gases released by anaerobic bacteria.
Halitosis is common in people who have tonsil stones. That’s because the bacteria that produce volatile sulfur compounds thrive in the crevices of your throat, where food, mucus, and other bacteria have already built up.
Researchers leading a recent study found that 75% of children and adults with volatile sulfur compounds in their breath had undiagnosed tonsil stones. So, that rotten-egg smell in your breath comes from bacteria growing in and around your tonsil stone.
How To Treat Tonsil Stones
No one wants their breath to smell like raw sulfur, and if you have tonsil stones, it may feel impossible to get rid of the foul smell and taste in your throat.
Still, there are several ways that you can fight halitosis and potentially remove your tonsil stones in the process.
I have covered this topic extensively on my blog, but here are a few quick tips to get you started.
Gargle With Peroxide, Saltwater, Mouthwash, or Vinegar
If you suspect that you have a tonsil stone, the first thing you could do is gargle with salt water, hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar, or antiseptic mouthwash.
Check out a tonsil stone dissolver recipe that has freed many people from the misery of tonsil stones.
Rinsing your throat will kill some of the anaerobic bacteria that grow on your tonsil stones and soften the growth.
Since these bacteria cause a foul odor, killing them with salty, acidic, and oxygen-based rinsing agents can significantly reduce the bad smell and potentially even remove the stone.
When you rinse your mouth, gargle the liquid deep in your throat.
The liquid will kill the anaerobic bacteria that cause the bad smell and, hopefully, soften and dislodge the stone tucked away in the crevices of your tonsils.
Rinsing with one or more of these liquids can also help you prevent developing tonsil stones in the future. So, you may want to gargle more frequently if you wish to avoid tonsil stones and bad breath in the future.
Change Up Your Diet
Are you hoping to prevent or remove tonsil stones?
If so, avoid foods like spinach, peppercorns, sesame seeds, popcorn, and other foods that can easily become stuck in your mouth. Check out my article on tonsil stone diet tips here.
Other things to avoid are alcohol, sugary foods, caffeine, and carbonated beverages. These foods and drinks can dry out your throat and feed the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath and tonsil stones in the first place.
Replacing these foods with probiotic-rich foods like yogurt and kefir and soft foods like potatoes, pasta, and soups can help your tonsils eliminate the bacteria from your throat.
These foods can also help push out the tonsil stones from the folds in your skin.
Carrots, onions, and apples are also great for removing tonsil stones and reducing the bad smell since they kill the anaerobic bacteria that grow around the stones. Vinegar also breaks down and softens tonsil stones, making them easier to remove.
Use Essential Oils
Some essential oils such as lemongrass, myrrh, cinnamon, and tea tree oil contain anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial properties that make them excellent for preventing and treating tonsil stones.
Whether you have a tonsil stone, have already removed it, or just want to avoid them, adding a drop of these essential oils to your toothbrush when you brush your teeth can help fight the anaerobic bacteria that give tonsil stones their foul smell.
In fact, there is a type of essential oil known as “oregano with clove” that was designed specifically to kill anaerobic bacteria and fungi.
Remove Your Tonsil Stone
We hope to never have to get to this point since prevention is much better than cure, but sometimes tonsil stones can form on their own and need to be removed before they start to stink.
Most of the time, you can remove your tonsil stone at home with ease. Still, it’s crucial to be careful with your tonsils since they’re extremely sensitive and prone to rupture.
To remove your tonsil stones, use a tonsil stone pick or water flosser on a very low setting, but never put too much pressure on your tonsils, even if you cannot get the stone out. Check out my article on the best tonsil stone removal tools.
You can also use a cotton swab too.
If you’re using a cotton swab, gently put pressure on your tonsil around the stone, like you’re popping a pimple.
Next, press the swab behind the white stone, pushing it towards the front of your mouth so that it does not fall down your throat. Usually, this method will do the trick, but if it doesn’t, gargle with vinegar and try again later.
If you find that your gag reflex is too strong for this method, you may want to use a mouth-numbing spray Chloraseptic before you go in with the swab. I’ve also written about other methods here.
After you remove your tonsil stones, it’s crucial to treat the area with vinegar, peroxide, or saltwater for several days.
Even if yours came out painlessly, tonsil stones might leave traces of bacteria in your mouth or open, sore areas on your tonsils that need to be kept clean if you don’t want to develop more tonsil stones down the road.
Rinse your throat two or three times a day for at least three days.
See a Doctor
If your tonsil stones keep coming back, if they’re large, or if your tonsils seem overly irritated or swollen, it might be time to visit your doctor.
Sometimes, tonsil stones can cause infection, and the infection can spread to the rest of your tonsil. Usually, symptoms of tonsil infection include ear pain, large tonsil stones, pain in your throat or tonsils, and difficulty breathing.
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic to fight infection, an antihistamine to reduce inflammation, or remove the tonsil stones with ionized saltwater.
In extreme cases, your doctor may recommend a tonsillectomy or laser cryptolysis, which reduces the number of crevices and folds in your tonsils.
Final Thoughts
If you have tonsil stones, you probably want to get rid of that sulfur odor from your throat, and there are many ways to do so.
Gargling and using essential oils are two great ways to freshen your breath, fight infections, and kill all of the bacteria that cause the foul smell.
Removing your tonsil stones and treating them is another sure-fire way to get rid of the smell. So, if you want to be kissable and fresh again, try some of these cures and get ready to breathe easy.