Have you ever looked in the mirror, opened your mouth wide, and said “ahh”? If you look at the very back of your throat, you might see two pink lumps on either side. These are your tonsils. While they help your immune system fight germs, they can sometimes cause ongoing problems.
For some people, frequent infections can lead to repeated sore throats, missed school or work, and constant discomfort. When this occurs, a physician may recommend removing the tonsils through a common surgical procedure called a tonsillectomy. Before surgery, many families check their insurance coverage to understand what costs are included. After the procedure, proper healing often depends on rest, hydration and balanced nutrition intake to support recovery.
Overview
Why do people have their tonsils removed? This comes down to two main problems. The first is that the tonsils become repeatedly infected, causing severe sore throats that disrupt a person’s daily life. The second problem is that the tonsils enlarge to the point that they obstruct a person’s breathing while they sleep, leading to dangerous snoring and exhaustion. Removal is a common and safe way to address both issues permanently and help patients return to a healthy, normal life.
What is a tonsillectomy?
The medical term for removing the tonsils is tonsillectomy. It is among the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide. During this procedure, a surgeon removes the two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of your throat. You are completely asleep under general anesthesia during the surgery, so you do not feel anything while it is happening. The doctor does not need to make any cuts on the outside of your skin. They reach in through your open mouth and use specialized instruments to carefully cut, burn or shave the tonsillar tissue away.
Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that while it used to be a surgery almost exclusively for young children, many adults are now getting the procedure done to solve long-term throat problems and sleep issues. It’s usually an outpatient procedure, meaning you can go home the same day.
What’s happening in your body during tonsillitis
Your tonsils are part of your body’s immune system. Think of them as the security guards for your throat. Because they are located right where you breathe and swallow, their job is to catch germs, like viruses and bacteria, before they can travel further down into your lungs or stomach. This helps your body build antibodies to fight them off.
However, sometimes these security guards fail at their job. Instead of just catching and destroying germs, the tonsils become infected by the germs themselves. They swell, turn bright red and sometimes develop painful white or yellow spots. When this happens, the tonsils stop protecting you. They actually become the source of the sickness, trapping bacteria deep in their pockets and making you miserable.
Causes of tonsillitis
Several factors can lead to tonsillitis. The most common cause is a simple viral infection, such as those that cause the common cold or the flu. Another major cause is a bacterial infection. The most famous of these is the bacteria that causes strep throat. If a person gets strep throat multiple times a year, the tonsils become permanently damaged and enlarged.
Furthermore, some people suffer from tonsil stones. These are hard, white, foul-smelling lumps that form when food, dead cells and bacteria get trapped in the tonsils’ tiny holes and harden like little rocks. The Cleveland Clinic explains that chronic tonsil stones are a major reason adults finally decide to have their tonsils surgically removed, as the stones cause severe bad breath and constant throat irritation that nothing else can cure.
Health risks and complications
Ignoring bad tonsils can lead to serious health problems. The biggest risk is breathing-related. When tonsils become permanently enlarged, they take up too much space in the back of the throat. When you lie down to sleep, your muscles relax, and these giant tonsils can fall backward and completely block your airway. This condition is called obstructive sleep apnea. It causes you to stop breathing dozens of times every night, as the National Institutes of Health explains.
According to the Mayo Clinic, untreated sleep apnea puts a terrible strain on your heart and can eventually lead to high blood pressure. In young children, this lack of oxygen and poor sleep can cause them to grow slowly, perform poorly in school and display severe behavioral problems that look a lot like ADHD.
A tonsillectomy “generally results in easier recovery for children, less need for pain medication and a lower risk of bleeding after surgery, which is one of the more common adverse events that can happen,” says Emily Boss, who was named director of pediatric otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in March 2024.
Another serious risk of ignoring infected tonsils is the development of an abscess, a pocket of pus that forms behind the tonsil. This is a medical emergency that can spread the infection deep into the neck and chest if the tonsils are not treated or removed promptly.
What to do about tonsillitis
Before a medical expert decides to remove your tonsils, they will try simpler treatments to address the problem. If a virus causes your sore throat, your doctor will usually advise you to rest, drink plenty of warm fluids and take over-the-counter pain medicine until your body fights off the illness on its own.
If the doctor tests your throat and finds bacteria, such as strep, they will prescribe a course of antibiotics. You have to take all of the medicine for it to work completely and kill the germs. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that for tonsil stones, you might be advised to gargle with warm salt water daily to help flush the debris from the pockets.
Surgery is only considered when these simple fixes stop working entirely, or when the infections keep coming back month after month despite taking all the right medication.
When to see a doctor
Dr. Justus Rabach, MD, explains, “You should make an appointment with an ear, nose and throat doctor if your throat is ruining your daily life. A good rule of thumb is to see a specialist if you have had at least seven severe throat infections in one year, or five infections in a row for two years.”
You also need to see a doctor right away if your child snores loudly, gasps for air during sleep or pauses breathing while asleep. Finally, if you have a sore throat that makes it completely impossible to swallow water, or if you are drooling because you cannot swallow your own spit due to the swelling, you must go to the emergency room immediately.
What to wear to a tonsillectomy?
On the day of your surgery, dress for maximum comfort. You should wear very loose, baggy clothing. The absolute best choice is a shirt that buttons up the front or zips down the middle. After the surgery, your throat will be incredibly sore, and your neck might be stiff. You absolutely do not want to struggle to pull a tight T-shirt or a heavy sweater over your head, risking a bump to your face or neck.
You should also wear slip-on shoes or simple slippers so you do not have to bend over to tie laces while you are feeling dizzy and tired from the anesthesia medication. You must also remember to leave all your jewelry, watches and contact lenses at home, as you are not allowed to wear any metal or accessories in the operating room.
How painful is tonsil removal?
It is very important to be honest and prepared about the recovery process. Removing your tonsils is extremely painful, and the recovery is notoriously difficult, especially for teenagers and adults. While young children tend to recover and resume eating normally within a few days, adults typically experience a severe sore throat for up to two weeks.
The pain often radiates up the nerves into the ears, making it feel like you have a terrible earache and a sore throat. You will need to take prescription pain medication around the clock to manage the discomfort. You will also be restricted to a strict diet of soft, cool foods like applesauce, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and popsicles.
You must avoid anything crunchy, sharp or acidic, like potato chips, toast or orange juice, because these items can scratch the surgical scabs and cause dangerous, heavy bleeding. The single most important rule of tonsillectomy recovery is to drink water continuously. It will hurt a lot to swallow, but if your throat dries out, the thick scabs will crack, the pain will become unbearable and you will start bleeding. Taking small, frequent sips of ice water every ten minutes will keep the scabs moist, soothe the burning and help you heal faster.
Does removing tonsils stop snoring?
If your snoring is caused by giant tonsils that physically block your windpipe, removing them opens the airway completely. According to PubMed Central, a tonsillectomy is highly effective in treating obstructive sleep apnea and severe snoring in pediatric patients. The child will often breathe quietly and stop snoring on the very first night after the surgery.
For adults, the surgery is also very helpful, though some may have other factors contributing to their snoring, such as being overweight or having a floppy soft palate. In those cases, removing the tonsils can significantly improve symptoms, but the patient might still need additional lifestyle changes or a CPAP machine even after the tonsils are removed.
Bottom line
People get their tonsils removed primarily to prevent chronic, severe throat infections and to treat sleep apnea caused by enlarged tissue that blocks the airway. While the surgery itself is quick, the recovery is quite painful and requires a strict diet of soft foods and constant hydration to prevent bleeding complications. For those suffering from chronic illness or poor sleep, removing these problematic immune glands dramatically improves their overall health and daily quality of life.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours does it take to remove tonsils?
The actual surgery is very fast and typically takes about thirty to forty-five minutes.
What does tonsillectomy breath smell like?
Your breath will smell very bad, similar to rotting meat or severe morning breath, because thick, wet scabs form at the back of your throat as it heals.
Will my voice change after tonsil removal?
Your voice might sound slightly higher or less muffled after you heal because there is suddenly more open space in the back of your throat for sound to travel through.
Citations
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Tonsillectomy. www.hopkinsmedicine.org. Published July 19, 2022. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/tonsillectomy
Cleveland Clinic. Tonsillitis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments. Cleveland Clinic. Published July 8, 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21146-tonsillitis
National Center for Biotechnology Information, U. S. National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville. Enlarged Tonsils and Adenoids: Overview. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536881/
Mayo Clinic. Tonsillectomy – Mayo Clinic. Mayoclinic.org. Published 2019. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/tonsillectomy/about/pac-20395141
John Hopkins Medicine. Strep Throat. Hopkinsmedicine.org. Published March 22, 2023. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/strep-throat
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Better Sleep for Children with Breathing Issues. Hopkinsmedicine.org. Published 2024. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/2024/08/better-sleep-for-children-with-breathing-issues
Dhindsa A, Loomba A, Garg S, Kaur H, Jain N, Dhindsa P. Oral subcutaneous midline leiomyomatous hamartoma presenting as congenital incisive papilla overgrowth in a toddler. Contemporary Clinical Dentistry. 2017;8(1):148. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/ccd.ccd_249_1