I’ve received a number of requests to cover tonsil stones. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this subject would be prevalent enough to interest all my readers.
Indeed, some people are prone to tonsil stones, while others aren’t.
Folks prone to this condition have often experienced repetitive occurrences of tonsillitis, met with repeated antibiotics, of course. That fact alone leads me to ask the question: Could tonsil stones be an iatrogenic disease? Meaning, could drugs of commerce (specifically antibiotics over-prescribed for throat infections) contribute to a seeming predisposition to developing tonsil stones?
I’m not saying it does. I don’t know. However, it’s an interesting question to consider. I am reminded of Dr. William Osler’s instructive quote:
“The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.”
Now, before you dismiss that quote as simply the rumination of some random outlier, keep in mind that Dr. Osler was a founding father of Johns Hopkins! It’s hard to think of a more conventional source to have exposed this consequential principle.
Write it down, my friends, in a place where you'll see it over and over. It's that important of a message.
However, whether tonsil stones are iatrogenic or just the “luck of the draw,” they are formed by calcified bacteria and debris within the tonsil folds.
Homeopathy often doesn’t need to identify the etiology. When tonsil stones are discovered (often accompanied by throat or ear pain and halitosis), Hepar sulphuris calcareum (also known as Hepar sulph) is generally employed in the 30th potency, twice daily, until the stones are pretty much gone. Be mindful that the medicine may require an elongated period of time to complete the job.
I know that sounds vague, and I don’t mean to be. It’s just that this condition can sometimes take months to resolve. It’s essential for the sufferer to observe, observe, observe to ensure they have chosen the correct medicine. As long as we observe improvement in any of the three “magic markers,” we know we’re on the right track.
What are the three magic markers, you may ask? Well, I teach more about them in my Gateway to Practical Homeopathy®: A Guided Study Group Curriculum. But in short:
- Once the remedy is given, the first marker is that the symptoms appear with less intensity. In other words, on a scale of 1 to 10, what began as an 8 has been reduced to, say, a 6, then to a 4, and so on.
- The second magic marker is a shorter duration of the presenting event. For example, if vomiting is the issue, the episodes will not last as long. So, though the person may continue to vomit over the course of a few days, the time actually suffering is shortened.
- The third and final magic marker is larger increments of time between each event. For example, if someone is vomiting every hour, then every three hours after taking the remedy, it is considered a noticeable improvement.
For tonsil stones, we would watch for them to get smaller, not be as hard, or simply be easier to release. If we observe any movement toward those goals, we can confidently assume we have determined the correct medicine and continue until very much better. Usually what I witness over time is a complete resolution of the condition.
Once there’s improvement — even the tiniest bit — the medicine is then given its due time to act fully. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.
If a sufferer is considering a tonsillectomy — or as I like to call it, killing a mosquito with a bazooka — I would encourage them to read my blog post, I Want My Body Parts Back, to learn about my experience with tonsils.
It’s one more reason my mission is to pass on the good news of homeopathy!
Warmly,
P.S. Tired of going it alone? Let me connect you with like-minded individuals traveling the same path. Consider becoming one of my Mighty Members. For the price of a fancy coffee, you can have access to a safe, private discussion platform to compare notes with other homeopathy devotees at various places in their education. Some of my Academy of Practical Homeopathy® and Mastery™ graduates are among the ranks, and some folks are brand-new to this paradigm.
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This may be an odd comment, but sometimes holding the remedy or smelling it between doses seems to help. Is it safe to do this?
Why would it be unsafe?
Unsafe it the wrong word. Does smelling the remedy do anything?
I have had tonsil stones off and on as long as I can remember. To my knowledge I’ve never had tonsillitis but I have had my fair share of antibiotics. I also didn’t realize that the tonsils connected into the lymph system until I looked at the graph. The lymph nodes in my neck do some to stay enlarged and get very swollen and tender when I get sick. Maybe there is a connection? Thank you for the information!
Certainly there’s a connection and not surprisingly Hepar sulph is specific for conditions of the lymphs.
Would this protocol also apply to salivary stones?
This is very interesting. Thanks for writing on this, Joette. I have noted over the years in my large volume Boericke Materia Medica the reference of several different remedies to a modality of “hawking up small balls of cheese-like substance of foul odor”. I identified and remembered this happening to myself even as a small child. Now in my late forties, I’ve attributed it to probably poor function of the lymphatic system, of which the adenoids are a huge part. Seems like these would be the waste product of this. This symptom has completely disappeared since changing to a Weston Price style diet 15 years ago. I can’t remember the last time I had those nasty tonsil stones. A lymphatic cleanse (physical and supplemental) could possibly be a good adjunct therapy to Hepar Sulph for some folks.
You’re not the only one who has associated diet with this condition. As you know, it’s profoundly influential in many conditions but I would consider supplements superfluous. I’d simply use homeopathy and diet.
I didn’t suffer tonsillitis as a child but had asthma, bronchitis & some eczema. I worked out that my tonsil stones were a consequence of having even small amounts of milk (except for fermented products like sour cream or yoghurt which it appeared I could tolerate). However, if I use raw or organic milk products it no longer seems to be an issue, so maybe tonsil stones are an allergic issue?
Allergic or food intolerance can cause many such conditions.
Hmmm my husband and children get them but do not get sore throats, sore or inflamed tonsils nor are they (nor have been) on antibiotics. They just find one that’s because dislodged or they feel like they’ve got a piece of food in their throat and can cough It out. Tonsils stones are one of the worst smells. I wonder if hepar sulph would still help if they don’t experience soreness ( throat or tonsils) ? Would it stop their body from making them?
The point of homeopathy is to uproot a condition regardless of my pondering on how or why.
I also have a problem with my lymphatic system and had the occasional tonsil stone, even as a child. Since starting homeopathy they seem to have disappeared but I don’t know which remedy cleared them. Hepar sulph was one of the remedies although I only took a couple of doses. Since I now have lymphedema, I’ll take it again. Thank you so much for posting this article, Joette.
One doesn’t necessarily need to take a homeopathic medicine numerous times for it to act.
My 5 year old son has had terrible breath for years. I just checked his tonsils and they’re covered in tonsil stones. I am going to start Hepar sulph as recommended. However, I’m concerned on how I will track progress as it was extremely difficult for me to even get a very brief look at them as I couldn’t see them unless pushing down his tongue with a popsicle stick which caused him to gag pretty badly. Any ideas?
Halitosis is an indicator.
Ok thank you. The kids have had sore throats so now I’m not sure if the “white spots” are just infection or whether they have been what’s causing the bad breath for so long. If they go away when the sore throat goes away, is there another idea you’d have for his bad breath? Thank you so much.
Why not just see what happens and ask questions from there depending on what happens next?
Will do! Thank you!
I mean Joette, not Jacqueline, Please forgive me and correct my post, if possible!
No problem. I removed it.