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What Causes Swollen Tonsil And Blood Behind Uvula?
I had some relentless upper respiratory infection for two weeks and felt o.k. for a few days. Then 3 days ago it starts to hurt every time I swallow. I looked in my mouth with the pen light and my right tonsil is slightly swollen though the left seems fine. Throat is raw and last night there was blood in the back of the the throat behind the uvula. I do not see any white spots. We do have issues with the heat during the winter and I do get a lot of nosebleeds at night. We do use a humidifier which helps some. Today I am only eating soups or jello to give my throat a bit of relief. I am 36, and two sons ages 6&7. They can spread quite a bit of germs. Also, my ears do not hurt. Should I be concerned with strep or tonsilitis? Is there anything I can do at home to soothe the swallowing?
Wed, 18 Feb 2015
Hello and welcome to HCM,
One sided tonsillar enlargement is unlikely to be due to tonsillitis or inflammation of tonsils because tonsillitis usually causes bilateral tonsillar enlargement.
Collection of blood behind tonsil can be due to trauma leading to hematoma formation or some other cause.
The exact cause of bleeding has to be found out by clinical assessment of the throat by an ENT specialist.
One sided tonsillar enlargement can occur in case of malignancies also.
Thus clinical assessment and surgical removal and histopathological examination of the enlarged tonsil needs to be done.
Consult your ENT specialist for further work up.
thanks and take care
DR Shailja Puri
One sided tonsillar enlargement is unlikely to be due to tonsillitis or inflammation of tonsils because tonsillitis usually causes bilateral tonsillar enlargement.
Collection of blood behind tonsil can be due to trauma leading to hematoma formation or some other cause.
The exact cause of bleeding has to be found out by clinical assessment of the throat by an ENT specialist.
One sided tonsillar enlargement can occur in case of malignancies also.
Thus clinical assessment and surgical removal and histopathological examination of the enlarged tonsil needs to be done.
Consult your ENT specialist for further work up.
thanks and take care
DR Shailja Puri
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