Having tonsils out as a child increases risk of infections and lung complaints for life, finds study
Study found heightened susceptibility to 28 different types of disease, including parasitic infections, skin ailments and eye complaints
Alex Matthews-King
Health Correspondent
Tuesday 26 June 2018 16:55 comments
Tonsillectomy surgery has declined but it is still among the most common childhood procedures
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Having your tonsils out as a child makes you three times as likely to suffer from common colds and other respiratory infections, and may leave you more vulnerable to a host of other infectious diseases, a study has concluded.
The common childhood removal of the tonsils or adenoids in the throat also increased the chances of allergic conditions and skin and eye diseases as well, Australian researchers found.
This is likely to be because the tissues play an important role in the early immune system, detecting and blocking the invasion of bacteria and viruses into the lungs and throat.
They are often removed if they’re obstructing easy breathing, or where they are causing repeated bouts of tonsillitis and middle-ear infections.
But the authors of this latest study say alternatives to surgery should be considered because of the increased risk of all types of infection.
Your Good Health: Tonsil removal increases risk of respiratory infections
Dr. Keith Roach / Times Colonist
NOVEMBER 5, 2020 06:00 AM
Dear Dr. Roach:
I am a 72-year-old woman who is blessed with good health. In my adolescent years, I occasionally got strep throat, but a respected doctor of internal medicine (later head of a medical school) cautioned my mother against ever having my tonsils taken out. The general advice of the day was to have them removed, but he said that the tonsils are the first line of defense against more serious infections — that they serve to filter out bad microbes that invade the body and a mild sore throat can be proof that the tonsils are doing their job.
I wonder, when doctors or researchers are putting together their questionnaires to attempt to determine why one person has certain symptoms of a disease but not others, or why certain people are more vulnerable to an infectious disease when others aren’t, is the question ever asked if patients still have their tonsils? It strikes me as a simple question that could possibly lead to a deeper analysis of the body’s defense mechanisms.
S.J.W.
Long-term followup of children who have had their tonsils removed shows approximately double the risk of developing respiratory infections in the subsequent 10-30 years. Removing the adenoids (typically done at the same time) increased the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease.
As you note, far fewer of today’s children have their tonsils out compared with the almost routine tonsillectomy of years ago. I agree with you that more research is called for. However, I will note that during an exam, lack of tonsils and adenoids is usually quite apparent, and enlarged tonsils certainly are.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Having your tonsils out as a child makes you three times as likely to suffer from common colds and other respiratory infections, and may leave you more vulnerable to a host of other infectious diseases, a study has concluded.
The common childhood removal of the tonsils or adenoids in the throat also increased the chances of allergic conditions and skin and eye diseases as well, Australian researchers found.
This is likely to be because the tissues play an important role in the early immune system, detecting and blocking the invasion of bacteria and viruses into the lungs and throat.
They are often removed if they’re obstructing easy breathing, or where they are causing repeated bouts of tonsillitis and middle-ear infections.
But the authors of this latest study say alternatives to surgery should be considered because of the increased risk of all types of infection.
Your Good Health: Tonsil removal increases risk of respiratory infections
Dr. Keith Roach / Times Colonist
NOVEMBER 5, 2020 06:00 AM
Dear Dr. Roach:
I am a 72-year-old woman who is blessed with good health. In my adolescent years, I occasionally got strep throat, but a respected doctor of internal medicine (later head of a medical school) cautioned my mother against ever having my tonsils taken out. The general advice of the day was to have them removed, but he said that the tonsils are the first line of defense against more serious infections — that they serve to filter out bad microbes that invade the body and a mild sore throat can be proof that the tonsils are doing their job.
I wonder, when doctors or researchers are putting together their questionnaires to attempt to determine why one person has certain symptoms of a disease but not others, or why certain people are more vulnerable to an infectious disease when others aren’t, is the question ever asked if patients still have their tonsils? It strikes me as a simple question that could possibly lead to a deeper analysis of the body’s defense mechanisms.
S.J.W.
Long-term followup of children who have had their tonsils removed shows approximately double the risk of developing respiratory infections in the subsequent 10-30 years. Removing the adenoids (typically done at the same time) increased the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease.
As you note, far fewer of today’s children have their tonsils out compared with the almost routine tonsillectomy of years ago. I agree with you that more research is called for. However, I will note that during an exam, lack of tonsils and adenoids is usually quite apparent, and enlarged tonsils certainly are.
