Tonsillitis - Symptoms

Tonsillitis most commonly affects children between preschool and mid-teenage years.

Common signs and symptoms of tonsillitis are as follows:

• red, swollen tonsils
• white or yellow coating on tonsils
• patches on tonsils
• sore throat
• pain while swallowing
• fever
• an itchy throat or a muffled voice
• bad breath
• headache
• enlarged, tender glands (lymph nodes) in the neck
• possible irritability or a poor appetite among children too young to express themselves

There are two types of tonsillitis:

1. recurrent tonsillitis, in which multiple episodes of acute tonsillitis occur in a year, with each episode lasting for 4 to 10 days.
2. chronic tonsillitis, in which episodes last longer than acute tonsillitis, with other symptoms like chronic sore throat, bad breath and tender lymph nodes in the neck.