Salivary Stones

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

Hey everyone!

Last fall, before I was diagnosed, I had salivary stones. I passed them through openings in my tonsils. They were disgusting--like sour, milky tasting white pieces--kind of like what the nuts look like on top of peanut butter cookies. Could this, by any chance, be related to celiac disease?

Thanks,

[catfish]

I've heard these called "tonsil lithes" which basically means tonsil stones. Apparently some people get them from time to time and others don't. My understanding is as follows; it has to do with the shape and condition of your tonsils- some people have small, smooth tonsils and other people have very large or deeply scarred/wrinkled tonsils- mine are large and scarred. All that surface area provides places for various types of bacteria to grow, and this is what causes these lithes to form. As far as I know they don't actually cause any physical harm. Frequent gargling with antiseptic mouthwash reduces the formation of these lithes. They also occur more if you have an infection, such as the kind that can create increased sinus drainage.

[3boyzmom]

Did a search on google for these... first looking at salivary stones... salivary stones is not what you are describing. What you are describing is called:

Tonsiloliths (tonsil stones)

People with chronic sinusitis and post nasal drip may develop tonsiloliths, or tiny, white, foul smelling stones which lodge in the tonsilar crypts.

[gf4life]

My husband had these and after 5 years of pestering him about his breath (it got so bad I couldn't sleep in the same room with him!) he had his tonsils removed. It is fine now. My 5 year old daughter has the same problem and is having her tonsils out next month (hopefully. keep your fingers crossed, since her allergies keep interfering with the surgery date!). Hers is nowhere near as bad as my husbands, but it is so much easier on her to get them out when she is little than to wait until she is older. It was horrible for my husband to get his out in his mid-30's.

I don't know that it is related to celiac disease, but our family ENT said it certainly seems genetic since this problem tends to run in families.

God bless,

Mariann