Hi everyone.

My 3 yr old daughter has had VERY swollen red tonsils for about three weeks. She has had a sore throat, some neck pain and headache infrequently. She has no other symptoms...no fever. She has been to dr 4 times now. They have done two strep tests...both neg. They did a round of amoxil....just cause throat was so yucky and she was so painful...She finished amoxil today. They are considering doing a blood test to see if maybe she has mono. I have never known anyone suffering from mono but dr says it is usually accompainied with a high fever. My husband had tonsil/sore throat trouble and finally got them out when he was 26. She seems slightly better the last week but is still complaining daily that her throat hurts and tonsils are still swollen. She saw dr again today and they want me to bring her back next week if they are still swollen...any advice????

I am not a medical person, so my only advice is to keep her as comfortable as possible. Popsicles, yogurt, etc. They will probably want to remove them if they are still swollen when you bring her back. Keep us posted!

Have you seen a Ear, Nose, Throat doctor for her? If not, I suggest you make an appointment with them.

Tim was even younger than your daughter with that issue. Nothing worked to get those tonsils down, finally they were taken out. I beleive he was two or just turning two when that happend.

However, at the time we didn't know he had muscular dystrophy, so when he had the surgery, he caught pnuemonia. So he ended up in the hospital for a week. Otherwise, he was going home that day or the next. If we had known he had MD. I think the treatment /surgery may had been a bit different.

I don't know what type of insurance you have, but I suggest to go see a ENT if you have not already. Better to be safe, than sorry.

I don't know if you feel comfortable with this but make sure you stand up for what you feel needs to be done. Some docs don't want to give a referral because it means they can't figure it out. I've had to do this with a few of our families. I will go to the doc with a family and go right in the room and be the tough one if needed. Sometimes you just have to be strong and demanding. If she's had swollen tonsils for 3 weeks and amoxicillian didn't take care of it - the doc should have gone another route already and not the "lets wait and see" route. I would tell the doc when you go in next time that your child shoudln't have to go through this this long and you want a referral to a ENT doc. If they're shaking at giving you one - find a different doc!!! No doctor should refuse or even baulk at giving you a referral to a specialist.

Thanks everyone. I do have good insurance through the Sheriffs Office. I will DEFINETLY be taking her to an ENT dr next week. She woke up this morning whining about her throat first thing. Mornings and evenings seem to be the worst for it. I hate the idea of surgery, although I know its needed sometimes. She had tubes put in her ears at 10 months after nine consecutive ear infections and way too much antibiotics. She was also hospitalized with pnuemonia at 15 months old. We were in Shands for 6 days. I stayed the entire time...even slept in the 'big iron barred' crib with her. Thats an entire horror story of its own..the people you meet in hospitals!!! Thanks again for all the advice!! I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

I almost forgot to mention that she is snoring more than she used to since the tonsils swelled up. The dr asked me about that too on Friday. She, the dr, suggested if the snoring continued or got worse that she would advise getting a "sleep test" done on her. This would involve actually going to a 'sleep lab' in Gainesville. Any input on that???? I didn't even know we had sleep labs in G'ville !!!

In my opinion, if your daughter's snoring got worse when the tonsils swelled up (and stayed puffed up), it's a no brainer to me that you would want to consult an ENT. I don't understand where the Dr. is coming from wanting to send your daughter for a sleep test. It would be one thing if she continues to snore after having her tonsils removed and is uncomfortable at night. It's quite another to suggest that it's sleeping issues that are causing the snoring if her tonsils are blown up. Wouldn't anyone have trouble breathing properly with blown up tonsils? Just my opinion.

i agree Casnly...resolve the tonsil s issue first incase it is tje issue of snoring.

Yes there is a sleep study here in gainesville. Tim had one done last fall. Its actually at a hotel off of Archer road. It is really nice.

But first resolve the tonsil issue to see if it clears the snoring issue.

safe hugz!

I will resolve the tonsil issue before worrying about the snoring. I do believe she is snoring because of the tonsils. This is day one off amoxil and she already has one side of her tonsils getting red again. The swelling never went down all the way but they did seem a very little less swollen and much less red on the amoxil. I didn't give her any Tylenol or motrin all day just to see how she would do but she started whining about 30 minutes ago before her bath so I gave her a dose of Motrin because they are looking yucky red again on one side. I will be at the doctor again next week.

WHAT?? A sleep study??? NO WAY!!!! As I've experienced the swollen tonsils - you definately snore more when they are swollen.... I'm thinking you might need to find another doc for the general stuff if he seriously is thinking a sleep study with all the trouble she's had this winter with her tonsils...