Recurrent tonsillitis - is there an alternative to an operation?

Recurrent tonsillitis can be a real problem and I can understand your reluctance to have a tonsillectomy performed. In fact surgeons are doing fewer tonsillectomies nowadays, since there is a tendency for the tonsils to shrink with age.

Tonsils tend to reach a maximum size between three and five years and then start to shrink at seven. By the teenage years they are sometimes barely visible. People who get recurrent tonsillitis may not follow this pattern and the tonsils stay enlarged and may get pitted and craggy. Yet there is still always a good chance that they will regress. The correctly selected homeopathic medicine for the individual may speed that process up. My approach is to give a 30c potency of the selected medicine once a month for at least six months.

Baryta carbonica is useful for the youngster who typically has persistently enlarged tonsils and they often go on to develop an attack if they get wet, especially their feet. They always feel better when they lie down.
     
Belladonna is often thought of as a remedy for acute attacks, yet I have found it useful in this prophylactic capacity. It is good for children who get sudden attacks with high temperatures, dilated pupils and who get very flushed.
    
Hepar sulph helps those who end up with smelly breath, coated tonsils and who come out in sweats. They are usually sensitive types who can get quite irritable and crabby during a bout of tonsillitis.
    
Merc sol is another remedy that is useful when the breath gets smelly and there is discharge. But look closely at the tongue, because it tends to get coated and there will be teeth marks around the edges.
    
Lastly, Phytolacca is good when the tonsillitis produces real difficulty in swallowing. Typically pain shoots into the ears. The back of the throat may get ulcerated.

Keith Souter MB ChB FRCGP MFHom MIPsiMed DipMedAc has a private holistic medicine practice and is a newspaper columnist as well as the author of Homeopathy for the Third Age and Homeopathy: Heart & Soul.