Best natural home remedies for treating your tonsil stones

If you’ve noticed swelling or discomfort at the back of your throat then you might have encountered tonsil stones infection. Even though they are pretty small and can therefore seem insignificant, their symptoms can get really annoying, to the point where they’re putting a big damper on your life.

This is the primary reason why people desperately want them removed and want them removed for good. But this is easier said than done. The continual stone removal will take a while to get use to and you may have to change your daily eating, drinking and brushing habits to make sure the infection doesn’t come back.

So, depending on how you go about your everyday, this could be quite tough. However, there’s no need to for you to take regular trips to the dentist or see a nutritionist about your diet. You can do all the removal at home yourself and all the diet changes you need to make are done with common household foods.

So even though it might be tough, at least it can be done in the convenience of your own house.

Below I outlined some of the best things you can do at home to both remove your tonsil stones and prevent them from returning. You don’t need to take advantage of all of them, just pick a small few and commit to incorporating them into your everyday.

That way you can almost ensure that tonsil stones will be at the back of your mind permanently.

Removal of tonsil stones

The following methods are most effective at removing your tonsil stones instead of preventing them. So if you’ve just noticed a couple of the bastards pop up then you might want to try a couple of them.

Q-tip

This is probably the most commonly used removal method of them all. Considering just about everyone has these sitting around somewhere, I’m sure most of your reading this will be able to give it a go.

Given their size and shape, the q-tip makes removing the stones much easier than using your finger. You’ll be able to see what you’re doing much clearer and you won’t need to reach as far into the back of your throat, making you less likely to gag.

What you do is wet the end of the q-tip (this makes the stones more likely to stick to it) and begin pressing against the bottom of the stones. This should be enough to pop them out of place and give you some relief.

I would make sure you use a mirror and a flashlight as well. This will make it even easier.

Electric Toothbrush

If you don’t have an electric model then don’t worry, a normal one will do.

Thanks to the small and thin bristles on the toothbrush, you’re able to reach pretty deep into the crypts of your tonsils. So you’re able to get under and around the stones to jiggle them out of place.

The vibration of the electric toothbrush obviously makes this more effective which is why I recommend you use one instead.

No matter which kind of toothbrush you use, you’ll still find it easier than using your finger. All have long and narrow necks so you will find it easy to see your tonsils and understand what you’re doing.

Just make sure you don’t use the same that you brush with, and makes sure to give it a good clean afterwards. If you’ve contracted tonsil stones then there will be a lot of bacteria build up on your tonsils, and spreading them around your teeth will only make matters worse.

Coughing

So this isn’t really a “home” remedy but it still applies.

Despite what you might think, you’ve probably already removed a couple of tonsil stones by coughing before reading this. If the stones haven’t caused you any symptoms or problems then they’ve likely fallen out without you noticing.

But don’t be alarmed, it’s unlikely that they would’ve caused you any harm by swallowing them.

If, however, you do notice the tonsil stone, you are going to need to cough quite hard to get it out – depending on how stuck it is, of course. This shouldn’t be painful though, just enough to get it out but not enough to cause yourself harm.

You’re already struggling to swallow things, you don’t want to make it worse!

Just keep your wits about you and I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Prevention of tonsil stones formation

The following methods are best for those just wanting to make sure they get rid of tonsil stones permanently. You can’t just remove them and expect them never to come back, there are few things you can do daily to prevent them.

Apple Cider Vinegar/Salt Water gargle

I have grouped both of these together because they basically fulfil the same purpose – fighting against the bad bacteria and fungi in your mouth by gargling. The apple cider vinegar may be more effective, and has more health benefits, but it’s less accessible so if you don’t have any then feel free to use salt water.

Both have antibacterial properties so in terms of tonsil stones prevention, it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. The important thing is that you’re reducing the bacteria content in your mouth to make it less likely for tonsil stones to develop.

What you do is add 1-2 tablespoons of one to a glass of fresh, clean water and give it a mix. Take one sip of this, tilt your head back and begin gargling. You need to make sure it reaches your tonsils as they’re likely to be full of bad bacteria.

After about 15 seconds you can spit this out and then repeat with the rest of the glass. Afterwards, clean out your mouth with more clean water. I would make this an everyday habit.

If you’ve been struggling with the symptoms caused by tonsil stones then apple cider vinegar can also help with this. As well as antibacterial properties, ACV has anti-inflammatory properties which will help with any swelling or discomfort you are feeling in the back of your throat.

It might not make a big difference but it will certainly help.

Garlic

This simple but common cooking ingredient may have more health benefits than you might think. Similar to those above, garlic has been attributed to having antibacterial properties which, if you’re prone to a tonsil stone infection, should be great to hear.

As it is used in many meals, garlic will be the easiest to work into your day out of all the solutions in this article. It will be most effective you chew on it raw but you’ll still see some benefits by just adding it to your dinner – I personally enjoy it best in stir-fry’s.

The only thing I would be careful of is the smell it gives off. It won’t be as bad as the smell given off by tonsil stones but it’s still not that pleasant. So I recommend, if you do choose to work it into your diet, to eat it at night and not before you plan on seeing people.

If you want to learn more about garlics health benefits then check out this study.

Tobacco/Alcohol

Now I don’t mean to get your hopes up but I’m not going to tell you to start smoking and drinking more. Quite the opposite.

Both have dehydrating effects which can make a tonsil stone infection more likely.

When you get dehydrated, your salvia levels drop and when your salvia levels drop the bacteria and fungi in your mouth are given more freedom to do what they want. This, as you can expect, will result in oral infections.

So if you’re wanting to prevent tonsil stones then you’ll want to reduce your consumption of these things. You don’t need to give them up, just try to gradually work them out of your day.

Conclusion

Hopefully some of your takeaways from this article will help you deal with the tonsil stone infection you have and prevent you from having any more in the future.