Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is caused by Epstein-Barr virus EBV (which takes the form of mononucleosis, or mono, in its early stages). The lymphatic area where the tonsils reside becomes infected as they fight EBV. Streptococcus bacteria is EBV’s cofactor that can further inflame the tonsils.

When tonsillectomies first drew favor, it was a time when children began presenting with tonsillitis, and the prevailing wisdom became that the tonsils should be removed. It became such dominant thinking that no one even thought to question whether the cause of tonsillitis in the first place could be addressed instead. The focus on the medical advancement of the tonsillectomy procedure completely buried the mystery of this wide-spread tonsillitis. Once tonsillectomies became commonplace, someone in medical school wouldn’t be encouraged to probe the problem anymore, because it had become “been there, done that.” Remove the tonsils, the thinking went, and remove the problem. Why spend any more time thinking about it?

Medical communities now recognize that the tonsils are tied into the immune system, and so removing them isn’t the best first option when they’re infected. Now antibiotics have become the favored first line of defense. This is problematic, because while cofactor bacteria can further inflame the tonsils, bacteria are not the underlying cause of tonsillitis; EBV is. This whole time, it’s been juvenile Epstein-Barr virus causing inflamed tonsils.

Find out more in Thyroid Healing: The Truth Behind Hashimoto's, Graves', Insomnia, Hypothyroidism, Thyroid Nodules & Epstein-Barr.

This item posted: 10-Jul-2025

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