Tonsillolith

A tonsillolith, also commonly known as a tonsil stone or tonsil rocks is a whitish/yellow lump, which forms within the tonsil crypts and eventually works its way out where it is either coughed up or swallowed. They can be an unpleasant annoyance at times giving the sensation of a foreign body stuck in the back of the throat and are often associated with bad breath issues and a dry metallic taste in the mouth. They are generally made up of bits of food, dead skin cells, dead white blood cells, saliva and sulfur-producing bacteria that collect in crevices found in the tonsils. Over time they gradually get larger until they finally dislodge and fall out. There are some who try to squeeze them out using a moistened cotton bud but this tends to make you gag and can lead to soreness of the tonsils if you are not careful. Tonsil stones are more common in adults than in children and tend to turn into more of a noticeable problem during later teenage years.