Dr. Dheeraj Kumar Jonnalagadda
Allergy Specialist
The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.
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Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
My tonsils are not symmetrical. I first noticed just two months ago that my right tonsil looks like a kidney bean with a small hole on top while my left tonsil looks oval in shape with a much larger hole. My right tonsil looks like there is a lump of the bottom of it. I am 28 years old and I smoked for just under 10 years and I have not tested positive for HPV. I do not have any lumps that I can feel, have not lost any weight, do not feel regularly sick. I did have a sore throat a month ago and my left tonsil did feel infected. I did push quite a few tonsil stones from it. I am worried that the asymmetry of my tonsils may be an indicator of cancer.
Hi,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Tonsils are our lymphoid organs which protect us from infections. The shape of tonsil can vary from person to person and asymmetrical shapes are not at all indicators for cancer. The holes you mentioned are called crypts which lodges food particles which can form stones. Hence, regular salt water gargling is advised. A sore throat you had was because of smoking which is a normal phenomenon of a tonsil infection. Hence you need not to worry thinking abnormal shapes of tonsil for cancer which is pretty much normal in all individual. Finally, regular gargling and antibiotic for a sore throat will relieve your problem. If at all tonsils are troubling you a lot, you can get them removed.
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Allergy Specialist
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