If you have had tonsil stones at any given time and you can't get rid of them by picking at them it is important to note that there are other efficient techniques. Having tonsil stones or tonsilloliths as they are called in medical terms can be a very uncomfortable and annoying problem.
If you have had tonsilloliths you know how bad they can be. One day you feel something different in the back of your throat. Maybe you start probing with your tongue and feel something rough stuck in the back of your throat. You think it is a piece of food that got stuck and somehow will not come off.
As you kept trying to push it off you manage to get it loose. As it comes out you get a very awful and bitter taste in your mouth. Your instinct is to take it out with your finger and bring it up to your nose and smell it. The unmistakable smell of sulfur is gross in the tonsilloliths. Why do they smell so bad? What could they be made of and should I worry?
Tonsilloliths are nothing to worry about from a health perspective. They are not a sign of a serious illness or chunks of flesh from your throat coming off. They are simply calcified pieces composed of dead white blood cells, oral bacteria, mucous, food residue and postnasal drip. When these combine and accumulate in the indentations of the tonsils they harden and become tonsilloliths.
Picking at tonsilloliths is sometimes not the most effective method to remove them. One method of removal is using the tongue to push them off until they come off. Pushing the tonsil upwards with your fingers and causing pressure to make them come off is effective as well. A more effective and longer lasting solution is gargling with baking soda. The baking soda will loosen tonsilloliths and they will begin to come out. Gargling regularly will help with keeping them away for some time.