How to Cope With Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is a painful illness to have. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing, throat pain, fever and swollen glands in the throat area. Tonsils are a filter for viruses and bacteria that come in through the mouth. Tonsillitis occurs when the tonsils can't handle all of the bacteria entering the mouth.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Stay home from work or school until the illness is gone. It is very contagious and can easily be spread to other people. Make sure to get lots of rest.
2. Drink lots of fluids. Make sure to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. This will help flush out the toxins in your body. Also drink lots of juices with Vitamin C in them, such as orange juice. If the orange juice irritates your throat too much, drink a juice that isn't as acidic, like grape juice.
3. Eat soft foods, such as jello, ice cream, applesauce and soup. These foods won't irritate the throat as much, and the colder the food, the more soothing it will be on the throat. Stay away from foods like chips and popcorn. These foods could hurt the throat even more.
4. Use a humidifier in your bedroom at night. This will take the dryness out of the air and help your throat stay moist. The dryer the throat, the more it will hurt.
5. Take medication prescribed by your doctor, follow the dosage directions on the bottle and finished the prescribed course. This will help keep the infection from coming back. If the illness is viral and no medicine is given by your doctor, take ibuprofen to ease the pain. Take the proper dosage listed on the bottle.