Until recently, removing the tonsils was a normal operation: this is the real reason why it is no longer done today.
If you have been a child in the 80s in addition to the shoulder pads, the Soldino advertisement and the Walkman, there is another thing that you certainly cannot forget: the operation to remove the tonsils! In that decade in particular, but also in the early 90s, this little operation was one of the most popular among children and there is a very high possibility that you did it too! Today, things are a little different.
In fact, this is today operation, which is called tonsillectomy, is hardly done by anyone anymore, let alone on children. But the real reason behind this practice that no longer exists, like so much else from the 80s, is one that will blow your mind: here’s everything you wanted to know about this lost operation.
Why not remove your child’s tonsils: here’s why
First, why should they remove the tonsils? Tonsils in the 80s were immediately removed when a few small ones were noticed white pebbles, small stones that form right in the throat. Although they can be extremely annoying and even painful, they do not pose any danger to the health of the child or the person who presents them. And today they can be removed too without operating nor completely remove the tonsils and if we spare our children an operation, even if simple and mild, it is always better.
These little pebbles, called tonsillolitiare formed especially in children in the first 12 years of life because it is precisely the moment in which their immune system strengthens and to do so it must “take some risks”. The tonsils have many cavities and inlets where it is easy for these tonsilloliths to form, which in reality are not health problems and are often dissolved on their own by the saliva itself.
However, there are some cases where the tonsils must be removed: if tonsilloliths form more than five times a year then perhaps we are facing a more serious problem. Because in this case it means that the tonsils could be irreversibly altered and you may have to resort to removal. But other than these rare cases, which actually don’t happen as often as you think, most of the time there is no operation for our kids to do, saving them a lot of stress and worry.