instruction: hello doctor we noticed our year old daughter has a visible blood vessel on one of her tonsils she feels fine and says her throat feels fine is this a cause of concern we have never noticed it before it has been three months since she was at the dentist and I know they check her tonsils this is very weird please advise if this is very serious
output: hi I have had a look at the pictures you have sent the tonsils are definitely enlarged in this case there is no doubt about it the tonsils have a very rich blood supply and are relatively vascular structure it is normal to encounter leash of blood vessels over the tonsil or its adjacent areas like the anterior and posterior pillars these are two walls in between which the tonsils reside unless and until the tonsils are inflamed and the child is symptomatic we do not need to give any sort of antibiotics as it is not indicated at the same point of time enlarged tonsil indicates possible previous episodes of recurrent tonsillitis as a result of which the tonsillar tissues get hypertrophied and attains a larger size it is always better to maintain strict oral hygiene do saltwater gargles five to six times a day at regular intervals avoid anything cold spicy and oily food beverages maintaining precautionary measures definitely goes a long way in preventing recurrent sore throats or streptococcal infections however in a situation where the child is having recurrent sore throats with associated fever significant leaves from school it is always better to get the tonsils removed there are criteria given by ao hns american association of otorhinolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons who have laid down criteria for a patient to undergo tonsillectomy in nutshell visible blood vessels over the tonsils or related adjacent structures is not a worry as it is very common and seen in health and have not pathology related to it sticking of the uvula to the right tonsil is due to surface tension of the saliva and enlarged size of the tonsil this again has no clinical significance there is absolutely nothing that you need to worry or get stressed about make sure you advise the child to follow the instructions that I have given above to prevent recurrent sore throats in addition she can also use crushed ginger with masuka honey you can add crushed ginger and honey in a cup and give it together one tablespoon three times a day honey has excellent antioxidants antiviral antibacterial properties and so does ginger I hope this helps