What are the symptoms of acute tonsillitis in children?

Acute tonsillitis is more common in children. Common symptoms include chills, high fever, headache, loss of appetite, or fatigue. Some patients may experience local throat pain or difficulty swallowing.

1. Systemic symptoms are more common in acute follicular and acute crypt tonsillitis. The onset is acute, and symptoms may include chills, high fever, headache, loss of appetite, fatigue, general discomfort, constipation, etc. Children may suffer from convulsions, vomiting and lethargy due to high fever, and infants and young children may experience abdominal pain and diarrhea due to involvement of the mesenteric lymph nodes.

2. Local symptoms: Severe sore throat is the main symptom, often radiating to the ears, often accompanied by difficulty in swallowing, and infants and young children experience drooling. Some patients experience enlarged lymph nodes at the mandibular angle and limited head turning. When the inflammation spreads to the Eustachian tube, ear stuffiness, tinnitus, ear pain and even hearing loss may occur. In people infected with staphylococci, the tonsils are significantly enlarged, and in young children it can also cause breathing difficulties.

3. The patient appears to be acutely ill. Local examination revealed diffuse congestion of the pharyngeal mucosa, most severely in the tonsils and palatine arches, and the palatine tonsils were enlarged. In acute suppurative tonsillitis, yellow-white pus spots can be seen on the surface of the tonsil, or yellow-white or gray-white dot-like dregs-like exudate can be seen at the opening of the crypts. These may be connected into a piece resembling a pseudomembrane, which does not extend beyond the tonsil and is easy to wipe off without leaving a bleeding wound. The lymph nodes at the mandibular angle are often enlarged.