Common complications of tonsillitis include:
- Acute Otitis Media sometimes fluid in the middle ear gets infected leading to pain.
- Quinsy (peri-tonsillar abscess) Infection may spread to adjacent tissues leading to abscess in throat.
- Sleep Apnoea- If the child has recurrent Tonsillitis, it may cause difficulty in breathing known as obstructive sleep apnoea.
- Tonsilolith (tonsils stone)- Sometimes, trapped bacteria, mucus and pus may get calcified and harden to form stones within the tonsils.
Certain other complications of tonsillitis occur when some underlying infection is left untreated. These include:
- Acute Rheumatic Fever- This is a disease affecting multiple organs including heart, joints, muscles as well as skin. This disease follows after throat infection with Streptococcus.
- Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis- This is a bacterial infection of the inner layer of the heart wall.
- Glomerulonephritis Infection in the kidney causing vomiting and loss of appetite.
