By Dorothy Nakamyuka
Namutebi’s daughter, Emilia Nalwadda has been in and out of hospital since March this year. Her daughter has been suffering from tonsillitis and they have been over disturbing her.
Dr. Arnold Nambasii, a nose, ear and throat (ENT) specialist at Mulago Hospital, defines tonsillitis as an infection, characterized by swelling of the tonsil gland, which is located at the back of the mouth. Tonsillitis, according to Nambasii, is becoming increasingly common among children. The Mulago ENT Clinic receives about 15 to 17 cases weekly.
“Though a child can get the infection at any age, children aged one and a half years old and above are prone. The infection becomes frequent among children aged between three and 10, and beyond 11 years, they start to outgrow it,” notes Dr. Michael Awubwa, an ENT Specialist at Mulago.
- causes
Awubwa says tonsillitis is caused by virus or bacteria which cause infection in the upper respiratory tract. “The infection becomes spreads through food, water, or from person to person for instance, by inhaling droplets or hand contact with an infected person,” he explains. Otherrisk factors include immune deficiency and a family history of tonsillitis.
- Signs and Symptoms
Dr. Chris Ndolerire, an ENT specialist, says tonsillitis caused by virus is usually self-limiting.
“The symptoms are usually milder and often related to the common cold. The condition usually gets better without treatment without treatment and there are no complications,” he explains.
However, tonsillitis caused by bacteria can be acute. It first presents with a headache and pain in the throat, which is sometimes severe and may last more than 48 hours.
The child may fail to feed due to difficulty in swallowing and the pain may also spread to the ears. In addition, a child may develop high temperature, become fussy and the lymph glands under the jaw and in the neck could swell and there may be loss of voice or changes in the voice.
- Diagnosis
Diagnosis is usually done by analyzing the symptoms, says Awubwa. Upon examination, the tonsils appear red and inflamed and may be coated with white flecks of pus.
However, according to Nkalubo, a child may require surgery to remove the tonsils if he is suffering from repeated infections of about three to five times per year and is not responding to treatment.
He, however, affirms that about three quarters of the operations done are due to the tonsils enlarging, causing blockage of the air system and resulting in breathing difficulty.
Awubwa observes that in children, surgery for tonsillitis is the second common operation worldwide, next to circumcision.
Records at the ENT clinic in Mulago show that about five children receive surgery every week.
“This is a very small compared to the big numbers of between 15 to 17 children registered every week in need of surgery,” notes Awubwa, adding that the condition is increasing more than it is reducing.
- Cost of surgery
Though surgery is free at the ENT department in Mulago hospital, Awubwasays patients still have to wait for months to be operated on, due to the overwhelming numbers.
“Surgery costs about shs 1.7M in private hospitals, a figure which the majority of Ugandans cannot afford,” he adds.
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