What is Quinsy?

Often mistaken for common tonsillitis, quinsy has the potential to be very serious. Although it may begin with the same symptoms as tonsillitis, it is generally a worse form of the complaint and in the worst case may endanger life.

What Exactly Is Quinsy?

Quinsy is a common name given to peritonsillar abscess formation in which the tonsil area. It affects people in their late teens and adulthood and usually affects one tonsil more than the other. It has the potential to be very dangerous if left untreated.

What Are The Symptoms?

Peritonsillar abscesses start as a sore throat and inflammation of the tonsils. It develops into pus filled abscesses on the tonsil area making swallowing very difficult and extremely painful, sometimes nearly impossible.

Along with this, there is often a high temperature and a general feeling of being unwell. You or those around you may have noticed a foul smelling breath odour and a visible swelling to the neck area. It is also likely that you will suffer from referred pain in the ears and neck area in general and a distinct change in your vocal ability and normal sound.

With quinsy, comes a lot of swelling of the area and surrounding tissues. This is what makes it so difficult to swallow and causes the pain.

How Is It Treated?

As many healthcare professionals are now convinced that most sore throats, even very bad ones, will heal on their own, people are afraid to go to their doctor with a sore throat complaint meaning that there is the potential for the condition to go undiagnosed until it becomes dangerous; quinsy, however is not very common these days.

If your doctor thinks that you have a mild form of quinsy or typical tonsillitis, you may be fortunate enough to be offered a course of anti-biotics which will help the body fight the bad bacteria away and reduce the swelling and abscesses.

For others though, surgery may be necessary in which the abscess is incised and drained and a course of anti-biotics is given after the procedure. This will require a visit to hospital and the use of a general anaesthetic while the procedure is being carried out followed by the anti-biotics and pain relief.

The Dangers Of Quinsy

This condition carries several dangers, some more serious than others. In the worst case scenario, the individual may have a large, pus filled cavity to their tonsil which has the potential of bursting at any time. If this happens, the person may inhale the contained pus as they breathe, in which case the poison can enter their lungs; this is known as aspiration. It is made worse by the fact that the fluid they are inhaling is infected, it is thick and the body is already struggling to fight off the bacteria.

When a person aspirates their lungs are a lot less able to function properly as the lungs cannot exchange oxygen and other gases as well as the fluid is preventing this natural action; in the worst case, this can cause severe damage, sometime irreparable.

If suspected, quinsy should be treated as an urgent medical case and you should go and see your doctor urgently for treatment.