Latest news with #tonsillectomy
The Sun
20 hours ago
- Health
- The Sun
Sam Faiers slammed for offering sister Billie ‘dangerous' advice about son's medical issue
SAM Faiers has been slammed for offering her sister Billie 'dangerous' advice about her son's medical issue. The two sisters are chatting about eight-year-old Arthur getting his tonsils removed in a clip from their show Sister Act. 3 3 Billie says: 'Arthur is getting his tonsils out. He had tonsillitis I'd say six times last year, and it made him so poorly. 'When the doctor looked at them, straight away he said to me 'nah…' he went 'they are really, really unhealthy tonsils. 'But tonsils serve no purpose in your body.' Sam is quick to offer her thoughts on the situation, and admits later in the clip that she's very much into holistic health. She encourages her sister to get an intolerance test for Arthur before going ahead with surgery, saying: 'Everything in your body serves a purpose. 'When you're not well and something inflames in your body or your tonsils are raised or your hair is falling out, or you've got a rash, it's because your body is telling you something isn't right. 'So it's Arthur's body's way of telling him I've got an allergy, or you know, I've got a virus and that's his way. 'So when they're out, how else is his body going to tell you that something is wrong?' Billie replies saying that she believes her son has some kind of allergy or intolerance. Sam Faiers mum-shamed after fans spot detail that's 'giving them nightmares' in new video with youngest son But fans have slammed Sam's advice in the comments, with one writing: 'She's no doctor and shouldn't be allowed to give advice thats dangerous.' A second person said: 'Sam who encourages children to not wear sunscreen and doubts effectiveness of nhs mammograms.' A third wrote: 'Mrs Know It All,' and a fourth commented: 'Don't ever mess about waiting for tonsils out mine was left when I was you by 17 rushed into hospital because it made me soo ill had swollen all over from leaking I've had fibromyalgia for 15 years nothing can help and now serve arthritis all over from sport pus single parent disabled daughter I wish I could dream everything be OK with positivity or a cream or holistic but life not like that.' It comes after Sam hit back at trolls last month who slammed her for not putting sun cream on her three kids. The reality star, 34, shared a "dangerous" conspiracy theory, saying her kids have "built up a tolerance" to sunburn. In response to the backlash, Sam admitted she was not an medical expert but was sharing her own experience with sunscreen. She wrote on Instagram: "Wow, I've received so many kind and supportive messages from my sunscreen post. Thank you. "I'd definitely recommend doing a little research into which tallow you'd like to use, there are lots of amazing options out there." She continued: "PS: Just sharing my experience and tips (not an expert)." The reality star then shared a photo of a brand of tallow that she usually relies on as an alternative to sunscreen. Sam's confession came after she decided to do a Q&A with fans. During it, one person asked the former Towie star: 'What suntan lotion do you use as you have a good natural colour?' Sam, who is mum to Paul, 5, Rosie, 5, and three-year-old Edward, shared: 'So this is always a bit of a controversial one, but honestly, me and my whole family don't actually wear sunscreen. 'Over the years, the kids have built up a really good tolerance to being in the sun. Of course, if it's really hot and the sun feels too harsh. 'I'll make sure we head into the shade.. usually around lunchtime we'll go in, have something to eat, and just avoid those peak hours.' She went on: 'I'm really careful about sunscreen in general, because a lot of them are actually pretty harmful and full of toxic ingredients. 'If you do want to protect your kids, I think SPF swimwear is such a good and safer option. But also, don't be afraid of the sun! Early in the morning or later in the afternoon when it's not as strong, I love letting the kids run around and soak it up it's so good for them. 'That said, I do always bring a Tallow Zine SPF with me when I go away, just in case. And hats or caps are a must! especially for us ladies, because no one wants extra sun damage (I've had my fair share over the years because I'm such a sun lover!).' Fans have commented on Sam's latest post to share their concern after her suncreen message. One person wrote: 'You need to delete your story about not wearing sunscreen I don't think you understand the damage you can do to your followers by promoting this.' Someone else said: 'absolutely agree - so irresponsible!!' and a third echoed: ' was in shock - 'kids have grown a tolerance to the sun over the years' wtf?! Happy for them to get skin cancer then?' 3
Medscape
12-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Are Tonsils Low-Hanging Fruit?
William G. Wilkoff, MD I was 6 when I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out. I have two distinct memories of the event. The first was the odor of ether. I had been instructed to count down to 1 from 10 but never made it past 5. The second memory was waking in the middle of my first night home from the hospital and vomiting a volume of blood so great that I was in my fourth year of medical school before I saw its equal. My near-exsanguination was managed at home with a phone call. What I don't remember is why I had my tonsils removed. I am told I was a fairly healthy kid. Most of my colds ended with a prolonged nocturnal cough, not surprising since both of my parents smoked, and we lived in a small house. I remember fondly the taste of cherry-flavored, codeine-laced cough medicine. I asked my parents many times what had prompted my tonsillectomy. They always said they couldn't remember, although I often wondered if there was some dark family secret I was never to learn. I always suspected that my maternal grandmother may have had a hand in the decision. She frequently boasted about having her tonsils removed on the kitchen table by her uncle — who is the only medical doctor in my lineage. Apparently, it was a family affair, as he operated on her two siblings on the same afternoon. It may have been that in the late 1800s, tonsillectomy was a sort of rite of passage, like today's precollege trip to the oral surgeon for wisdom teeth extraction among families in affluent suburbs. Tonsils of good size are easily viewed and can be accessed without an abdominal incision. They are the proverbial low-hanging fruit. In the early 1970s, investigations by Jack Wennberg, MD, MPH, and Alan Gittleson, MD, revealed that there were factors beyond boasting grandmothers that were influencing the frequency of tonsillectomies. By comparing the number of tonsillectomies across a broad geographic area, researchers found wide variations between communities. For example, in one Vermont town, 20% of the population had had their tonsils removed before age 15. In the next town over, that number was 60%. These studies of geographic variations eventually included other surgeries and medical diagnoses and in 1996 culminated in the publication of the first Dartmouth Atlas by Wennberg. Although the results of the initial study may have been one of the factors in the gradual decline of tonsillectomies nationwide, more than a half million procedures are still performed annually and wide variations persist. An updated version of the Dartmouth Atlas covering 2007-2010 in three New England states found a frequency of 2.7 tonsillectomies per 1000 persons in Bangor, Maine, and a fourfold difference in Littleton, Vermont, at 10.9 per 1000. One would expect, or at least hope, that several decades after the initiation of these epidemiologic revelations, some standard would have evolved and the variations in tonsillectomy rates would have narrowed. The explanation may in part reside in the fact that studies regarding the efficacy of tonsil and adenoid removal have at times yielded conflicting results. For example, in March of this year, a multicenter study of 459 children with mild sleep-disordered breathing found that compared with a control group managed with watchful waiting, children who had undergone adenotonsillectomy experienced a 32% reduction in total healthcare encounters and a nearly 50% reduction in prescriptions. On the other hand, 7 years ago, a study in Denmark looking at the records of 1.2 million children found that children who had their tonsils and adenoids removed had an increased risk of later experiencing respiratory, allergic, and infectious diseases. The authors of that study concluded that these 'risks were considerably larger than changes in risk for the disorder these surgeries aimed to treat.' One could argue we shouldn't be comparing apples (sleep disturbances) and oranges (respiratory disease, allergy, and infection). However, a study from Epic Research published in 2024 that compared 7590 patients who had their tonsils removed with the same number of patients with tonsillitis but without the surgery found that those who had undergone tonsillectomy had 'lower rates of influenza, otitis media, strep throat, and sinusitis.' It is interesting that during this study, which ran between 2018 and 2021, the investigators could 'not find a significant difference in the frequency of COVID-19 between patients who had undergone tonsillectomy and those who had not.' So where does this leave us primary care pediatricians? We are often the folks initiating or at least signing off on a parent-requested referral to the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist. Although adenotonsillectomies have a low mortality risk, it is not zero and is certainly higher in patients with multiple and complex problems. We in primary care must keep abreast of the literature as best we can and make our referrals based on our own judgement while leaning heavily on the experience of the ENT, who will make the final decision. I suspect, like me, many of you may target your referrals to the surgeons who share your biases. If parental anxiety and not my professional concern is the primary driver of the referral, I may intentionally select an ENT who leans toward watchful waiting. Despite the lack of standardization, we must congratulate ourselves that we have moved on beyond an era when tonsils were removed because they were easy to get at.
