Complete stranger here—dealing with a virus and tonsillitis

I have a problem and I am seriously losing sleep over it!

My kid has been struggling with immunity for six years now.
She’s seven today, but back when she was seven months old, she caught Salmonella—we have no clue how it happened, since the whole family tested negative.
Ever since that Salmonella bout, everything has just gone downhill.
She’s ended up in the hospital twice because of bacterial throat infections, and honestly, we've gone through enough antibiotics to fill a warehouse. She gets a nasty, pus-filled tonsillitis practically every single month. Standard Silapen seems to be the only thing that helps.
We've been stuck in this loop of trying to schedule her tonsillectomy for two full years, but she can't even stay healthy for three weeks straight long enough to get the tests done and actually go in for surgery.
Now, she's started acting up again, and she's seeing the doctor tomorrow. The doctor will probably just prescribe more Silapen, and she'll settle down for a bit.
It always follows the same pattern: she starts sniffing, gets a mouth ulcer, and then—because her immune system is so shot—her throat flares up.

Just to be clear, we've done about 20 different throat and nasal swabs by now, and NOT ONCE has a bacterium shown up. Everything comes back totally sterile. So, according to the tests, it's "just" a viral infection because nothing shows up on the swab.

Has anyone else dealt with something like this??? HELP ME PEOPLE!

Would an immunologist be the right move here? And will getting her tonsils out actually help? A pediatrician at the hospital once told us, "Once you take the tonsils out, are you going to want to take the lungs out too?" But he didn't know the full story, and that was two years ago...
For those of you who had your tonsils removed and it actually worked—did you ever actually test positive for strep (a bacterial infection) on your swabs?!
Do you see the issue? These "viral" infections are resulting in massive, pus-filled tonsillitis! Will removing the tonsils fix this? Or will it make things worse because there won't be any tonsils left to protect against lung infections?

Any experiences? Thanks for the help....

Man, I’ve been exactly where you are. Constant high fevers, throat infections—it was relentless. I went through rounds upon rounds of antibiotics, and honestly? It just made me feel worse every single time. Eventually, they just ripped my Krajnik out, but even that didn't fix a damn thing. Back then, I didn't really have a say in what happened to my own body, either. Basically, doctors will just keep shoving pills down your throat until you're totally spent. Those antibiotics absolutely wreck your immune system, and you aren't going to see any real improvement until you finally break free from that cycle. For me, things only started looking up once I made some massive changes to my diet and how I live my life.
My daughter went through this same nightmare when she was two or three. Just constant colds and spiking temperatures. We were cycling her through endless courses of antibiotics. My wife and I eventually realized we couldn't keep doing this to her. So, the next time an infection hit, we skipped the meds entirely. We did that a few more times, and ever since, she’s been perfectly healthy. Maybe one cold every couple of years tops. Clearly, her immune system finally found its footing.
Look, if a doctor is prescribing antibiotics for a viral infection, I’d seriously start questioning their credentials. Honestly, I wouldn't even trust them. Tearing out your Krajnik is a super aggressive way to handle things—that should be nothing more than a last resort. Those things actually play a vital role in your immune defense, yet people toss them out like they're nothing.
As a starting point, I’d suggest cutting out all dairy, sugar, and processed flour. Just doing that usually makes a huge difference. If you want to dig deeper into anything specific, shoot me a DM.

Prescribing antibiotics for a viral infection is just a waste of time, though when it comes to inflamed tonsils, things get a little more complicated... if they’re significantly swollen, there’s a genuine chance bacteria are tucked away deep inside, meaning a throat swab might come back negative even when you're actually dealing with a bacterial infection. Then again, most people don't realize that the vast majority of tonsillitis cases are actually viral to begin with.

But regardless of that technicality, pumping a kid full of antibiotics every single month for this long is just completely nonsensical.

Jamie Rivera78 makes a fair point that tonsillectomies are often unnecessary and aren't performed nearly as aggressively as they used to be, but at the same time, if you were out in the States—where surgeries like this are much less common—doctors would have likely suggested removing them ages ago given the level of struggle your child is facing.
I’d personally try alternative ways to boost their immune system first, but fortunately, recent research suggests that while we shouldn't be too quick to cut them out, tonsils don't actually play nearly as critical an immunological role as we once thought. To be more precise, they are vital during the "immune maturation" phase, which basically wraps up around age seven... so, if you have them removed from a child who is already seven or eight, their susceptibility to getting sick won't really change any more than a child with tonsils—it’ll just stop the constant cycle of strep throat.
Still, surgery is the absolute last resort. If you’ve reached that point, you’re the one who will feel it best, but you should definitely seek a second opinion from a specialist ENT—wherever you happen to live, look for a doctor with a broader perspective, someone who isn't going to jump straight to recommending surgery the moment a kid walks through the door unless it's truly unavoidable.

We even tried those alternative immunity boosters—some "Dr." Rosa who did his "procedures" out in Indianapolis involving reflexology, diet tweaks, and massive doses of vitamins and supplements (zinc, echinacea, you name it). It didn't do anything long-term, and honestly, we got worried about our kid because the amounts were just insane. I'm talking 500mg of Vitamin C three times a day, zinc capsules twice a day when the adult dose is usually just one, plus beta-carotene twice a day... for three months straight. Just awful.

Aside from that, my kid eats pretty much everything. They don't go overboard on junk food, and we don't keep a stash of sweets lying around the house. Maybe some cookies once a week, they rarely see candy, and occasionally some ice cream...

We actually tried the holistic route to treat a case of strep throat, but the end result was just a trip to the hospital and a prescription for penicillin.👎

So yeah...

What does the ENT say?
Have you guys gone through allergy testing yet?

Whenever I have an allergic reaction, it always triggers a cold, a sore throat, and a fever for me.
Add those heavy, sinus-clogging days on top of that, and I feel like I'm sick most of the year.
I was just like your daughter when I was a kid—I couldn't even handle daycare because I could never stay healthy for more than two weeks at a time!
My tonsils were taken out when I was three, but honestly, it didn't really help much.
Things finally started looking up once I hit puberty.
It didn't totally disappear, but it happens way less often now.

If you haven't done a full workup yet, I'd really recommend getting that checked out.
Also, what's the deal with the adenoids?

Otorinac says: does he have more than three bouts of tonsillitis a year? (I’m practically counting my blessings because he gets one every single month) and when I brought it up—they just said, "Let's just pull them out!" Like that's such an easy call for an ENT specialist.

We haven't done any allergy testing yet. I’d probably have to really push back on the pediatrician to get them to run more comprehensive tests.

Looks like I'm going to have to make that happen...

The third tonsil seems fine since there's no snoring or breathing issues...

Scott Myers2 said:The third tonsil is fine since she isn't snoring or having any breathing issues...

Sorry, but this is 🤣
She doesn't necessarily have to be snoring or making noises to be in a critical state.

Also, what are the specific reasons why general practice won't issue a referral?
If you really don't want to wait, just pay for private testing.

And regarding what Jamie Rivera78 mentioned about sugar, flour, and dairy—that's definitely worth looking into!
I'm not an expert on how much sugar matters, but I know plenty of people who deal with excess mucus when they eat gluten or lactose.

Honestly, I think the smartest move would be to head over to a major hospital in Indianapolis to see an Otorinac.
Just give them a call and get everything scheduled.
Or maybe try another big medical center; my kids are all grown now, so I'm a bit out of the loop on who the current top specialists are!

We tried cutting out milk and sugar for a bit, but once she got sick again even without the dairy, we just gave up on it... Kids need their milk and the calcium that comes with it...

This stuff from the Klaić clinic looks really promising... I've got to do something—she’s starting school soon, and if she's constantly under the weather, it's going to be a total disaster...

Fermented dairy products are actually a great source of calcium!
Have you guys checked how much gluten and grains are in your diet lately?

I mean, school-level stuff is easy enough to manage,
but honestly, I’m more worried about the long-term effects that could stick with her for life.

Scott Myers2 said:We tried cutting out dairy and sugar for a bit, but when she got sick again even after ditching the milk, we just gave up on the whole idea... Kids need milk, they need that calcium...

This stuff about Klaić sounds awesome to me... I seriously need to step up—she’s starting school soon, and if she’s constantly under the weather, her life is gonna be a total disaster.

What exactly does "for a bit" mean to you? Flushing toxins out of a system isn't some overnight magic trick. If you just blindly trust whatever the doctors hand you, you aren't going to get far. You've gotta make some hard cuts. It might suck, but it's mandatory.
And as for the milk thing? People are totally delusional. For what it's worth, the countries with the highest milk consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis. I'm telling you, milk actually CONTRIBUTES to bone issues, it doesn't PREVENT them.

What does "fermented dairy products" actually mean?

We tried using some Calcium and Magnesium supplements from Twin Laba for the kids to boost their levels, but my wife (yeah, I'm the dad here) was pretty skeptical about it. We ended up dropping the supplements once she got sick again...

How can I check and be certain if milk is what's making her sick?
What kind of tests are available?
Who handles the ordering for those—can a pediatrician set them up, or does it have to be through a hospital?

jadesailor14 said:you should probably check where you stand regarding gluten and grains.

What’s that supposed to mean? How do you even test for that?

Jamie Rivera78,
check your inbox!

Not sure if anyone else is still following this, but...

I sent an email over to the directors at the ENT clinic...
and ended up getting a call from the head of the department, Dr. Prgomet...
We went in on Thursday...
they operated on my daughter on Friday...
we spent Saturday just being out and about...
and we had our follow-up visit on Monday...

THE KID NO LONGER HAS STREP THROAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S BEEN A WHOLE MONTH!!!!!!

She’s sniffing and coughing, sure, but there's absolutely no sign of strep or any of that nonsense!

That's all...
Thanks for the help.

Jamie Rivera78 said:I went through almost the exact same thing myself back in the day. Constant high fevers and sore throats. I went through kilos of antibiotics, yet somehow I just kept getting sicker. Eventually, they took out my Krajnik, but even then, nothing changed. Unfortunately, at that age, I didn't exactly have a say in my own medical treatment. To put it bluntly, doctors tend to just shovel medication down your throat until you're exhausted. Antibiotics absolutely wreck your immune system, and until you move past that cycle, things aren't going to improve. For me, everything finally stabilized once I made some drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle.
My daughter went through this same ordeal when she was about two or three years old. Non-stop colds and fever. Endless rounds of antibiotics. My wife and I eventually realized we couldn't keep going down this path. During the next infection, we treated her without any medicine. We did that several more times after that. Since then, she's been healthy. Maybe one cold every two years? Her immune system clearly normalized.
If a doctor is prescribing antibiotics for a viral infection, I’d start questioning their expertise. Honestly, I wouldn't trust them. Removing the Krajnik is an aggressive way to handle the issue; it should really be a last resort. Those glands serve a vital immunological purpose, and it’s incredible how casually they get removed.
As a starting point, I recommend cutting out all dairy, sugar, and flour products. Usually, just doing that helps quite a bit. Feel free to send me a private message if there's anything specific you want to ask about.

Could you please tell me how you treated your daughter? My kids are dealing with the same constant sore throat issues. They seem to be on Amoxicillin constantly.
Since I don't see any way out of this endless cycle of being flooded with antibiotics—and I'm not sure how to break the pattern—I saw you have some experience here. Could you describe, even just in a few lines, whether you gave her any natural remedies, and what exactly you cut out of her diet?

Scott Myers2 said:I've got a problem and I'm losing my mind worrying about it!

My kid has been struggling with immunity for six years now.
She’s seven now, but back when she was seven months old, she caught Salmonella—we have no clue how. We all tested the whole family, but nobody turned up positive.
Ever since that Salmonella hit, everything has gone downhill.
She’s ended up in the hospital twice because of strep throat, and she’s swallowed enough antibiotics to fill a pharmacy. She gets a nasty, pus-filled tonsillitis every single month. Plain old Silapen works for her.
We’ve been stuck in this loop of trying to get her tonsils out for two full years, but she can't even stay healthy for three weeks straight long enough to get tests done and schedule the surgery.
She’s starting to act up again right now, and tomorrow the doctor will probably just prescribe more Silapen to settle things down.
It starts with sniffing, then an aphthous ulcer pops up in her mouth, and then—because her immune system is trashed—her throat flares up.

Just to be clear, we’ve done about 20 throat and nasal swabs so far, and NOT ONCE did they find bacteria! EVERYTHING always comes back sterile!!! So, it's "just" a viral infection according to the swabs...

Has anyone else dealt with this??? HELP ME PEOPLE!

Can an immunologist help here? Will getting the tonsils out actually work? A pediatrician at the hospital once told me, "Once you take those tonsils out, are you going to want to pull her lungs out too?" But he didn't know the whole story, and that was two years ago...
For those of you who had your tonsils removed and it actually helped—did you ever actually test positive for strep (bacterial tonsillitis) on a swab?!
Do you see the issue? Viral infections are resulting in pus-filled tonsillitis! Will surgery help? Or will it make things worse because there won't be any tonsils left to prevent lung inflammation?

Any experiences? Thanks for the help....

Identical situation with me when I was a kid.
Except I reached a point where nothing worked... not even crystal penicillin.
I ended up developing resistance and allergies to basically every form of penicillin.

Tonsillectomy was the only thing that saved me.

First time since the surgery, exactly 20 years later, I'm actually dealing with a sore throat.

Regarding tonsil issues, please keep the discussion within the Krajnik thread. We don't need two separate topics covering the exact same thing.

🙂