Peritonsillar Abscess

Home care

• If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

• Take pain medicines as directed. Don't take any over-the-counter medicine for this condition without talking with your doctor, especially the first time.

• To help ease pain, children older than 6 years and adults can gargle with warm saltwater 4 times a day for the first 2 days. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) of salt in 1 glass of warm water. Gargle with the solution then spit it out. (Check that children don't swallow the saltwater.)

• Cool liquids and soft foods may make eating easier for the first few days.

• Don’t smoke, and stay away from secondhand smoke.

Follow-up care

Follow up with a doctor or as advised within 1 to 2 days. 

When to contact your doctor

Contact the doctor right away if:

• You have a fever of 100.4°F (38ºC) or higher after 3 days of treatment.

• The symptoms get worse.

• The symptoms go away and come back.

• You have neck stiffness.

• There's a small amount of bleeding from the throat.

• You have a rash.

• You have swelling or bumps in the neck.

Call 911

Call 911 if:

• You have trouble breathing, noisy breathing, or a muffled voice.

• You are drooling.

• You have trouble swallowing, choking, or other symptoms that may mean swelling in the throat is getting worse.

• You are bleeding more than a small amount from the throat.