Quinsy

Quinsy (peritonsillar abscess) is a collection of pus outside the tonsil usually seen in older children as a complication of tonsillitis. Affected patients are unwell and may develop severe dysphagia, earache and trismus (lockjaw). As you inspect the pharynx, there will be a unilateral bulge of the soft palate, with deviation of the uvula to the opposite side. The tonsils will be inflammaed and there is associated halitosis. Rupture of the abscess can result in aspiration pneumonia. Treatment is with penicillin. There may be as many as five organisms in the pus found in the abscess. Six weeks after quinsy, it is conventional to perform tonsillectomy.