Abnormal appearance of throat

With a sore throat, the tonsils may swell and become red and pus may appear as white spots on them. Symptoms typically get worse over two to three days and then gradually go away, usually within a week. Often described as tonsillitis, this does not normally require treatment.

The presence of tonsillar exudate (pus on the tonsils) may increase the likelihood of a bacterial infection. However, exudate is sometimes seen with viral infection and sometimes the throat can appear almost normal without exudates in a streptococcal (bacterial) infection.

Tonsils often have white patches on them in healthy people. These are part of the lymphatic immune system and are sometimes called tonsillar crypts.