Question
My child had a fever last night and has been coughing and has phlegm. This morning, I noticed that there are two red spots on the sides of his throat, but the middle part is not red. Could this be the tonsils?
Answer
After the child is 1 year old, the tonsils begin to develop and reach their peak during the pre-school years. As they are both the gateway to the respiratory tract and an important immune organ that plays a role in destroying pathogenic bacteria, they are prone to inflammation when invaded by pathogens. Purulent tonsillitis caused by bacteria is a common and frequent disease among young children and pre-school children.