Jannik Sinner skips the 2024 Olympics due to tonsillitis. The world number 1 is ill, goodbye Games for the best tennis player on the planet. The stop, announced the 22-year-old Italian, was recommended by doctors after the worsening of his conditions in recent days. What are the symptoms that Sinner suffers from? What is the treatment?
Symptoms
Tonsillitis causes a sore throat and pain when swallowing, swollen and red tonsils, in some cases covered with a coating or whitish spots (plaques), high fever (over 38°), cough, headache and general malaise, swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
Sinner explained on his Instagram profile that after a good week of training on clay he began to feel unwell and then during a visit “the doctor found tonsillitis” and “strongly advised him not to play”. Hence his farewell to the Games.
The causes of inflammation and disorders
But what can be the causes of this inflammation of the tonsils, small lymph glands present on both sides of the throat, and how long does the pathology last? As the authors of a focus published on the information portal of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità ‘ISSalute’ explain, if the tonsils are affected by an infection, they block it and prevent it from spreading further in the body. As the years go by, the defense system of the child’s body develops and strengthens, the tonsils become less important and progressively atrophy. Tonsillitis is commonly caused by a viral infection, less frequently by a bacterial infection, and occurs frequently in both children and adolescents. The symptoms generally subside after 3-4 days.
Most cases are related to an infection with the same viruses that cause colds (rhinovirus), influenza or flu-like symptoms. If the tonsillitis is caused by bacteria, the most common cause may be an infection with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes), and in this case, it is often associated with pharyngitis (pharyngotonsillitis). If bacterial pharyngotonsillitis is suspected, the doctor may decide to take a throat swab and use a rapid test to identify the responsible germ.
How to treat it
How is it treated? There is no specific treatment for viral tonsillitis and the main recommendations are to rest and drink fluids. To relieve acute symptoms, the doctor may prescribe medications such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. If the tonsillitis is caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus, however, the doctor will prescribe antibiotic therapy necessary to prevent the infection from spreading and causing complications such as ear infections, peritonsillar abscesses, or even scarlet fever. Other rare consequences of streptococcal tonsillitis are rheumatic disease and glomerulonephritis.
The contagion
On the prevention front, since it is an airborne disease, it is explained in the focus, when tonsillitis is in the acute phase, crowded public places should be avoided and a handkerchief should be used when coughing and sneezing to limit its spread. Since it is also possible to be infected through contact with surfaces contaminated by infected saliva droplets, it is good to wash your hands often with soap and water, possibly also after coughing or sneezing.
Surgical removal of the tonsils (tonsillectomy), which in the past was common and often associated with the removal of the adenoids, is now considered by doctors only in cases of recurrent episodes that cause disabling disorders.
What Bassetti and Pregliasco say
“Jannik Sinner’s tonsillitis? Infectious diseases are always lurking and above all have shown throughout history that they make no difference: they strike young and old, rich and poor”, athletes and non-athletes, he highlights to Adnkronos Salute Matthew Bassettidirector of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa. “In some ways they are truly ‘democratic’, they really affect everyone. I’m sorry for Sinner, I’m sorry he can’t participate in the Olympics. Of course we must remember that Unfortunately, infections weaken the body and can therefore make people less capable of performing from an athletic point of view.“.
“When it was said that Sinner had a fever and had taken a swab, which was negative for Sars-CoV-2, I had already said it: this is the paradigmatic example of how fever and sore throat do not always and only mean Covid. There are dozens of other microorganisms that cause” these disorders, specifies the expert. “They can be bacteria or other viruses. It could be a streptococcus or another bacterium that causes tonsillitis, it could be a virus of any type, even mononucleosis causes tonsillitis. I repeat, there are many infectious diseases and they are always lurking”.
The virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco explains to Adnkronos Salute that “for a return to operation and performance of an athlete at the highest levels” affected by tonsillitis, “it takes at least fifteen days”.
“Tonsillitis should not be underestimated,” emphasizes the director of the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Milan. Caution applies “to everyone: to children, who often suffer from it, but also to adults”, in whom these infections “certainly become demanding. There is fever and generalized inflammation, therefore certainly also a reduction in physical fitness”, highlights Pregliasco. By subjecting oneself to efforts, one also runs “the risk of worsening the course and evolution of the disease”. Finally, the time necessary for therapy is needed “with anti-inflammatories or antibiotics. A treatment that varies depending on the nature of the tonsillitis, viral or bacterial. It seems to me that in Sinner’s case Covid has been ruled out, but I would say – estimates Pregliasco – that for a full recovery he will need at least 15 days less”.
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