When Rachel Naud?s 10-year-old son, Tristan, had his tonsils and adenoids out in May, the days that followed were full of intense pain. A week later, he was still wincing when he swallowed. Though many of us recall tonsillectomies as an occasion to eat ice cream to soothe a sore throat, the reality is that recovery is less about cold treats and more about morphine?which can be scary for parents. ?I was worried about giving it to him at first, but he really needed it,? says Naud.

Tonsils are lumps of lymphatic tissue on both sides of the back of the throat that, along with the adenoids (made up of the same tissue but located behind the nasal cavity), help support the immune system by trapping bacteria and viruses when you breathe or swallow. Ironically, although their role in the body is to help prevent infection, they often get infected themselves, which is one of the reasons kids get tonsillectomies. Tonsils and adenoids are usually taken out together because if one is problematic, chances are the other is too. Tonsillectomies are the second most common surgical procedure children undergo and are typically performed on kids ages three to seven, says Neil Chadha, a paediatric otolaryngologist at BC Children?s Hospital in Vancouver. (Ear tube surgery is number one.) Two decades ago, even a few throat infections were enough to have doctors prepping kids for surgery. ?It used to be considered something of a cure-all,? Chadha says. ?But now we have more ...