I hope you’ve already eaten.
There’s a new gross addiction sweeping the online world and it makes pimple popping look like child’s play.
Meet tonsil stone digging.
Image: YouTube/Worlds Greatest Medical and Fitness
Weighing anywhere between 0.3 to 42 grams, tonsil stones or tonsilloliths are formed when lumps of calcified material clump together in your tonsils, AKA the fleshy pad at the back of your throat.
This happens when trapped bacteria, dead cells and mucus become clogged in the nooks and crannies of your tonsils, which goes onto form a debris.
They can cause bad breath, sore throats or pain when swallowing and despite the fact you've probably never heard of them, they're actually quite common. (Post continues after gallery.)
These smelly, yucky yellow-y white balls are the internet's latest superstar, with dedicated communities proudly filming, sharing and watching clips of people 'digging' out the stones from their tonsils using cotton buds.
And yes, there's even a dedicated Reddit thread to all things tonsilloliths.
In it, hundreds of people have shared images of their excavations with captions like "My very first tonsil stone - I named him Dave".
People also share size comparisons, by posting pictures of their gold digging next to items like coins.
However it's the YouTube videos that really take the cake.
User Tonsil Stone Man has received thousands of views on his personal videos, which are complete with dramatic music to make the excavation even more majestic.
It's so gross and so horrifying... that we've watched it 15 times already.
Warning though: it's not for the fainthearted.
However, it probably goes without saying that it's definitely not recommended that you try this at home.
If you have concerns about your throat or discover tonsil stones, please, please go see a doctor or medical professional who can advise the best course of action.
Image: iStock.
h/t: The Independent
Top Comments
This just made me puke a little in my mouth.
I've never had these and I hope I never do *shudders/knocks on wood/prays the rosary*
Not sure why this is supposed to be so gross. Almost everyone will get these, they just usually pop out without people noticing. They're just little benign clusters of food particles and bacteria. If you have them a lot or they cause you a problem, your doctor will recommend taking out your tonsils. Pretty standard stuff.