 [ Symptoms ] can a person get tonsilitis if they nolonger have tonsils my son had tonsilitis tonsilitis is a viral infection and does not require an antibiotic however tonsilitis can be caused by strep which is bacterial which requires an antibiotic dr did not do a strep test but perscribed an antibiotic a few days after he got better i developed an extremely sore throat runny nose caughing headache no fever tonsilitis symptoms can i get tonsilitis if i had my tonsils removed if i have a strep infection will my immune system fight it off [ Disease ] i will never understand that rationale of giving antibiotics to anyone that has a viral infection this is not good medicine most cases of tonillitis are viral and antibiotics are absolutely worthless and sometimes even harmful with that said first i assume you are a healthy adult most adults have relatively good immune systems that fight off viral and bacterial exposures 247 while the organisms may be capable of causing disease the organism has to find a susceptible host most of the time we just fight off those alien bugs if you do not have tonsils you can not get tonsillitis but you can get a viral infection but it does not mean it will be identical to your son who has a different immune system you may just get a stuffy nose or nothing at all in your case you did get an upper respiratory infection but it did not have to come from your son it could have been someone else and an entired different bug there are over 200 respiratory viruses capable of causing colds i get exposed to strep a dozen times a week and have never got it thanks to my own immune system and perhaps better handwashing and other precautions trust your immune system in most cases you will be just fine the cold that you most likely have now will likely improve in a few days on its own there is a slight different view my dad was a nurse and was told by a gp a a i am in the same situation as he was both my dad rip and myself have had tonsils removed however you can get all of the tonsillitis symptoms without having tonsils the only difference is where your tonsils were have the infection rather than the actual tonsils it just means that it is easier for you to be able to take paracetamol ibuprofen and other pain relief along with fluids as you will not have tonsils there to restrict the ability to swallow as much i had my tonsils removed when i was 4 and as an adult had tonsillitis many times as my doctor did not remove my tonsils beds i have been asked by doctors if i was sure it was my tonsils that were removed as symptoms so obvious later on in life i am now over 40 i have heard doctors say it is not that uncommon