If you had your tonsils taken out as a kid that probably got you lots of attention, AND plenty of ice cream. But the tonsils' have a close neighbor-your adenoids, that can cause similar discomfort--yet they're not quite as well known.

10-year-old Alex Esckilsen says "I've heard of tonsils but I've never heard of adenoids."

Pediatrician Emilio Del Valle explains that adenoids are a ring of glandular tissue located behind the nose and the roof of the mouth. Swollen adenoids or tonsils cause health problems in many children. "But in some children, when they have repeated inflammation or infection they grow larger and while they're smaller, their airways are smaller, the tonsils grow larger and it impeaches on the airway."

Dr. Del Valle says that like tonsils, swollen and infected adenoids can cause chronic ear and sinus infections, nasal congestion, and other symptoms. "Look at the size of her tonsils, you can get a flashlight and look at them."

While physicians use antibiotics to cure the infections, medication isn't always the answer. Surgical removal of the adenoids just like the tonsils, will decrease and sometimes eliminate frequent infections of the ears, nose and throat. Alex also says "Getting your tonsils out can't be that bad, because then you get to eat frozen treats like this all day."

I'm with you kid. But about a week after surgery---everything should be back to normal.

And today, pediatric surgery like this can be handled as an outpatient 1-day procedure -and of coarse ---lots of those frozen treats.