What Are Adenoids?

Adenoids

Say: AD-eh-noyds

The adenoids are a patch of tissue in the back of the throat behind the nose. Their job is to help keep you healthy by trapping harmful bacteria and viruses that you breathe in or swallow.

Adenoids fight germs, especially in young kids. But as kids get older, their bodies develop other ways to fight germs, so adenoids are less important. Adenoids usually shrink after a kid turns 5, and they practically disappear by the time a kid becomes a teen.