Any kind of soreness in the region that you just described accompanied by a sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and a fever would most likely indicate that your son has a case of tonsillitis. This is because the back of the tongue, on both sides of it, is where the tonsils are located – to be exact in medical terms – the lingual tonsils.
The tonsils are part of the human lymphatic system and play an important part in the immune system of the upper respiratory tract. This is why people who have had a tonsillectomy, which is an operation to remove the tonsils, tend to have more respiratory illnesses like sinusitis and colds as well as sore throats. Tonsillitis usually occurs due to a bacterial or a viral infection, which causes the inflammation to occur. This condition is usually treatable if it is an acute case. An acute infection is one that has had a sudden onset and has not taken a long time to develop, which is the case in a chronic infection. The treatment regime would also include the use of anti-inflammatory medicine as well as antibiotics. You should look out for any white pus in the back of the throat as well, which is a clear indication of tonsillitis.
Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics but you should also consult with the doctor on some remedies like the following. Ginger tea to reduce the inflammation. This can be prepared by adding dried ginger root to boiled water and tealeaves. Give this to your son almost every hour until some of the inflammation subsides. Garlic should then form the next part of the process and given after crushing a clove of garlic and added to soup. Food should also become spicier, including spices like chili and black pepper in moderate amounts would help speed up the treatment. Most important of all is the use of a mouthwash to ensure oral hygiene. In case of the any development of pain, it would be a good idea to apply some clove oil to the area as clove has anesthetic properties but use this in moderation as a spicy diet and too much spicy food might give your son diarrhea. Gargling is treatment that many doctors would recommend to reduce the inflammation. The solution for gargling is usually just salt and warm water. However, you can also add some tea tree oil to this solution in a minute quantity. Be sure to tell your child to avoid swallowing the solution as tea tree oil cannot be ingested internally. Tea tree oil is a powerful antimicrobial and if ingested in a large quantity is hallucinogenic.