Did I infect my tonsils by removing tonsil stones?

Okay, so I've been dealing with tonsil stones for the last ten years or so. I didn't even know what they were for a few years, but once I did some research and found some information on tonsil stones, I realized this was the cause to my discomfort and was able to shine a flashlight into my mouth and get rid of the little buggers easily. I do get them regularly, and I am aware of when I get one because I always have the feeling of something stuck in my throat. It almost feels like a popcorn kernel stuck in my throat. So when I feel that sensation, I shine a flashlight into my mouth and poke it out (gross, I know).

Anyway, about a week ago I felt one in there. I did my usual ritual of shining a flashlight in and knocking it out; However, I still had that something-in-my-throat feeling. I kept digging around and, over the course of three days, knocked more than several very small tonsil stones out, even ones way deep in there. My tonsils, especially my left one, were in so much pain that I gave up after a few days. I woke up yesterday morning and it felt as if my throat was closing up. Looked in the mirror with a flashlight and had white spots on my left tonsil and on the inside of the left side of my mouth. Made a doctor's appointment. Went to the appointment today and the doctor was so positive that I had strep throat, even though I continuously told him it's not strep throat, I feel absolutely fine other than it feels like my throat is closing up and that there's a large lump in it. I told him about the white spots on my tonsil, and when he looked at it, he said there was no white spots at all. Strep test came back negative and he had no idea what it could be. I got home and BAM, spots were still there. I knew I wasn't imagining it! I tried to rub the white spots and they stayed. It also hurt very bad. My tonsil is so swollen that I can't even push that flap of flesh (those with reoccurring tonsil stones know what I mean) aside to look at the actual tonsils

What I'm thinking is that, with the days of poking and prodding at that left tonsil, is it possible that I could have gotten it infected by doing so? I did use q-tips most of the time when messing with my tonsils, but I will admit that I did use my finger a lot in place of a q-tip because I could maneuver it better, and I also will admit that I didn't make sure I washed my hands first every time before using my finger to dig into my tonsils. So is it plausible to think that I poked and prodded my tonsils so much and that some type of bacteria came from my finger or under my nail and infected that left tonsil, leaving it swollen and infected?

I know this is long, but has anyone dealt with anything like this before? The doctor I saw swears that he can't see any spots or discoloration, but as someone who frequently deals with tonsil stones and therefore knows what my tonsils normally look like, I can absolutely tell that they look different than they usually do.

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