Neck lumps

[worriedandpanicking]

Hi, i am awaiting a scan to find out the nature of my neck lumps at the moment, the scan has gone through as urgent but i havent heard anything yet. I am also having bloods taken on wednesday.

I had awful toothache in the left side of my mouth for about 5 weeks which i controlled with paracetamol, the toothache has now gone but i have 2 lumps in the side of my neck on the left side, they are smooth and have doubled in size over the last few days, the lumps are painless . I am terrified, I lost my Dad to brain cancer in december so obviously i am now convinced i have cancer.

[paddyclamp]

My DS (aged 8) has been referred twice with lumps in his neck (the size of a big pea and the other more like a malteser)...he had no other symptoms so i couldn't blame and infection.

Both times he got referred to the hosp and the consultant wasn't worried...he ran blood tests and they came back as normal and that was that!

[worriedandpanicking]

That is really good to hear! The doctor said it didn't feel sinister but i had only one lump when i went to the docs, another one popped up the next day!

[worriedandpanicking]

bump

[Flightty]

It's probably the tooth,.

silly q but have you been to the dentist?

[tanfastic]

I have a four year old with two large neck lumps. He's had them since he was two. He was referred as an urgent case for suspected lymphoma last summer by my over exuberant (not a bad thing though although I was shitting myself at the time) GP. He was seen by a consultant who had a good feel and examined him all over and gave him the all clear without the need for blood tests or anything else. He seemed a bit irritated that he'd been referred to be honest but better to be safe than sorry. The lumps are still there, no smaller or bigger. One is the size of a kidney bean.

He said that in my son's case it just means he's "working" and his nodes are doing their job as at his age they are fighting off infections constantly. He said they are probably scarred and may never go down but as they were mobile he was able to tell just by feeling them they were nothing to worry about.

[worriedandpanicking]

Flightty No i haven't been to the dentist, terrified of them :S

What do they mean by mobile, mine seem to wriggle about when i touch them but are fixed in the same place if you know what i mean.

[Flightty]

Oh you poor thing. Look, I really think the most likely thing is that they are lymph nodes which are up as they're fighting an infection in your tooth.

You may be developing an abscess in it, which is why you really need to go and get it sorted out. I would not be too worried about the lumps at this stage but I totally understand why you are and I am so sorry about your Dad.

I bet if you went and had the tooth treated they would disappear x

[Flightty]

When they say mobile, they mean they wriggle about when you touch them, but are still fixed in one place

It's alright; I know a little bit about nasty lumps, and these don't sound the same x

[TherapeuticVino]

Hi worried

I had exactly the same thing a few years ago. It turned out they were glands that had gone haywire and are so hard they feel like bone - they never went down so I still have them! But they are harmless - would make sense if you've had dental problems?

I remember how scary it was but cancer is NOT the only outcome!!!!

[worriedandpanicking]

Where your lumps on only one side of your neck TherapeuticVino

I am happy to hear that mine are mobile then Flightty although my lumps are painless and thought swollen lymph nodes fighting infection are usually tender and painful.

[worriedandpanicking]

were

[TherapeuticVino]

Yes, they were (and still are!) right on the side almost under my ears

[Flightty]

They can be sore but not necessarily.

An awfully large proportion of lumps like this are benign, really it's highly probable that they are fine. I wish I could tell you for definite, hope I have reassured you a little, but good luck anyway x

[winnybella]

Probably swollen nodes from tooth infection. You need to go to the dentist and get it sorted, just because your toothache went away for now, doesn't mean your tooth is fine.

It's very common to have swollen nodes, there's no need to panic, doctor is sending you for a scan as a precaution.

Btw the only times my neck nodes were tender was when I had tonsillitis. At other times, they are up with a cold etc and they don't hurt at all.

Stop panicking and yourself to the dentist-the tooth problem will not go away.

[winnybella]

get yourself

[worriedandpanicking]

I really do not want to go to the dentist, my teeth are really bad and it will be so embarassing, i guess i will need to go though :(

[winnybella]

There's nothing to fear at the dentist now, they give you injection to numb you that doesn't hurt and if you're scared of that, you can ask for a topical anaesthetic before injection as well. You won't feel a thing. Get it over with.

[worriedandpanicking]

Its not the pain im worried about, if I had good teeth I wouldnt hesitate, but my teeth are really not good. I dont have a dentist, but I should try to find one today. I sholuld just get it over with I know.

[winnybella]

Well, it won't get any less embarrassing with time and you'll have to go at some point anyway, so might as well now

[Clara35]

My 8yr old dd has had lump on side of neck for years. Have been back & forth & different gps say it's a gland. It's been there so long it cant be anything sinister as she would have been ill by now.

[toothgenie]

I work in a dental surgery, we're not here to judge you. Our number one concern is to make you dentally fit. Try this link to find your local NHS dentists.
www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/Pages/ServiceSearch.aspx?ServiceType=Dentist

[worriedandpanicking]

Thankyou toothgenie i will go and look at that link now :)

[Anon189]

Just wondering what the outcome was? Hope everything was ok

[Runkle]

Zombie thread Anon.