I have a blocked gland and it's agony!

[MycatsaPirate]

It's the one in my neck, the one that produces saliva. So if I try and eat, the pain increases as the saliva has nowhere to go and my neck has vanished on one side of me.

Anyone else had this? The GP suggested antibiotics but as it's not an infection I am reluctant to take them. She also suggested mouthwash three times a day (which I'm doing) and drinking lots of water. This doesn't seem to do much either.

I had that. A stone in the salivary gland.
Sometimes I could sort of massage it to relieve the pressure. I got quite good at nudging it enough to let the saliva flow.

I find certain mouthwashes make it worse.

I eventually had surgery to remove it, the surgeon said the gland was chronically infected.
The area may be infected and inflamed so the antibiotics may help

It's definitely swollen, the gland is huge and I have additional swelling through to under my chin.

How do I massage it? It hurts to touch and I don't want to make things worse.

Saltwater is very good for infection and healing, try swilling it round in your mouth and gargling with it.
Sounds like you need an ENT referral though

I haven't had the same thing but I used to get swollen glands a lot. For me a heated beanbag helps. And since I started using a tongue scraper I get them much more rarely.

Hope you feel better soon

I will try saltwater. Probably tastes better than mouthwash. I have spent the summer at the beach and had so much saltwater swishing round my mouth, it should be spotless!

This is the first time it's ever happened and quite frankly I hope it's the last.

Yes I have had this. Take the antibiotics, honestly, if you don't you will wish you had.

My doctor also suggested holding a slice of lemon under my tongue, to force a rush of saliva in the hope that it would clear the blockage. I tried it but it just made the pain worse and I was sick. So this is not something I would advise to you :)

I had this a few years ago. It was agony. One side of my neck was swollen. The doctor referred me to hospital but by then it had disappeared. They did tell me though that not drinking enough water can cause this type of thing. I also suffer from dry eyes so I try to keep hydrated and drink water even when I don't want to. It hasn't happened since. I think it's something to do with calcium deposits.

I had (still have to an extent) this. Mine wasn't stones on scans but a narrowed saliva gland.

I had a huge lump on my jaw and DP massaged it (not gently, I admit it hurt like a bitch) and it unblocked and released all the saliva.

Had loads of ENT intervention but none worked and I didn't fancy surgery so now I just put up with it. It's never been as bad as the initial blockage though and isn't painful anymore.

In my case I could sort of feel the stone, putting my fingers under the jaw bone and moving them a bit often helped , or wiggling my tounge along the duct sometimes worked, the gush of saliva was a relief but often tasted foul.

I hummed and hawed about the surgery but it got so bad that I went ahead. Just before that they used me as a case study for medical students.

Are you sure its not infected?
Have they seen a stone on scans?

If it hurts to touch and you have additional swelling then it sounds like it's infected to me - take the antibiotics. Salt water gargle, as hot as you can bear, and a heat pad for the affected area.

They thought I had this, but it turned out to be glandular fever. Have you had a blood test to rule it out?

I've not had any tests or scans, just the GP looked at it and then had to look up how to treat it. She seemed a bit unsure about prescribing antibiotics too.

It's still there, slightly less swollen but I'm not eating much at the moment. Obviously once I do eat it starts swelling again. I'll get the antibiotics and give them a try. I hate taking them unless it's quite obviously an infection.