Any Paediatricians or experienced mums here tonight? 2yr old lump behind ear

[Londonna]

Any advice greatly appreciated, Dr Google is a bit of a scaremonger!

2yr DD has had a few ear infections in her life, last week her temperature shot up to 39.5 in one ear and 38 in the other, so we guessed another viral ear infection and dosed her with calpol for a couple of days until the fever went. She went off her food a bit but otherwise was fairly lively for the duration (approx 3 days, finishing on Friday just gone).

Today I noticed she was scratching the side of her head under her hair a fair bit after she awoke from her nap, so I took a look and noticed a pea-sized lump behind her ‘bad’ ear, and then another smaller, flatter lump behind her other ear. Dr Google tells me it’s likely to be enlarged lymph nodes from fighting infection, but I noticed it was red where she had been scratching (whether because of scratching or not I don’t know), and she’s also been scratching her head a lot today, which I’ve now read can be a sign of cancer 😞 obviously my anxious mum brain has latched straight on to that idea! The larger lump feels quite hard when she lets me touch it, I asked if it hurt when I gently pressed it and she said ‘yes’, but let’s be honest, she’s just turned 2 so 🤷‍♀️

Can anyone give me some words of advice? Planning to book a Dr app in the morning, but am alone tonight and worrying a fair bit.

Many thanks for any words of wisdom!

Can you post a photo?

I suffer with chats behind my ears that can get infected from time to time. I had one removed a few years ago.

Cysts!

The chats go in my ear

Thanks for your reply its

She’s asleep now so I don’t think I’ll be able to get a photo! The lump is flesh coloured, I wouldn’t have noticed it apart from feeling it when I ran my fingers around behind her ear. It’s definitely on her head as opposed to being attached to the ear itself, and feels hard and non-moving.

This reminds me a bit of when my DD had mastoiditis around that age, after a run of ear infections. It was initially misdiagnosed, so got quite large and painful - at that point it was making her ear stick out at a different angle to usual and she couldn’t bear having any clothing pulled over her head. But I’m wondering if this could be the earlier stages, especially with the ear infection link. Basically it’s when the infection spreads from the ear into the bone behind, but rare these days because of antibiotics (which my DD would keep spitting out!). Treated with IV antibiotics and she then had grommets fitted - which helped with the ear infections. Definitely see the doctor tomorrow, but try not to worry too much tonight.

Thanks so much Verbena, I did think it might be Mastoiditis when I read up on it, then I kind of hoped it wasn’t as cruel Dr Google told me it can be very serious if left untreated... which led to me panicking that she’s had lumps there for weeks and I’ve been a crap, unobservant mother!! But now you’ve told me this sounds like the early stages, which has made me feel 100 times better.

Ugh, and I thought I was an anxious person before I had kids...!!

Honestly this will absolutely be nothing. 'One of those things.' Which sounds boring but will be the case.

I know the worry is real but please try to step it down a notch and stop googling. It'll be a lymph node or - as above - 'one of those things'

I’ll take boring over serious illness any day Mary many thanks for your reassurance 😊 I’m really hoping it turns out to be nothing.

Scratching her head? I took my DD to the GP for a lump behind her ear. Turns out she was having a reaction to head lice.

I have to agree with Iceni thaty first thought was headlice!

Thanks for replies, I have checked several times for lice but have found nothing, she’s got baby fine hair still with visible scalp so I thought it would be fairly easy to spot them 🤔. I’ve just been reading an ancient thread about someone else who checked a dozen times and managed to miss a fairly serious infestation though, so I’ll check again tomorrow with a torch and comb!

My dd gets ear infections too and gets lumps behind her ears which drs have confirmed are swollen glands from fighting the infection.

Thanks Sirius I’m hoping it’s just that. She slept really heavily last night and I had to wake her this morning (unheard of 🙄), she still looked tired after 12+ hrs sleep and was refusing food in favour of her bottle, so my thoughts are that she’s still fighting the last vestiges of the infection from last week.

No hope of an appt today but I’ve been given the emergency Dr number to call after midday 🤞

How's she's doing now?

My ds was scratching his head like a madman around the age of 7/8. He just kept saying it itched and his scalp was red raw. Of course I checked for nits. And checked again for 5 days. Treated with not stuff etc.

On the 6th day I found one that was huge (bigger than an ant) who could outrun Usain Bolt doing laps of his scalp.

Removed it - and never had an issue since!

his whole nit story in life is the one mutant sized visitor

Barf its are you sure that was a nit? Sounds more like the relative of a cockroach or earwig 🤢

She’s been at the childminder all day, she said she seems well and ate her lunch fine, which is good as she’s been a bit fussy lately... got an appt this evening with the emergency Dr so I’ll update then, hopefully with the news that it’s nothing serious.

Thanks for asking, I’m getting a bit anxious now the appointment is drawing near 😬

Just got back from the emergency Dr, it was quite inconclusive which is frankly terrifying. She wasn’t very experienced so was googling all sorts in front of us. Her main concern was that the area wasn’t red or inflamed, and that the bigger lump was hard ☹️ She’s told us to keep an eye on it this week, and if it gets bigger to go straight to A&E.

I’m so frightened, I can’t lose my little girl.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thank you.

Oh gosh - honestly, try and step this down a notch! You're not going to lose her. GP stands for General Practitioner and this one clearly didn't know what she was looking at. A&E?!! What for? A node behind her ear when she's otherwise well and recovering from a virus? That's bonkers

If you wanted to be proactive, I'd call back tomorrow and arrange a blood test for her, given your poor experience today and ask for another appointment with another dr at the practice.

Sounds like swollen lymph nodes to me. I’m pretty sure they aren’t red and inflamed. Does it move around under her skin?

Also, if GP was that concerned she’d have done more than telling you to keep an eye on it x

I remember having these lumps as a child and I used to get a lot of ear and throat infections. They are lymph nodes- it's the body's response to her recent infection. I think the usual advice is to monitor for a couple of weeks and if still swollen, see the GP. But it's perfectly normal for it to be swollen if she's recently been unwell.

https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/mas/mdo/presentation/stayinghealthy/topic.jsp?condition=SymptomSingleeSwollenLymphhNode--PediID.xml

@Londonna my daughter was the first mastoid abscess in the UK since the 1970s, so very few doctors had seen one ( she was photographed for lots of medical journals).
If you are not happy go back tomorrow. My daughter's was slightly sore, tipped her ear at a funny angle, but she had no temperature and was not grouchy. It fooled even a very eminent ENT surgeon who was convinced it was just a lymph node abscess.
With antibiotics they can be successfully treated and some need surgical drainage - my daughter's did.
It did teach me that mother's instinct is worth a lot.

Thanks everyone, it’s so reassuring to hear these things (things that the Dr should’ve said rather than just going ‘Oh...’ whilst openly googling lymphoma in front of me 😐).

I’ll go to my usual Dr tomorrow, I’ll ring first thing and get an appt.

MrsHardbroom, were your lumps hard and painless? These are the worrying signs with my DD’s lumps. Apparently they should be tender and soft if they’re swollen through fighting infection.

Thanks v much for all replies, honestly they’ve helped me climb down off the ledge!

Thanks Lone I did ask about Mastoiditis but the Dr said it should be red and inflamed, then admitted she’d never seen one so googled it with me.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’d already googled it myself earlier and that’s not really what I came to the Dr for...

Lymph nodes come up behind ears and can take weeks to go down

Both my daughters have had this happen before and the doctor always said keep an eye and make sure it's gone done within 6 weeks

@Londonna yes that's what the ENT consultant said oh and she wouldn't be lying in her cot smiling. We went through similar earlier this year as it appears DD is stoic/brave/has a high pain threshold. Four days of she is not in enough pain for appendicitis and then eventually surgery after a scan confirmed appendicitis.
Most mastoid abscesses are red, hot and sore, but not all of them. Go back today if you are not happy.