Can you feel your submandibular salivary glands?

[holliem91]

Hi all,

Posting here for traffic, hope that's ok.

I'm just curious to know if anyone can feel their submandibular salivary glands? I can feel mine and they're quite prominent. They don't stick out or anything and just by looking at my neck you wouldn't see them but when feeling there, they're quite big. About 3cm in size.

They've been like that for years (as long as I can remember) and I'm wondering if it's normal?

I've added a picture to show you where I mean.

TIA

At least I think they're glands. There's two on either side as shown in the photo. They're not mobile and they don't feel tender at all.

Yes, I have always thought it to be normal if you are slim.
I can feel most of my lymph nodes too if I go searching for them, don't worry!

Yes I can

I can feel mine. I'm not slim. Oh dear.

Thank you @ZednotZee I suffer with health anxiety so I sometimes go prodding and poking and find things that I wish I hadn't when will I learn! I am quite slim so that's probably why I can feel them. Thanks again

Thanks all! You've reassured me already, I'll be able to sleep better now I hate health anxiety with a passion!

I suffer from HA too, although strangely a lot less since Covid hit, go figure 😆
I'm glad you are reassured, now stop poking yourself it never ends well

Yes, on one side, for as long as I can remember

I went for tests to check that all was ok, which it was. My salivary glands were stimulated by some really tart flavoured liquid and then a tiny tube was put in and some fluid flushed in. I looked like a flipping bullfrog for hours while I waited for it to drain away!

Yes, I've always been able to. I thought they were whoppers but sounds like they're pretty normal sized actually. Phew!

I did have a slightly concerning time when one of them was very swollen, particularly after I ate anything. It was golf-ball sized. I went to the GP who looked incredibly cheerful and told me I'd made her day as she hadn't seen one like that in years. It was blocked, and the cure was to suck on a lemon wedge!

@candace I have had this too twice.

Any fizzy sweets set it off so I avoid them as its so painful. I have a submandibular stone in my saliva gland and the last time it happened I was told to go to hospital with a lemon and a sharp knife! In hospital I was told to cut the lemon and suck it so my saliva gland would open and they could go in with long nose pliers and remove the stone, but they couldn't reach it.

If it happens again I will have it surgically removed which will mean an incision like frankenstein on my neck! They wouldn't do that at the time as I was quite heavily pregnant!

Icanflyhigh

That sounds not fun, glad that mine is just swollen with nothing blocking it!