3yr old son has a ganglion cyst.

[MrsHelenBee]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with their child having a ganglion.
DS2 had what initially looked to be a witlow on the edge of his finger 4 months ago. I tried to treat it but quickly established it wasn't what I thought it was and so left it alone. When it was still there 2 weeks later, I wondered if it was a wart in its early stages but several months further down the line, I can see it's a ganglion. It's also incredibly red around the lump and always hot to touch.
My son is bothered by it. When he catches sight of it, he begs me to get rid of it. I've tried to explain I can't, and from what I've read, a GP won't do anything either. He gets so distressed by it and is starting to rub it and pick at it, which is only going to make it worse, but at 3 years old, he's not really able to understand the importance of leaving it alone.
Has anyone else got experience of a child with a ganglion? Did it keep growing and/or cause the child pain, or did it just go away? Do I see the GP anyway, just for medical confirmation of what it is?

No experience sorry but I would definitely see a go just to be sure of what it was.

See a gp or ask a pharmacist for advice at the very least........In fact if it's inflamed and bothering him then you should have done that ages ago.

It's only been inflamed in the last week, probably as he's been rubbing it, but he's also been battling bronchiolitis, so further exposure in a GP waiting room is too big a risk just now.
Added to which, a routine appointment at our surgery has a 5 week wait at the moment as it is.

Ganglion cysts form over joints, not where a whitlow forms. Make an appointment - do they really not prioritise infants at your surgery?

It doesn't sound like a ganglion to me.
I've had them before and they aren't red and hot. They also tend to be on wrists, although I think also knees and ankles too.

My daughter had one on the back of her hand. I was horrified when I first saw it but once the gp told me what it was we son forgot about it - then one day it was gone!

You seem be making up excuses for not taking him to the GP, which is clearly necessary. He won't have to wait 5 weeks if you explain how much this is upsetting him and that he's 3.

FOOTLE I'm certainly not making excuses. He's on heavy duty antibiotics and inhalers at the moment, and been in and out of hospital, so we've had to prioritise.

My mother has ganglions on her fingers, which is why I recognised it.
Ds2 has bitten his nails so much in recent months, that he kept getting witlows, so I just assumed it was another one to start with.
My surgery doesn't prioritise anyone, regardless of age, other than emergencies. If you aren't considered one on thay day, you are expected to book a routine appointment. At best, that used to be a 2 week wait, but is currently 5 weeks, hence just looking for people's experiences on here.

A 5 week wait is absolutely shit.

Is there another surgery you could join. Or a walk in clinic or something???

Sorry MrsHelen, I didn't know it was possibly part of a wider issue. Not my business to tell you off anyway!

Fgs take your child with a sore infected finger (?paronychia) which is not going to be a ganglion at least to a pharmacist. The gp would see a child with a painful infection.

I have had ganglions all my life. First one at 5. I have never had an inflamed one or heard of anyone with it.
It sounds like it's infected.
I have a couple on my fingers but they are in the joints.
Are you sure it's a ganglion. An encapsulated cyst looks v similar.

I had a ganglion all through my childhood. What you describe is not that. Seek medical input.