Lumps on sons neck

[nisham30]

Hey 👋 (overthinking, paranoid, need to stop googling everything and self diagnosing mother here, that needs help probably physically and mentally but I'll opt for just advice at this point 🤣)

Sorry for the really long post.. congratulations if you get to the bottom and have any advice or been through anything similar that could help me.

My son is 2, I noticed back when he was 14 months old (march last year) that he had a lump on the side of his neck.. at this time I assumed infection and just swollen gland however it never went down after a few weeks, I took him to the doctors in April 2022 and was told that this can happen with infection 🙄 I did explain it's been there for weeks but just fell upon deaf ears 😔

Anyway I took him back to the doctors for a potential chest infection around November time, and the doctor looked at him and first thing he said was "ah yes you can tell he has some sort of infection as his gland is swollen" 😅 I was like no that's been there since march and just never gone down, he then referred him for blood tests.

We had bloods done in January (not sure what bloods they tested though) but they all came back clear apart from slightly low on iron and that was that.

Anyway rolling forward to a few weeks ago, I noticed more lumps around 7 or 8 ... 2 surrounding the one he has always had, 1 at the back of his neck, 1 behind each ear, and 1 at the lower part of his head under his hair at the back, I took him back to the doctors and the doctor said she needed a second opinion from another doctor and would get back to me, I received a text from the surgery saying "please keep an on head and neck lumps and bumps and book another appointment for 3/4 weeks time" I was like what?!? The doctor didn't even know what they were and yet they're going to make me wait another 3/4 weeks?

I asked for a second opinion in person as he was playing with his left ear anyway so needed to check for ear infection also (yes he is literally always poorly but now he just gets on with it, he is such a happy little boy 99% of the time)... I was given ear spray this time around as his ear was slightly red and because he had not long had antibiotics for an ear infection a few weeks prior so I didn't want him to have anymore, but also the doctor finally referred me to whoever they have referred me to regarding said lumps...

Other symptoms I have noticed is bruising all over his legs (but he is 2 so assumed it's from all the knee sliding he has learned and in general just being a toddler) but still quite a bit more bruising than I would expect...

Extremely dry skin - the doctor has given us cream for this as aveeno cream just wasn't working and his skin feels like actual sandpaper (I put this down to seasons changing as he does suffer with hayfever allergies or so I assume given he was the same last year)

He sleeps a lot!! Has done since he was about 6 months but again because he has always been so good it's not really rang alarm bells until all these other symptoms but the other day he must have slept like 19 hours bar a half hour here and there... But that being said when he is awake he is a very active on the go toddler and always happy.. but he is also always unwell... I have 2 other children and they have never been this unwell so it's not like I'm a first time worried parent over something small 😅 that I could understand but I'm being made to feel like it's absolutely nothing to worry about and like I'm wasting time 😅 one lump I could kind of understand but several? Has anyone else gone through this?

Another symptom is his bowels... Most of the time for as long as I can remember he has had awful diarrhea but then other days it's like he is constipated but this is very rare the majority of the time it is just diarrhea (must mention there is NO blood etc in stools though)

He did have a nose bleed last week which he has never had before.. woke me up in the morning standing next to my bed covered in blood thankfully just a nose bleed as it terrified the life out of me thinking he'd hurt himself, was like something out of a horror movie 😅.. but again I put it down to hayfever season.

I just hope someone can shed some light onto what might be going on for peace of mind until I hear from whoever they've referred me to anytime between now and June and that's just for the initial phone call not an appointment..

It could well be absolutely nothing.. but it also could be something because no one can seem to tell me what's what lol!

I'm aware that this isn't a medical professionals group, just hoping maybe someone has seen something similar or going through the same and knows what it all is, I mean this is a bloody big group someone must have an idea.. just put my mind at ease whilst I'm awaiting a referral appointment to come through...

Thank you if you've managed to get this far. 🙏🥰

Hello.
I’m glad he seems brighter, hopefully he’ll continue to perk up as the antibiotic course continues.
I think the doctor probably means that these antibiotics will cover his tonsillitis that he may not have had when he was treated for his ear infection and they may feel that the cause of the lumps is due to the infections he’s had. As a response to the infections. I hope they start clearing up soon.

How is he, OP? Hope he is feeling much better x

@Blossomandblooms hey Hun! Still not 100% himself, still tired all the time but he is drinking and eating again which is a relief.. but also having long naps as well! Lumps are still clearly visible and some look slightly bigger, do have a few more doses left though and then just got to take him back if the lumps haven't gone which I'm pretty sure they won't xx x

Oh bless him :( is the lump soft / hard / squishy? Can you take him to see a different GP for a 2nd opinion? Poor lamb x

Hi there, I had to take my son for a scan due to him having lumps on the back and side of his neck plus he’d had one in his armpit. I nearly fainted because I was so sick with stress. Anyway, he’s fine. Apparently some kids just have very reactive glands and it’s very common . I hope it’ll be the same for your son. I know how terribly worrying it can be.

Hey 😊 so again he is still not overly himself, seems to be acting differently like very clumsy all of a sudden, really itching at his head especially at nighttimes but he is doing it during the day now too, his appointment has now been referred to as urgent up the hospital but they told me today he has still not been put on the waiting list so I need to ring up next week to make sure he is on it and hasn't got lost 😂 GP messaged me today and said they know he was up a&e and if he hasn't improved with the antibiotics to see them again so we have an appointment at 4.10pm today however I think that will be completely pointless as I'm pretty sure there isn't much more they can do for him there so putting him through the stress of going to the doctors again which he now hates 😭 but I also feel the more I keep taking him perhaps more things will be done I don't know 🙄 but since they've referred him already what more can they possibly suggest.. but the doctor was so sure the lumps etc would be gone after this course of antibiotics and I knew they wouldn't and of course they haven't and are still very much there.. and this is now over a year of having the one lump and now what 4/5 weeks of having the other ones that haven't budged.. xx

I would def take him back to the docs, poor lamb. Keep going and nagging and making sure they do something for him. It may just be a swollen lymph node but you need to have bloods and a scan to make sure that is what it is. Please keep persevering and don't take no for an answer. I personally would either go back to A&E and say the lumps haven't gone, despite what the A&E doc told you and you would like further testing NOW, or call the paediatric team and ask for any cancellations (I did this and managed to get a same day appointment as another parent cancelled their appointment). Please let us know how you get on x

^ this!!

You’ve just got to keep pestering them, over and over until they do something more. Ask your GP for extra tests, I don’t know about these things but can they test for diabetes, allergies, coeliac tests etc if not can they refer you urgently to someone who does?

You need to ask to be sent straight to paeds

Nurse here. You need to start raising holy hell. I am afraid those who shout the loudest are often those who get their needs met the quickest. His symptoms are escalating, he is clearly a very unwell child. I'd be straight to A and E and not budging until there was a proper plan on place. Please, please do not be robbed off. Mothers instincts are absolutely so important; you knew better than the GP that antibiotics wouldn't move the lumps. Go and be an absolute pain

When my DD was 3 she became lethargic and unwell the doctor examined her and found glands up all over (neck, groin abdomen etc). He was very concerned and took bloods and sent them off to be dealt with urgently.

He was as surprised as I was that she had Glandular Fever! She tired easily for a couple of months and then gradually got better.

I hope you get answers soon for your little boy.

Hi OP,

My 2 year old has a lump on the side of his neck like your boy, although a little bit smaller.

its palpable and been there for while. Like you, I thought the worse so paid for a private referral as the GP wasn’t worried.

private paediatrician ordered an ultrasound scan on his neck and thankfully it wasn’t nothing sinister and a reactive lymph node. I still worry about it and my anxiety gets the better of me some days so I go searching on groups on Facebook and there’s so many children with noticeable lymph nodes in their neck so that made me feel a little better.

thankfully the lump doesn’t get any bigger.

if you can afford to id definitely recommend a private paediatrician, unlike the GP they don’t mess around with carrying out further tests/scans.

hope little one is ok

How did your appointment today go?

Hello all 🥰 once again thank you for all your messages and advice and stories of your own similar experiences it does help ease the mind whilst I am waiting for referral etc!

So the itchiness of his head is seborrheic dermatitis (we have been given moisturiser and anti fungal cream to use 3/4 times a day) so that explains the itchiness, the doctor told me that he did put Kai down as an urgent referral to ENT so he said I should hear something soon so fingers crossed.. obviously if anything else goes wrong within the meantime I will continue to take him to the doctors and/or A&E if needed I'm no longer in fear of wasting their time and realise that my son cannot speak for himself and therefore I will always do my utmost to make sure that he is okay as a priority, mother's instincts are absolutely there for a reason.

So sorry for the delayed replies both me and my partner work full time on alternated shifts and with 5 kids between us life can be insanely hectic at times.

Kai does seem much more himself, we took him to the park the other day and he absolutely loved it, I do notice small changes lately such as much more clumsy, behaviour changes (tantrums etc) which I've never really seen before but hey I haven't had any of that yet and he is 2.5 years old now haha, so at the stage of learning how to push those buttons atleast I hope it's that and not just because of how he is feeling.. I do have a health visitor appointment in the middle of May for his 12 month and 18 month review 😂 I'm guessing the pandemic caused some issues there as like I said he is nearly 2.5 years old lol.

Xx

You might want to ask MN to delete your child's name from your last post. You've given his name and several photos.

I was one pushing for A&E urgently.

I really think they should rule out anything sinister. Of course, that is what we all assume in a panicky way, and I am sure it is a low probability.

Aside from standard bloods, has he had any specific blood tests or imaging?

I agree I wouldn't be taking any time to wait and see at this point

Agree with this ^
You need to ask to be referred straight to paediatric, they should be able to run tests there.

My DC was referred to the paediatric ward within the day for tests and then was offered an ultrasound before we were discharged.

Without pushing you don't seem to get anywhere unfortunately!

How is your lovely Little Boy @nisham30? Hope he's on the mend x

Still thinking of you @nisham30 - hope he is feeling better x

Hi Op,
Almost 3 years ago my eldest had a huge golf ball size lump in his neck just below his left ear. It just popped out one day but the size of it I think it had been there a while. The GPs were absolutely useless helping us, we ended up paying about £150 for a consultation with a private ENT paed consultant. He tried weeks of antibiotics but it didn’t budge. He ended up having it surgically removed for biopsy about 3 months after we found it, we were so worried at the time but it ended up being a really random benign bacterial infection which had caused his lymph node to go crazy. He was never ill in himself though. I can recommend the consultant if you are based in the south xx

How is your son doing?

Hi
How is your little boy doing ??

I am currently going through something similar with my daughter
She has 3 raised lymph nodes which have been there for around 7-8 months now they swell when she is poorly which seems to be all the time lately as she started full time nursery just a couple months back we starting to come out of that now.
However her lumps remain there. They are small soft and movable and don't seem to bother her- the dr doesn't seem concerned but for me it's peace of mind!
We have had numerous trips to the drs demanding answers
She had bloods which were low in iron she had supplements and by her follow up bloods 3 weeks later she was all clear.
We have been waiting 6 months for a scan to find out it has been rejected twice as she doesn't meet the criteria.
She is generally a well child - yes she has bruises but don't all 3 year olds they don't concern me, however the lumps really worry me.

However we did have a break through this week after visiting the drs again ! They refereed her as urgent as our waiting list is up to 6 months for a scan at the moment and I have already waited that long

We hope she will be scanned in the next 2 weeks 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Fingers crossed for you @catmommyoftwo.

How's your DS doing @nisham30?