Talk me down... swollen lymph node.

[OoodlesofNoodles]

NC as mentioned this to a few people in person. My 4 year old has a swollen lymph node on the back of their neck/base of skull. Confirmed by our GP. Has no other symptoms of illness, GP saw them after an initial phone consultation and checked temperature/ears/throat/amongst other things.

Google tells me that it can be the first sign of lymphoma and it's making me worry. Has anyone else's child had this before? How long shall I wait with it still swollen before going back to the GP? I/my child saw her last Friday when it was first noticed. No improvement or worsening since.

Hi my DD had a huge one and the same place when she was about 8. Found it on holiday and stressed the whole time we were away! Saw the GP when we got home who scared the life out of me by calling various colleagues to look at it and then referred us to hospital. Hospital consultant said it was fine and sent us on our way. Didn’t even scan it, she just felt it and said it was ok. DD is 16 now and whenever she is ill it pops back up but never seems as huge as when we first found it. My DD had no other signs of illness when it first appeared either.

So if I were you I would go back to GP if it’s not shifting in a couple of weeks unless they appear unwell in the meantime. And try not to worry but if they have no other signs of illness it might just be one of those things like with my DD. I know it’s very worrying though.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to reply at put my mind at ease! I think I will preempt it and book an appointment now that I can always cancel as our surgery is so busy. They were seen as an emergency case on Friday. Glad to hear your daughter was/is fine. I'm sure it will be the same for us but you can't help but worry, as you well know.

Yes I remember the worry when I found it so can totally relate back to how I felt in your position. Good idea about booking an appointment now.

My memory is hazy but I think there was something said about when a lymph node has inflated so much it then never truly goes away. This is now true for my DD you can always feel it but it definitely comes up more when she is ill. It was huge when we found it. It was really hard and like an egg on the back of her neck.

Hope all is well for you and it goes down soon.

Hi Op, please calm down! My DC both have very visible lymph nodes, especially when unwell; they get to the size of a baked bean sometimes! My DS has one that is permanently raised on his collar bone and also his groin lymph nodes are the size of grapes; he’s had multiple blood tests over the years (he’s 11 now and we noticed these raised nodes when he was a baby). Some kids don’t have a lot of fat to cover them so they can appear more obvious. If your DC was unwell (lethargic, losing weight, had other red flags) then I would be concerned. Try not to worry (although I know the fear!)

Also, the GP likes to wait around 3 weeks from initial noticing of the swollen node to see if it goes down. Has your child been unwell recently? A bug could trigger a raised node; my daughter had a huge one behind her ear that we noticed on Christmas Day and she had had a cough / cold the week before. Sometimes though, they are always just there and we don’t realise. Lots of kids have them and they are no bother 🙂

DC had one in groin area and base of skull. Went to GP and referred to peads. After a blood test we had to wait 6 months before seeing the consultant! Both lumps had gone by that time. Consultant said they were likely reactive nodes reacting to any type of infection - apparently they're all round the base of the skull!!!

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond, I will calm down thanks to these reassuring responses 🙂. My child has not been unwell recently, had a virus at the beginning of March that lasted a couple of days but no symptoms of being unwell since. It's a lot bigger than a baked bean, I'd say its the size of an average grape. Did the referral to Paediatrics happen the first time the GP saw it or were you to wait and see what happened? I was just advised that it may be the start of an illness 'keep an eye' on it amd give calpol if it caused pain (it doesn't seem too). Thank you everybody.

The question was for @Orla32 but anyone else with experience feel free to chip in!

I know several people whose DC had one grape-sized - it seems to be an over-reaction of the lymph node - you may find that the illness in March triggered it and it could have been raised since then and just not going back down quickly. I worked with ENT and I remember my consultant saying that children’s lymph nodes can really overreact to minor illnesses. My son also had a huge (and I’m talking golf ball sized!) lymph node come up in his armpit a week or so after his Meningitis jab; I was absolutely terrified but it did go down after a few weeks. When you say the node is grape-sized - is this the node itself or is the area around it raised? Usually lymph nodes are soft and squishy and moveable.

Just wanted to add my dd had one too, the size of a grape, we were referred to hospital as precaution, and they said it was nothing to worry about, just the same as the above posters! Always get it checked, but I just wanted to be another one to reassure you! It still comes up when she's under the weather

My son had one on the side if his neck that I noticed when he was 3. Dr just said it was fine and if it got bigger to come back. He said they don't always go down. I noticed it from time to time for years, it was 13 years ago and maybe still there but his neck is thicker now!

It definitely seemed to be the node that is grape sized, GP said the same. Will watch and wait for now and try not to worry. Thank you everyone for your reassuring advice/experiences 🙂. @train84 did your GP refer at the first appointment or make you wait a little longer?

One of mine had this. He'd been picking a spot nearby (back of head) and it was a bit angry. Once the spot went down , so did the node.

Going through this now with my son who has one behind his ear. They've referred us for an ultrasound scan

Has your DC had chickenpox yet? I noticed a massive grape-sized one on DS's neck one evening when he was eating dinner, and then a couple of days later he was covered in spots

Oh @OceanStorm I hope all is ok, I understand your worry. So he has had chicken pox, maybe 6 months ago. Today he has come out with 2 very small patches of red and dry skin (eczema?) in his hair somewhat near the bump. So I'm hoping this is what has made the node swell? Have made a provisional appointment in any case. Thank you all.

I have a grape sized one that just comes up sometimes, probably connected with fighting an infection even though I’m generally not ill

has been prodded by various HCPs over the years and nobody has expressed any concern. Had it for about 10 years now.

Funnily enough my son has just come down with chickenpox now. So hoping this was the reason

It was a while ago so I can't remember exactly, but I think the gp did refer from the first appointment. We went to the hospital and all they did was feel it and said it's nothing to worry about. This was a few years ago and we don't even notice it anymore unless she's under the weather!

Hi OP, I spotted this on my son and absolutely freaked out. Straight to gp who prescribed antibiotics for ears. They remained visible and I requested a referral to paeds which I didn’t wait for. Well the appointment lasted a whole of 5 mins where the consultant reassured us he was healthy and stated that lymph nodes are also reactive to touch if they are ‘up’ so basically me prodding it 1000000000 times a day didn’t help. This was 2 years ago and now anytime he is unwell the same nodes become visible. Sometimes they are up before so I know something is coming.

Lymphoma is definitely a possibility, best to get it checked out.

@OceanStorm going through this ourselves and have just been referred for ultrasound, how long did you have to wait?! The GP couldn’t give us a time frame :( x

How weird this thread has been resurrected, as today we got referred for a scan as the swollen node still there, 3.5 week wait in my area for a scan.

Sadly this was the first sign of my friend's DD cancer. She was turned away from the doctor and hospital many times (during Covid). By the time she was taken seriously it was already too late and she was very poorly. She was just 8 yrs old 😞 if there are no other signs of illness then that's a good thing! I hope you get some answers soon x

i wasn’t given any time frame at all! Hoping it’s no longer than that x