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.

@rockingbird I’m not sure how helpful this comment is to us mothers going through the worry. We’ve luckily been listened to by our GPs and refered for scans. That’s all we can do right now.

I've had one on my collar bone for about 30 years. It came up when I had a bad chest infection and it's never gone away.

I've had it looked at and the doctor said no concerns because it was soft and round and mobile. It feels like, I don't know, a squishable marble that moves around against the bone.

Hopefully all is ok ❤️

I hope all works out ok for your child @Mrsworried1 my GP isn't concerned and says he has referred my child just to make sure it's nothing worrying. I only know the time scale as I have a friend who works on our local radiology appointments team, they are short staffed of clinicians that scan children so, who knows, yours may be quicker. How long has the node been swollen?

We're on 4 - 5 weeks now.

My son has had one large lymph node behind his ear since he was around 9 months old, I also went into an absolute frenzy when I felt it. Took him to the GP twice and they spoke to the local children's hospital who said they didn't want to see it or scan it and that it was likely just one of those lymph nodes that won't go down and he will grow into it. He is now 3 and completely healthy. It's so so hard not to worry about it but the best thing I did was stop touching it and looking at it!

My DS11 has very reactive lymph nodes. Has had them since 3-4 years of age.

His seem to be related to auto-immunity and allergies. In spring/summer (pollen) the one on the base of his scull or behind the ear is so huge that it can look a bit freaky at a certain angle.
But he was at his worst when he used to suffer with severe eczema - then the lymph nodes were huge everywhere (groin, knees, chest, armpits, head). He had doctors worried, alas after all the tests, he is whole and fine. Since the eczema is gone, it's just the nodes on his neck that tend to swell for periods of time.

I got myself so, so worried at his worst and there were other signs of serious illness, such as losing weight rapidly and anemia despite eating well... So on the probability of things, I'd say that your son is just fine and all you are seeing is his immune system in action!

Our GP wasn’t concerned at all either. Just said slightly raised, no bigger than a pea. The photos make it took worse, and when she twists her neck it looks worse I think.

Dr just said as a precaution she is sending her for a scan. She said there would likely be other symptoms, if it was bad news, so she’s not sending the referral as urgent.

I feel like a bad mum because I actually am
not sure. She has long hair so I guess I haven’t noticed.

It was when she fell asleep in the car with her hair tied up i saw it.

Looking back at photos I think it has been there a few months. I guess I just thought it was a vein or part of her neck muscles.

I’ve spoken to a few friends and this seems very common, they all know of someone who has had similar.

The only thing that concerns me (which I told GP) is that she hasn’t been poorly at all lately. Not even a cold.

Although, I have noticed she has grown her “six years” molar on that side (early- she’s only 5) , so tonight i’m clutching at straws wondering if it’s that…. Praying anyway.

It wasn't intended to scare anyone, actually it was frigging awful and she wasn't taken seriously for quite some time! It would appear many have them and they lay dormant causing no problems - sadly this wasn't the case for this little girl. I sincerely hope those parents currently going through this have no furthers issues. As I previously said, there thankfully seems to be no other concerns and the GP's have confirmed that.

My 31/2 year old has had one since he was 1 left over from an infection ....I've had one for 20 years after CP

@Mrsworried1 we have ours this week

Ah that’s good you’ll be seen soon.
Im just worried because my daughter has no signs of anything that would have caused it to become swollen xx

My son has very reactive nodes. There are a couple in his neck which are there all the time (never went back down after childhood illness- can’t even remember which one but he had both bronchiolitis and tonsillitis when he was very little so probably one of those). He also has ‘shotty’ glands in his groin which come and go. I also have these and no Dr has ever been interested in mine so I think it’s ’just one of those things’.

DS had paediatric referrals and several blood tests and they never found cause for concern as he was growing and gaining weight and was otherwise very healthy. He is 16 now and still healthy.

@Mrsworried1 It could well be the new tooth. Seemingly, glands can react to any sort of pain/inflammation not just disease. We were told for example that if you had a cut on your leg, the glands in the groin might become inflamed in response.

And most of the time, we could find no reason at all for our DS’s lymph nodes being inflamed- the Drs weren’t worried though.

@OceanStorm hope it goes well and your little one is ok.

kids are such a worry aren’t they x

How did it go @OceanStorm?

I get these if under the weather / fighting an illness. I was told by GPs it’d your “glands being up” to fight germs. Wasn’t aware it was something to worry about. Had since a child and made it to 49 in good health.

We got our scan appointment it’s two weeks away. Xx

Ours is a couple of weeks away as well but the swelling seems to be going down slowly 🤞. I'm guessing we cancel the appointment if it does go down completely. Feeling relieved and hoping it carries on going down.

Hi just updating the thread incase anyones still here!

had a scan, told just a node, not big enough to be considered anything to worry about

never thought to ask any more questions but they said don’t worry.

xx

That’s good news @Mrsworried1. I always forget to ask questions and then remember them later- it’s frustrating! But they’ve told you not to worry about it- believe them! 💐

Dd1 had a huge lymph gland on the side of her neck for years. She was perfectly healthy but I was very anxious about it so my GP eventually referred her to hospital, where the consultant reassured me that she was fine. She told me that glands are more visible in skinny children and that it would become less noticeable as DD filled out.

DD is doing her A-levels now!

I developed one when I was 17. I am 47 this year and it’s still there!

I felt reassured during the scan but since I came away I feel like I should have asked more questions like “Will it ever go away” or “what do we do next”

Although I do recall asking her if I needed to keep an eye on it, and she said not really?

She was explaining measurements and how they go by width, and that the width was so small they weren’t even worried… something along those lines (distracted by my 5 year old hating the scan lol)

Im sure I asked her why it could be now more
pronounced (I explained that it’s definitely not always been visable etc!) and she kind of shrugged? She just said it’s just a node…

Im going to have to try and forget about it as she might have it a while looking at others experiences on here (which are really helpful and reassuring by the way ❤️)

I've had enlarged nodes for as long as I can remember (affectionately referred to as 'marbles') - never bothered me, typically swollen when I'm under the weather.

When I was 16, a new one appeared and didn't go down. I had surgery to remove that one and the one that came and went. I didn't feel like 'me' without it but oddly, a new one popped up in the same place - it's obviously meant to be! I find it a good reminder to actually acknowledge when I'm unwell (it can be quite tender when I'm poorly)

I'm still here 🙂. I'm pleased all is fine, ours is this week but it is now probably only 25% the size it was. I'll update once we have been but I'm certain all will be fine.