Urgent bloods and scans for enlarged lymphnode in my 4 year olds neck

[Spiderpanda]

I noticed a lump in my 4 year old son’s neck, a lymphnode, it’s bigger on one side, he’s just been to the dr who has ordered urgent bloods and scans. He said they will be next week. I’m obviously really panicking as I know what he’s looking for. It’s been there a few weeks for sure, we waited a week and a half for an appointment and occasionally I’ve thought does he have bigger lymphnodes but he’s at nursery and always fighting off one thing or another. It’s one side, I’m very stressed, I’m wondering if anyone’s been through it. How often is it nothing… etc. thanks

I obviously can’t know if there is anything wrong with your DS, but I had a very similar experience with my own DS, and at a similar age. He had several swollen nodes in his neck, including one quite large one. We saw a paediatrician several times and had a few blood tests over a period of a few months. There was nothing wrong with him and he is now 18 and in good health- some of the nodes went back down but two or three of them are still inflamed to this day (and they get bigger if he gets a virus).

As a toddler/pre schooler, he had a few bouts of tonsillitis and nasty colds, and the Drs think that the nodes first inflamed in response to one of those illnesses and that for some people, they never go down again.

I really hope it’s a similar situation for your DS. Does he have any other symptoms that worry you?

Currently going through this with my 19 month old. He’s has his lumps roughly 11 months now bigger and more lumps and gp just kept saying it was due to over active immune system response to colds etc especially during winter months. Finally he’s having bloods next week urgently but at the same time she’s still insistent she’s not concerned about the lumps all over his neck

My son had very obvious lymph nodes when he was little; the GP ordered lots of blood tests over the years but eventually concluded that as he was slim, his were jus more visible (no real fat layers to pad them), and his immune system must’ve been really sensitive (he scratched his knee skateboarding and ended up with a lymph node swelling up in his groin to the size of an egg). If there weren’t other symptoms (losing weight / night sweats / not growing etc) then try not to worry.

My youngest had this and was seriously ill too and all turned out to be nothing. They ended up saying it was a virus similar to glandular fever. She had an awful immune system from being a baby (literally had to be kept in isolation for three weeks once as her immune response levels were super low). Until the age of 11 she would get a hideous virus that would wipe her out for weeks at least once a year. She would have to do a part time phased return to school!