Parotid Glands

[Britterbratt]

Hey, this seems kinda silly of my to join mumsnet because I'm 15 and I do not have kids, but my neck is swallon from my jaw to my ear and it is very painful, it hurts down my neck and it is very painful to touch, my doctor said it could be mumps, or a swallon parotid glands, but I've had people telling me it looks like a tumour, I need help, I'm so very scared. Please somebody help me. I don't know what to do. They gave me amoxicillin, paracetamol and ibuprofen... Please it hurts so much... I can't even open my mouth wide enough to eat, it feels bigger when I try to eat...

Britter - I think there are lots of things it could be other than a tumour, - some of the things your GP has suggested for example. And I think the explanations you have been given are much more likely, given your age. Glands do swell up when you have an infection, and they can take a while to go down, and they can be quite painful.
Have you spoken to your parents about your fears - they might come to the GP with you and you could discuss it.

I think you should tell your GP that you are worried about a tumour, because they will probably be able to put your mind at rest, - I'm not a doctor, but my guess would be that doctors have a pretty good idea of what feels like a tumour and what doesn't in your neck, and they will have had a good feel when they gave you antibiotics.

Do the people telling you it looks like a tumour have any medical knowledge or experience, - or are they just friends making a wild guess?

Try to calm down, - see if the antibiotics help, and if they don't, go back to the doctor and explains your worries. Try to stay away from google - its easy to diagnose yourself with all sorts of things from google and it's human nature to imagine the worst, and anyone can write things on google, so you don't know if they are written by doctors or quacks.

I have recently had a parotid gland tumor removed and believe me if it was a tumor you would know about. the pain is unbelieveable.

From what you have descibed it does sound like an infection

Your GP will know if it is a tumor straight away by the feel, position, size etc

Keep taking the tablets. I was on much stronger pain relief than paracetamol and ibuprofen. Good luck

Thankyou for the reassurence my doctor said it should go away in a couple of days, and the people who told me it looked like a tumour are not doctors but, they had a family member who died about 2 years ago from breast cancer and she had a tumour they just thought it seemed very large and irregular shaped, thank-you, very very much I was so scared, because mumps is serious as well isn't it?

Mumps is not usually serious. It usually just makes your neck / face swell up, causes pain and makes people feel poorly, but it's like having flu or something - you feel ill for a while then get better.

It will get better. Make sure you take good care of yourself in the meantime, rest, try to eat (try soup, yogurt etc that are easy to get down).

Talk to your parents/carers about your concerns about this - they may be able to reassure you.

If it was a tumour your doctor would be a lot more concerned, so try to put that thought out of your mind. It's not nice being ill, but try not to let worry thoughts get the better of you.

Get well soon. x

Mumps can sometimes be more serious in adults Britterbrat - but more so for boys, as it can affect fertility. (I am guessing you are a girl - apologies if I've got it wrong). When I say serious I mean you can feel quite poorly for a while, a bit more so than when little children get it. As you are fifteen you may well have had a mumps vaccination when you were about four yrs old.

I can tell you I have had breast cancer, and sometimes when it is more advanced people get lumps in their neck, but honestly doctors are well aware what they are looking for, if they had any thought that you might have a tumour they would send you for tests straight away.

I really don't think you should be worried