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Original poster

Can you feel your lymph nodes?

18 replies

BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 15:00

I recently had back to back bad colds and noticed I can feel a lymph node on either side of my neck (in the same place.) No clue if they've always been there and I just noticed or if they are from being sick! Both are small, mobile, and non-tender. Is this normal? I am quite thin. It's giving me a bit of anxiety!

OP posts:
lazylinguist · 21/08/2021 15:38

Pretty normal, I think. Mine don't come up for a normal cold, but they do if I have a really bad one, or tonsillitis, throat infection etc. And they were up for months when I had glandular fever as a teenager.

oneglassandpuzzled · 21/08/2021 15:40

I'm a gland-y person and mine will come up if I'm a little rundown, even if I don't develop a full cold or virus.

butwhatcanwedo · 21/08/2021 15:43

I’ve got one raised lymph node on my neck at the moment. I’ve got really anxious that it means I have covid but it doesn’t seem to be a symptom that’s been linked to that specifically. It feels small but my family were laughing at me because if I tilt my head it looks like a little triangle sticking out. I’ve had it for two days now and seems to be going down.

Original poster
BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 15:59

@oneglassandpuzzled in your experience, how long do they hang around when they pop up?

OP posts:
Original poster
BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 16:03

@lazylinguist that's good to know! Thank you! I've been better for a few weeks now, but these glands are still hanging out. It was a really nasty cold though....

OP posts:
oneglassandpuzzled · 21/08/2021 16:05

[quote BunnyA2Z]@oneglassandpuzzled in your experience, how long do they hang around when they pop up? [/quote]
Sometimes it takes weeks for them to go down! I can feel them now and it's probably because I have had a slight cold and we have been busy at home with a home improvement project plus people staying.

picklemewalnuts · 21/08/2021 16:12

My son's pop up when he's stressed. He was anxious for a while, but now just rolls his eyes and tried to live better.

Original poster
BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 16:16

@picklemewalnuts I've definitely been stressed lately!

OP posts:
Kittii · 21/08/2021 16:16

Mine seem to come up regularly even when I don't feel ill or anything. I've had them checked and they're fine and normal. I'm also slim and they said that's why you can feel them so clearly.

Original poster
BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 17:10

@Kittii I'm thinking the fact that it's the same on both sides (bilateral) might mean it's just something I can feel? But it's hard to say because I did have a very bad cold a few weeks ago ...

OP posts:
Sunshinedrops85 · 21/08/2021 19:58

You shouldn't normally. It's a sign of infection or inflammation.

Makes sense with your cold.

If they're still there are you've recovered get it checked out.

Hardploc · 21/08/2021 20:20

Yes. I was told they don’t worry about them generally unless they’re 1-2cm big. Mine never go down and I can feel loads. All been checked

Hardploc · 21/08/2021 20:22

Also sometimes they never shrink after illness particularly if it’s a repeated illness

Original poster
BunnyA2Z · 21/08/2021 23:36

@Hardploc how did they check them? Just by feeling them?

OP posts:
kissmelittleass · 22/08/2021 09:20

I've had a node on my left side of my neck for twenty or more years had it checked two or three times and never was a cause for concern unto it got quite big just before the pandemic.
I saw my doctor who arranged a private ultrasound the following week and all was fine no explanation and it slowly went down to a pea sized lump that I've always been able to feel for twenty years! It's just there and I check it every now and then.
Also have two nodes up on right side of my groin which I found about three years ago they never go down but my doctor has checked them at least twice and I mentioned them at a hospital gynaecology appointment and the doctor checked them and no one was worried so I guess some people have nodes that stay up forever!
If yours are still there in a month or so time get them checked but I honestly wouldn't worry in the meantime.

IncludeWomenInThePrequel · 22/08/2021 10:01

Yes, it popped up on my collar bone after I had glandular fever 20 years ago. It's smooth and mobile under my fingertips and doctors have never been concerned.

Hardploc · 22/08/2021 20:22

Mine were checked twice at the GP just by touch. I was referred to an ENT consultant after the second visit when they didn’t disappear after 2 weeks under the 2 week cancer pathway. The GP reassured me that they felt benign but that she had to refer me as it’s just the rules. The ENT consultant checked them by hand and was fairly sure they were benign but said he’d send me for an ultrasound. I had the first ultrasound done which came back all benign and the consultant felt them again during my results appointment. I was then offered a second ultrasound 4 months later to check that no growth or other changes had occurred since the first. Second ultrasound came back clear and consultant checked by touch again in the result appointment. I was then discharged from the hospital

Kittii · 22/08/2021 20:39

I had an ultrasound on mine too but it was also quite soon after I had cancer so my consultant wanted to be thorough.

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