Lymph node on side of neck :(

[Jj8]

Hi everyone

Please could someone please give me some advice as I've been worrying about lymph nodes for ages now and I don't know what to do any more.....

Before christmas I was feeling my neck and I came across a small lymph node in the cervical region I think, unfortunately I googled 'as we do' :( and now ever since I've been scared, I can't see it, when I lightly brush my fingers over it I can't really feel it but when I use the two fingers in a circular motion over the top of where I know it is I can :( I'm ok in myself just worried about it.

I've read the thread about being able to feel nodes but then on some websites it says that you shouldn't be able to so I don't know what to believe? I have two pimples on my neck too do you think this could be the cause? Please help ... X

[Fishmanpa]

If you poke or prod hard enough you can feel the lymph nodes in your neck, armpit, groin and other areas. It's absolutely normal. Also, poking and prodding can and does often irritate them and can cause swelling. A swollen node is quite obvious and often visible in the neck area. Most lymph nodes are around 1cm but can be from .05 to 2cm and still be considered normal.

Personally, based on what you described, I wouldn't be concerned.

Positive thoughts

[Jj8]

Thank you so much for your reply, so unless it gets to the point where I can see noticeable swelling do you think I should just ignore it and chill.... :blush: also when you say 1cm-2cm does that mean 1cm sticking out of my neck? Or is that just the length? X

[Fishmanpa]

Thank you so much for your reply, so unless it gets to the point where I can see noticeable swelling do you think I should just ignore it and chill.... :blush: also when you say 1cm-2cm does that mean 1cm sticking out of my neck? Or is that just the length? X

I really wouldn't sweat it. As far as the size? Like I said, unless they're truly swollen and sticking out, don't be concerned.

Positive thoughts

[robin321]

I had a 2.5cm node + two 1cm nodes in my neck. They were visbile when I looked up. They ended up going down. They likely swelled to that size by me prodding and poking them. I would push hard, move them around, etc... After I stopped, they shrank.

My wife had a small node on the back of her neck. Due to my lymph node stressing, she stressed. She had it scanned twice. It was a reactive node, likely from an ear infection. Yours is prob from something similar.

[Jj8]

Thank you for helping me :) ok so now I'm going to try my hardest not to stress unless I can see them sticking out of my neck.... Wish me luck... I think I need help :unsure: x

[songbird717]

This site has been really helpful to me and it's comforting to see that so many others have the same HA that I have. It's great to have a place to check that is not google, since we all know that always makes things a million times worse. We all "know" that most of our fears are unfounded, but the anxiety is very real and can take a real toll on our happiness and life. My HA has been really under control lately, but then my friend was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 26, and since thenI've been checking my neck...a lot. Of course when you go looking for something hard enough, you'll find something to worry about. I found what I think must be a lymph node in the cervical region, left side of my neck. It's about 1cm, slightly bean shaped, smooth, and movable. It didn't hurt when I found it, but after pressing on it, moving it around, pinching it, and palpating it, it's pretty tender. Now I can also feel one right above it...maybe because I've irritated the first one from pressing so much I've inflamed the one above it. My neck is also kind of sore now...also probably from constantly pressing on one area of my neck, but my anxiety brain jumps right to lymphoma. I have so many different worries about this actually. One is that it's not a lymph node at all, but a cancerous lump (my father had head and neck cancer, he's fine now, but that is a deep-seated worry for me. His cancer definitely didn't present like this, so that's not a very logical fear, but still. I'm fairly sure it is a lymph node based on it's location, what I've been reading in this forum, and the fact that now I can a new one above it where there wasn't one yesterday. I have a non-related check up with my doctor next week so I can bring it up then. She knows I have HA and is very understanding and always takes time to explain to me why I shouldn't worry about whatever disease I think I have. I want to stop checking up on the node because I know that will only make it swell more. At this point, I don't even know if it was swollen to begin with or if I just found a normal lymph node that may have been more prominent than the others, and palpated it until it was swollen. My 28th birthday is next week and I don't want to usher in a new year of my life with such anxiety. I really don't want to live my life like this.

[courierdude]

swollen lymph node is a sign of infection(or that you have been disturbing and upsetting it!).

have you cut or scraped yourself? do you have a sore tooth? stomach ok? eyes?

swollen lymph nodes is what doctors look at when they are assessing a case for cancer-thats what people who use google do!

[songbird717]

i'm not sick and I don't have any scrapes or infections that I'm aware of. I feel a little pressure in my ear on that side but I don't know if that's real or it it's because another poster on here was worried that that's a sign of cancer. I had a cold at the end of November but that has been gone for a while. I have noticed that the more I poke the node, the more noticeable it gets, so my goal is to not touch it until I go for my Dr's appointment next week. I just don't know how to get rid of the anxiety. It's really bad.

[courierdude]

well a cold is a virus and that will make your nodes swell and the poking and prodding probably hasnt helped!

try not to worry yourself and stop thinking the worst case scenario.

first you are actively looking for an illness and then you want to make it an illness of the worse possible kind!

stop torturing yourself and look after your general health and you wont have to worry yourself about things like cancer.

[songbird717]

Thank you courierdude, you are absolutely right!

I decided to just go to the doctor today and get it looked at so I could put it out of my mind. Luckily they were able to fit me into a spot that just opened up. My Dr. said "this thing is soooo tiny that it's nothing that I would ever worry about." She said it could be a lymph node that was a little raised after my cold or it could just be a fatty cyst. She said our bodies just get little lumps and bumps and it's rarely something to be concerned about. They go away on their own or they just are there and don't do anything bad. She said she has a little cyst on her belly area and it's been there for a while and she's not worried about it.

Her directions were to stop looking for things to worry about and to not touch the lump for at least a month so I didn't keep irritating it. I'm going to stop looking for things to worry about.

[Hypomania]

I had a huge fear about my lymph nodes about 3 years ago. I have palpable nodes in my neck,one in front of my ear, behind my ear, one on my groin, and one by elbow (epitrochlear region). I was terrified that I had lymphoma, and did all this crazy research about the lymphatic system and its drainage pattern. I seen about 5 or 6 different doctors, often going on a weekly basis.

This was despite the fact that I have had many of these palpable nodes since childhood, and doctor reassurance that none of them (based on size or feeling) indicated anything sinister.

There is a difference between enlarged or palpable and "clinically enlarged". Along the same lines as what Fishman already said, you can basically poke and prod and find palpable nodes, but it doesn't necessarily mean they've swelled or enlarged. Normal nodes are between .5 and 2.0 cm, clinically enlarged is usually anything above that range.

It took me a very long time to accept this, but you'll get there eventually.

[JMchugh]

I've got tonsilitis and my lymph node at the back of my neck swelled it's movable and I've kept prodding it which has probably made it worse! I also found a tiny pea shaped one under it! I'm trying not to worry but it's so hard sometimes! Hope you feel better!