Lump behind left ear

[RyanM1994]

Hi
Today I've got a huge noticeable lump. Underneath my left ear on the top of my jaw.
Right before this I had pains in the left side of my chest that disappeared as I got in the bath.

I'm convinced this is a blood clot and now I've got a headache.

What can this be? I'm so scared :(

Waiting for the bus panicking like crazy

[RyanM1994]

Went to the walk in centre in my town, got told to get checked by a dentist. Called 111 to book an emergency dentist appointment, got told that it doesn't sound dental related and to wait for a call back from an out of hours doctor. So confused. I have no pain in my mouth and I know what dental infections feel like, doesn't feel like this.


Don't know what to do

[.Poppy.]

Could be a lymph node. I have pierced ears, and I get this exact thing from time to time, when I sleep on my earring wrong and make it swell/bleed. It's pretty common. I don't know if you have pierced ears yourself, but it could be something else that is causing your lymph nodes to flare up. The list of things is very, very extensive :) And of course, some people have constant noticeable lymph nodes (I have these as well).

[RyanM1994]

Hello guys and girls, thank you for your help yesterday
Today i have woken up and the swelling has almost gone.
I have a weird salty taste coming from my salivary gland on this side (although could be the tooth as it is in the same area).

Also my mum made me aware of a potential problem that I could be suffering from called tmj. Our jaws are abnormally large and therefore cause us problems. She had a similar swelling a few months back and it lasted a few days.

I did eat toffee yesterday which could have caused a jaw spasm.

Confused now, 3 possible problems, confused.

Is it likely to be an abscess? That's the main one I'm worried about.
I've had no tooth pain and it doesn't feel like an abscess but I do have that salty taste.
My teeth inside look fine. I do have a dentist appointment on Wednesday so will get him to
Double check then, unless you people think I should get it looked at sooner?

Also I have been drinking very little lately so that could be the cause of the salty taste.

So confused lol

Do you mind if I ask for a bit more help trying to rule these out?

[.Poppy.]

No worries. At least now your concerns about what it could be are all harmless, easily taken care of problems. Wouldn't hurt to get it checked out by a doctor as they might be able to tell you what it is or how to get rid of it if it's bothering you, but it's probably not serious so at least you can sleep easy :)

[RyanM1994]

Hey
Thanks for the help.

I've already spoken to 2 doctors and neither of them have a clue what the problem is haha.

My main concern and possibly the worst of the bunch is a potential tooth abscess.

Please help me confirm, surely if it was an abscess the swelling wouldn't go down so quick? 1 day