Collar bone lymph nodes

[BrokenGirl]

Can someone please talk some sense into me.. I was feeling my left collar bone yesterday and then i started comparing it to my right one and now i'm freaking out. My left one feels like , not exactly swollen, but as if there's more skin/fat/tissue around it. I know we have lymph nodes around the collar bone but i'm not googling anything. What do swollen collar bone lymph nodes feel and look like? Something is telling me I'm ok but when my HA spirals it filters out anything positive and I just can't help worrying about it and checking it.
I've really got myself into a state over this. Am I being silly and irrational?
Please advise me!!

[Fishmanpa]

Am I being silly and irrational?
Please advise me!!

Absolutely! Advice: Stop the self examination looking for something to worry about.

Positive thoughts

[axolotl]

My mother-in-law had a lymphoma in that spot (now cured) and before she knew anything it was very quickly the size of a golf ball. You do not have to dig around to find these things.

[TattooArtist]

This is the thing about lymph nodes... They swell a little when they are doing their jobs. It doesn't mean anything bad is happening. You do not have to obsessively check them. Just pushing and pushing and pushing is gonna cause swelling. Everyone's body is different side to side. Rationally, try to understand that you set out looking for a problem and the ha part of your brain is telling you that you MUST worry even though it's really irrational.

[Thelegend27]

Lymph nodes are a very popular topic here and I've had my share of node threads myself.

As for lymph nodes behind the collarbone it's a bit tricky, your collar bone runs from your sternum all the way back towards your shoulder, so determining which if these nodes are enlarged determine the potential risks, for example, the suoraclavicular nodes sit diagonally from where your collarbone join the sternum, the virchows nodes sit nearly right above the sternum but a little off to the side behind the collarbone, these are the worrisome nodes as they carry the highest risk for malignancy, but not all swollen nodes are cancer, in fact what you describe to me doesn't sound like a swollen node, I had the same fear and my doctor had to educate me on where the supraclavicular were because I thought I had palpable supraclavicular nodes from reading the internet but I was wrong. We read a lot if information online that we know nothing about and this leads us to irrational fears, please don't read stuff online and get worked up, if you're concerned see your doctor that's the best thing to do.

[Fishmanpa]

in fact what you describe to me doesn't sound like a swollen node

That's really all that needed to be said. Regurgitating Google is not necessary and would only lead to further googling and fears. It's apparent the OP doesn't not know what they're feeling. This is a clear case of self-examination and a lack of knowledge concerning anatomy leading to enhanced anxiety IMO.

Positive thoughts

[axolotl]

Lymph nodes are a very popular topic here and I've had my share of node threads myself.

As for lymph nodes behind the collarbone it's a bit tricky, your collar bone runs from your sternum all the way back towards your shoulder, so determining which if these nodes are enlarged determine the potential risks, for example, the suoraclavicular nodes sit diagonally from where your collarbone join the sternum, the virchows nodes sit nearly right above the sternum but a little off to the side behind the collarbone, these are the worrisome nodes as they carry the highest risk for malignancy, but not all swollen nodes are cancer, in fact what you describe to me doesn't sound like a swollen node, I had the same fear and my doctor had to educate me on where the supraclavicular were because I thought I had palpable supraclavicular nodes from reading the internet but I was wrong. We read a lot if information online that we know nothing about and this leads us to irrational fears, please don't read stuff online and get worked up, if you're concerned see your doctor that's the best thing to do.

Dude, you're using sooooooo many words there no-one except a trained doctor should know or use.