Painful swollen lymph node behind ear

[Gmusic]

Hi all,
I am a 20 year old female and a junior in nursing school. I have quite a few health problems and have struggled with health anxiety for as long as I can remember. For the past 6 months I have felt great and have had no anxiety. About a week ago I started getting weird itchy rashes on my legs in the evenings. Then tonight at work behind my ear started hurting very badly. I felt behind my ear and theres a painful swollen node on my mastoid bone. I am COMPLETELY convinced that this is lymphoma. I googled stuff (I know that is awful) and my symptoms of a rash and sudden swollen node are exactly that of lymphoma. My mom thinks there is no need to go to the doctor and told me to wait it out. I feel like crying. Can someone please help or send encouragement???
Thank you so much.

[bin tenn]

Lymph nodes swell for a variety of reasons, usually benign. Cuts, scrapes, acne, common cold, other viruses and infections, allergic reactions, temporary ear problems, etc. It's perfectly reasonable to wait it out. Give it a week or two and see what happens. If it's not gone by then, talk to your doc and they can advise further.

[RadioGaGa]

I've seen this question so many times on here asked by many different users - I experienced the same a long time ago, but oddly it never worried me.

I'm guessing it was 2010/2011/2012 and I found a pea sized lump behind my left ear (think it was the left). It remained swollen like that for about a year I'm sure. Then it disappeared and never came back. No idea what caused it, but I'm fairly confident in saying that an isolated swollen lymph node in this area isn't anything to lose sleep over...

I'm sure you're fine

good luck

[RadioGaGa]

To add to my previous post:

I just felt the area-in-question for, probably, the first time since it occurred. The node on the left is still more palpable than the node on the right. It's worth noting that asymmetries are normal as well... (No, I'm not worried!)

[Sparky16]

The rash and the lymph node probably have nothing to do with each other. One of our students had a swollen lymph node behind her ear a while back. Her teacher sent her down the office after the student noticed it. I remember it well, because I'd never seen a swollen node in that location before myself. I know her mom took her to the doctor, but I never did hear what it was. It was definitely not lymphoma, or anything else serious though - I would know about that. You probably just have something going on with your ear or skin that the lymph node is dealing with. I've had a lymph node enlarge twice over skin issues - once because of bad gnat bites, and a second time because of a bad acne breakout. Each time it took about a month to go back to normal after the skin problem cleared up.

[Gmusic]

Thank you all so much for the responses. It is helpful to hear similar stories! I went to the on campus doctor and she said there was a whole bunch of fluid behind my eardrum. The itching she told me to just use lotion which has seemed to help a bit (still kinda itchy tho) She prescribed me an antibiotic that I have been on for a day. The node is not painful anymore but is still large and hard which scares me!