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Suggest Treatment For Swollen Lymph Nodes In Neck

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Posted on Tue, 20 Oct 2015
Question: I have a what feels like a very mildly swollen lymph node in the front right part of my neck, and on the same side behind my neck. On the back on the neck is a very small bump. less than a pea size...soft and movable. I had a fever a bout a week ago for a few days off and on but it never got higher than 99.7 at all and has been gone for 7 days.

Is this something that I should be worried about, i don't feel any other pain or swelling anywhere else.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (20 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
probably not

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

lymph node swelling may be the presenting sign of many diseases (infectious, autoimmune or neoplastic). The neck area lymph nodes are very commonly involved in respiratory tract infection. This is the most likely cause. Other causes are possible though and the rest of the history will help for the assessment of this finding.

First of all the size matters in lymph node assessment. For the neck a node larger than 2cm is a significant one. Less than 2cm is not. The most commonly involved nodes in respiratory tract infections are the nodes on the front. Nodes close to the back of the neck are sometimes associated with infectious mononucleosis syndrome, which is usually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.

So you're talking about small, soft, XXXXXXX nodes associated with fever of a few days duration. This is usually of infectious origin. I can't say for sure which pathogen was involved but there are no worrisome signs. If you're OK now and the nodes are not getting any bigger, there is nothing more you should do. If your situation is different from what I've described, please give me the details and I'll be glad to provide more comments.

Kind Regards!
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3809 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Swollen Lymph Nodes In Neck

Brief Answer: probably not Detailed Answer: Hello, lymph node swelling may be the presenting sign of many diseases (infectious, autoimmune or neoplastic). The neck area lymph nodes are very commonly involved in respiratory tract infection. This is the most likely cause. Other causes are possible though and the rest of the history will help for the assessment of this finding. First of all the size matters in lymph node assessment. For the neck a node larger than 2cm is a significant one. Less than 2cm is not. The most commonly involved nodes in respiratory tract infections are the nodes on the front. Nodes close to the back of the neck are sometimes associated with infectious mononucleosis syndrome, which is usually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. So you're talking about small, soft, XXXXXXX nodes associated with fever of a few days duration. This is usually of infectious origin. I can't say for sure which pathogen was involved but there are no worrisome signs. If you're OK now and the nodes are not getting any bigger, there is nothing more you should do. If your situation is different from what I've described, please give me the details and I'll be glad to provide more comments. Kind Regards!