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Peanut Sized Lump In Armpit, Swelling, Large Boil, Leaking Milky Liquid. Treatment ?

Posted on Wed, 23 May 2012

Question: i used to have a peanut sized lump in my armpit, i had it for years but it didn't bother me, now I have a swelling that looks like a large boil, it is leaking a milky liquid. i am female and 47 years old.

Answered by Dr. Puneet Maheshwari (21 minutes later)

Hi,

Thanks for the query.

The probable cause of swelling under arm pit is lymph node enlargement.

Lymph nodes are small rounded or bean-shaped masses of lymphatic tissue surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue. Lymph nodes filter the lymphatic fluid and store special cells that can trap cancer cells or bacteria that are traveling through the body in the lymph fluid.

Swelling of the lymph glands is a result of local or widespread inflammation.

In your case, the swollen lymph node could have resulted in a fistula formation, due to repeated infections, which drain whitish discharge.

Consult a general surgeon, for its excisional biopsy under antibiotic coverage.

Hope this will help you, And I am ready for the future follow ups.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar