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What Causes Painfully Swollen Lymph Nodes Behind The Ear?
Hi, I have swelling, pain and extreme tenderness, redness of my lymph nodes under my ear and right in front of it. They are visibly red and came on fairly suddenly and have not stopped increasing in pain and area for the past few hours since swelling/pain started. No ear infection symptoms inside the ear, or any sort of ear issues - just the skin around it, but am developing headache and neck stiffness as it spreads. Do I need to see a doctor?
Mon, 11 Apr 2016
Hi,
From the description you have given, it seems that you have some infection. The lymph nodes located in front of the ear are called the preauricular lymph nodes. They drain eyelids, conjuctivae, temporal region and pinna of the ear. Usually, if the external auditory canal is infected, it presents with swelling and painful preauricular lymph nodes the way you have described.
Infections in ear pain because it is an enclosed cavity and infection produces pus that causes pressure and pain when it does not get any way to drain. Here, it has got a way of draining by causing swelling of the lymph nodes. So you are not feeling pain in ear.
To treat the infection, you can take Cefixime 200 mg (Topcef) two times a day for 5 days. If you have fever and to relieve the pain in the area, you may take Paracetamol (Crocin) 500 mg two to three times a day or Ibuprofen 400 mg two times a day. Zinetac 150 mg taken twice a day will help to protect from the acidity usually caused by cefixime. If you are allergic to any of these medicines, avoid them. Do finish the five day course of the antibiotics.
If the swelling and pain do not resolve in 3 days, you may need to go to a physician for physical examination and blood tests.
I hope this information helps. Thank you for choosing HealthCareMagic. I wish you feel better soon.
Regards,
Dr. Viraj Shah
From the description you have given, it seems that you have some infection. The lymph nodes located in front of the ear are called the preauricular lymph nodes. They drain eyelids, conjuctivae, temporal region and pinna of the ear. Usually, if the external auditory canal is infected, it presents with swelling and painful preauricular lymph nodes the way you have described.
Infections in ear pain because it is an enclosed cavity and infection produces pus that causes pressure and pain when it does not get any way to drain. Here, it has got a way of draining by causing swelling of the lymph nodes. So you are not feeling pain in ear.
To treat the infection, you can take Cefixime 200 mg (Topcef) two times a day for 5 days. If you have fever and to relieve the pain in the area, you may take Paracetamol (Crocin) 500 mg two to three times a day or Ibuprofen 400 mg two times a day. Zinetac 150 mg taken twice a day will help to protect from the acidity usually caused by cefixime. If you are allergic to any of these medicines, avoid them. Do finish the five day course of the antibiotics.
If the swelling and pain do not resolve in 3 days, you may need to go to a physician for physical examination and blood tests.
I hope this information helps. Thank you for choosing HealthCareMagic. I wish you feel better soon.
Regards,
Dr. Viraj Shah
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