Lump in Son's Neck

My son was 3 years old when I discovered a lump in his neck. They sent us to an Ear, nose, and throat specialist and she suggested a biopsy to rule out cancer. It was so scarey, but I knew that they needed to rule it out. She and I discussed the fact that if it was cancer and I didn't do anything, it could be worse down the line. I put EMLA cream over the site 30 minutes before the test (numbs the top of the skin) and held him down. That was 15 years ago..the test was negative; he tends to be a "stuffy nose kid" with some seasonal allergies. Best of luck!
K.

When I was about 12, I was out of state visiting my grandmother when I got a lump on my neck causing some swelling and little bit of pain to the touch.
The dr there said it was a swollen lymph node, but I hadn't been sick. They flew me home to see my own doc.
They didn't know why it was swollen.
I was admitted to the hospital. The lymph node was biopsied and a drain put in. I was in the hospital week. The biopsy was clear. The lymph node drained and they sent me home.
Never knew why. Never had any problems after that!
Some things are just a mystery.

it sounds like a lymph node. Without examining it, however, no one could give you more info than your doc has.

I was told that I needed to have mine removed when I was a teen because the ones in my neck were so very large. When I went to the surgeon he sent me home saying that I had over developed neck muscles from being a gymnast and did not need to have anything removed.

Don't worry until a professional gives you reason to worry. I hope all is well with your little man.

I just posted a question just like this. My son had two lumps on the back of his head/neck area. He's been sick with a virus and everyone said it was swollen lympnodes on mamasource. He has a well check in two weeks so I thought I'd wait until his appointment. I'm glad they referred you. Good luck!

I had this happen when I was a teenager. The lymph node behind my left ear swelled up when I was barely even sick (never took antibiotics for it). It took a really long time to go down fully--like 2-3 years to go away mostly. I can still feel the side that swelled is very slightly more of a bump than the one on the other side (over 20 years later). By all means get it checked out but some things heal slowly.

Hi D., My son has had a kidney bean size lymph node on his neck for a year and a half. I totally freaked out at first too. However, after much testing, blood and ultrasound, the ENT has told us not to worry about it. We go once every 6 months to get it measured and it never changes. I am sure the specialist will know how to handle it. When we were waiting for the ultrasound results I was so nervous that I was throwing up. Couldn't imagine why it was so late in the afternoon and the Dr had not called yet. Come to find out, he had a real emergency and let us know that everything was fine with our little boy.

is it under his ear- towards the back of his neck? - my son has one that gets bigger of an on as well. he has had it ever since we can remember.. he is 10 now. It seems that every time he fights something like a cold it swells up a bit. I have stopped worrying about it but it really made me scared too when he was younger.

I will keep a close eye on your post.

-C.

Hi D.,
My little boy (who is now five) has lumps in his neck alot. When they first appeared we were worried and went to the doctor. We were told it was swollen lymph nodes, totally normal and he was probably fighting an infection. When they didn't go away we went to another doctor and were told the same thing.
We have never put him on antibiotics for it and he's not a "sickly child" but they do tend to go up and down alot. I'm very interested to hear what the head and neck specialist tells you on Tuesday.
Hopefully it's just his immune system working overtime.
Wishing you all the best.

Yes.. My son has had a lump on the side of his neck (behind his ear but on his neck) for almost 2 years (he's 3.5 now)... It's the size of a grape also.. I was FREAKING out when I discovered it... 3 doctors (not specialists) have said it's fine.. It's a swollen lymph node that could of been caused by him getting sick one time and just never went away... A big thing that they checked for was to make sure it rolled around the skin surface.. The doctor would like for him to see a specialist but I no longer freak out about it...
I would measure it, just to keep record that it doesn't get bigger.. That's what I have done and it hasn't changed in size...
My 40 year old friend has the same thing on his neck (and he's a medical advisor) and has had it for about 4 years and it's fine...
BUT if your worried about it or the doctors said to check it out by a specialist, I would most certainly..
Just wanted you to know it's not uncommon..
Let us know what happens

I had swollen glands for many years and it recurs if I get a blemish on my scalp. I went to an ENT that followed me for months to be sure the lumps didn't grow. He finally told me many people just have this and not to worry. Before I switched shampoos I always had a blemish on my scalp........took me years, and it wasn't until after I switched shampoos, that I figured out the shampoo had been causing my scalp to break out. Once the break outs stopped my lymph nodes calmed down.

Do you have a cat, or was he scratched lately by a cat?? My granddaughter had the same thing, at about the same age, and after an appointment with a Head & Neck specialist, it was discovered that she had something called "Cat Scratch Fever" and needed surgery to remove the lump, which was actually an infected Lymph node. The surgery was performed in a hospital OR, she stayed overnight, and bounced back immediately with nothing more than a tiny, minute actually, line from the incision. That was 20 yrs. ago and never another episode. When she got scratched by a cat, on her leg, the infection traveled to her neck and settled or was trapped there in the lymph node. It's wierd, I know, but not as rare as you might think. Hope this helps.

D.
2 years ago my daughter woke up on Fathers Day with a lymph node swelled on her cheek. I took her in to the doc and he put her on anitbiotics w/o running any tests. The next few day it was getting really bad more and more where appearing, she was lethargic. So I took her the walk in clinic and she tested possitive for MONO. Unfutunity there is nothing that they give her and all that can be done is let it run it's course. She was down for the HOLE SUMMER!! I felt So AWLFUL for her. She missed out on her 9th birthday w/her friends and church camp and swimming her 3 favorite things.
So if he is getting worse Please keep the appointment for the ENT or Head Neck specialists.

I know this can be stressful. We went through this with our oldest daugther when she was 4 (she is now 11). She had this lymph node in her neck that was swollen, was tired, didn't feel well etc. At the time, they told us she had Mono (we did have all the tests done). We continued to battle this for years. She had bouts with the lump in her neck, not feeling well, fever, fatigue, etc. She had a few cases of strep throat but not a huge amount of strep. She missed over 20 days of school in K and 1st grade due to this matter. Finally, got her to an ENT who removed her tonsils and adenoids at the end of 1st grade. She hasn't had any trouble since and is now a very healthy 11 year old.

I am not saying that this is the answer to your concerns, but I do know all the scary things that go through your head. Glad to hear you have been referred to a specialist so quickly and I wish you and your son the best.

Just keep pushing for what you think your son needs.

Good luck.

Is this the first time you noticed it? I noticed swollen glands on my son quite regularly - particularly when he was sick with a cold and worried just as you are. We got reassurance from our dr that it didn't appear serious, she thought it was that age (he was about to be 5) where they stretch out and he is now quite skinny (lost baby fat) so glands are more prominent. To satisy my mother worry we did a simple blood test to rule out all those scary disease and all came back clear. If this sounds like your situation then you haven't to worry all will be fine!

Stay with it girl! If they keep sending you to other specialists and Drs. go! This is not normal and if it is treatable with antibiotics then you are good and if you need to go further then keep it up. My husband had a lump on his neck and this is something we now will follow and treat the rest of his life-so don't give up and have they looked into mumps?

This is really for Jamie. If your son is sick with a virus he should see the dr. now, not in two weeks. lymph nodes get swollen when they are fighting off an infection. Sometimes they need the help of an antiobiotic.
D.,
It sounds like you are doing the right thing. let us know what the dr says.

My son had mono right before his third birthday and his lymph nodes got pretty huge. My Dr. reassured me that it takes a long time for them to go down and not to worry. Well, I worried so she referred me to an ENT after they had only gone down a little bit four and half months later. The ENT was wonderful and told me that swollen lymph nodes are very common in children and the vast majority of the time it's nothing serious just the body fighting infection. He measured them and had me come back in a month and then two months until finally he said he was getting rid of me. He exlplained that when they go up and down in size (like my son) or new ones crop up and old ones that were previously big are much smaller (also like my son) it's the body doing it's job and building immunity. It's been nine months and finally I'm feeling better and relaxing. Sometimes it really just takes a long time. Years, even. Keep us posted and sending thoughts and prayers your way!

Hello, and yes my son recently starting today that I notice a knot on his neck. He has a history of getting lymp nodes but they r usually small. This one he got now is a size of a grape. Very concerned mom at the moment and need someone to ask about this.