Swollen Lymph Nodes? (String of Pearls Effect - My Own Dubbing)

The posterior chain of cervical lymph nodes runs lengthwise down the neck in the position you are describing. In the context of being ill, it is extremely common for these to become enlarged, and even tender, then regress when the illness is over. In my opinion, from what you have described, it is nothing to worry about at all, as long as they go away when the illness is over. Hope this helps!

Mommy MD

I think that swollen lymph nodes are pretty common when fighting any type of infection or virus, but my main advice is to take your kids to a chiropractor and remove dairy from their diets! Ear infections are not normal and I've seen many kids helped through chiropractic.

Find one who's comfortable with young children and trust me it's gentle and won't hurt them, all kids I know love it! Anything non-invasive or prescribed has to be better for them. Good luck!

P.S. It's a good idea to see your pediatrician always to rule out any serious conditions. But pediatricians don't have any training in chiropractic science and medicine and are therefore unable to say whether or not it's good for a child or to state what it is able to help with, just as a chiropractor or dentist can't prescribe antibiotics, to each his or her own profession!

There is no harm in trying what has worked for so many other people, especially before resorting to antibiotics in a small child.
Just stating what I've seen work numerous times, in addition to having both of my kids adjusted from day one, I've seen ear infections go away once dairy was removed and chiropractic adjustments started. The premise is that the spine houses the nervous system, which controls every aspect of the body. How can someone who hasn't tried it say how or why it works? It just does! And I would try anything that could help my kids be healthier without medical intervention, which I do understand is necessary at times.

These are probably just swollen reactive lymph nodes as long as they only enlarge when your child is sick and then go away. However, the nodes in the back of the neck are affected a little bit less often than other groups of lymph nodes, so I would definitely take him to your pediatrician next time you notice that you can feel these so he can be examined. Ear infections are common in young children and need to be treated with antibiotics as well as making sure your child is up to date on his immunizations including HiB (common ear infection bacteria). I'm an internal medicine physician and not a pediatrician, but this is what I would do for my kids. Also, I read the previous post- make sure to ask your child's pediatrician before you consider a chiropractor. It sounds like a bad idea to me and certainly doesn't make sense that this would help his swollen lymph nodes. Also, just decideing to cut dairy out of his diet does not make sense if he's having ear infections. Just my two cents.

Hi S.-
I agree, I would take him to a chiroprator. I have a great one in Tacoma. He has been in practice for many many years and is great with children. My daughter has been seeing him since she was 2 weeks old. She has only been sick once and had a few sniffles in between. Other than that a very healthy happy 16 month old. The office is Milasich Chiropractic. Just off of 6th and Mildred.
I wish you the best with your situation. God Bless!

I have been able to feel my son's in the base of his head since he was about 4 months old. I was concerned like you as to sickness on the way or something severe. I waited for the cold or the flu but it never came. So I brought it to the attention of my pediatrician and he said that I was just feeling the actual lymph nodes. The are just more prominant because their necks are so short and they have less fat back there to hide it. Although if you track the size and compare it to when they are sick, they are much bigger.

My son (19 months old) has a similar situation. I wasn't worried at all, but his father tends to worry about everything, so I took him to the doctor for his sake. The doc said they were normal, and were slightly enlarged since he just got over a fever. The most common places for lymph nodes to enlarge are the neck/head, armpit and groin. You can feel my son's on his head/neck always, but definately more when he's sick. I would just make sure they don't get abnormally huge (large blueberry size).

I would advice taking him in to see his doctor. Calling a nurse doesn't always help because they cannot see what is wrong with the child, no matter how you describe the details. It could be simply nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Lymph nodes get swollen when someone is sick with a cold/flu. My son just recently went through something similar to this and I was unsure as to whether it was an ear infection, sinus infection that was draining, or cold. Best bet...take him in. :D

Hi,

I'd take your little guy to the doctor. It sounds like swollen lymph nodes... but lymph nodes can be swollen for lots of different reasons. Especially if he is developing fever. does your little guy have allergies? With colds and things like that it's more typically the nodes directly under your jaw that are swollen. I'd definitely get him in to the doc.

Get him to a EAR, NOSE, THROAT Doctor immediately! Not to scare you, but infection lumps and cancer lumps can be there and not be painful. He's too young to ignore something this noticeable! He's too young to express to you if anything is hurting. He may be so used to it, that his mind thinks it's "normal."
TAKE HIM TO A DOCTOR!!

I have a 14 mo. old who also has had swollen lymph nodes off and on since she was an infant. I took her to two Drs. both said they were normal and probably a reaction to an illness. In fact the ones behind her ear are swollen now (like a string of pearls) since she is getting over a cold. She is in daycare so she does get sick quite often. Sometimes the nodes can take awhile to go down after an illness. If you are concerned see your child's Dr.

Our naturopath recommended bolstering our 5-year-old son's immunity (after a year and a half of constant ear infections) by giving him probiotics daily, UNDA numbers, and by rubbing castor oil clockwise into his belly every night. She has also advised us to take him off wheat, all dairy, citrus and peanut butter to see if all the infections aren't from food sensitivities. It's too soon to tell if those are the problem. His lymph nodes on the front of his neck are still quite palpable, some the size of a big marble. They don't protrude, though. Another time he had a huge swelling on the back/side of his neck, about the size of the palm of my hand. We took him to his ped. who said that lymph node had lost the battle and was infected, and gave him antiobiotics.

Swollen lymph nodes are usually a sign of infection or inflamation of some sort. By all means take your little guy to the the doctor and have him checked out. Chronic ear infections can impede a child's ability to hear things correctly and their speech can be effected. Go see the doctor.

my son use to get something like that when he was sick then it would go away but would take a little while. Good Luck!!!