My 7 year old son has a swollen lnymph gland on the right side of his neck & it pains when he touches .....
It is probably a side reaction to a cold or virus. You could bring him to see a doctor, but unless there is a fever they probably won't do anything about it. They will tell you to keep an eye on it. If it doesn't go away in a couple weeks or if it gets bigger, hard, or changes shape take him back to the doctor immediately.
Its probably something simple, like when my son had it, it was just because of a cold and start of an ear infection. But you should have it checked my a doctor. Not to scare you, but when I found one on MY neck, I went to the doctor and after many tests, was diagnosed with stage 4 non hodgkins lymphoma. DOUBTFUL it is something serious though for your son .... again probably just because of a simple cold or similar illness.
The first time I was diagnosed w/ strep throat, I had a bad sore throat and one side of my neck was extremely swollen (beyond the normal) so much so that you could see it sticking way out. Yes, it hurt.
It could also be many other things. Take him to the doctor.
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My son has the nodes on BOTH sides of his neck stick out (there are times when it looks like a Frankenstein nodule). It usually happens when the pollen count is higher OR he is getting sick.
If he has a fever coupled with a swollen lymph glad - he may have strep throat. Call your pediatrician and see if they want you to bring him in first thing tomorrow. If they are concerned, they will tell you to take him to your urgent care.
Good luck!
This could help:
Is he otherwise sick? Our lymph nodes are part of our immune system. It could be swollen because his body is fighting an infection.
What ever you do DON'T google it! I made that mistake, and have spent a week in hell being terrified for what I am now 99.9% sure was nothing. Just take him in to the doctor and leave it at that. :)
This happens to kids all the time. I would start by calling his doctor. If he doesn't have any other symptoms they might start by just having you keep an eye on it. Once my older son had one by his neck/jaw swell up to almost the size of a peach. In that case they did give him antibiotics, but they were never able to identify what caused it. Glands tend to stick out more on thinner kids if your son is on the thin side. I have skinny kids and the glands in their necks are more prominent. The tenderness means it is somewhat inflamed, but even a minor virus or infection can cause that.
