Lump on son's neck

[smurff]

Hi, my son is nearly 3yrs old, he's just fallen asleep infront of me with his head to one side, I noticed a medium size fleshy lump just on his neck below his ear lobe, it feels squashy and I can move it around. I can feel something similar the other side but there's no lump there to see. I straightened his head and can't feel anything at all. Any ideas

 

[_Meep_]

Lymph node. Mine has one around there which is permanently slightly enlarged. You can see it if she turns her head, but it's not massive or anything, about pea size to the touch. The doctor said it was fine. It's been that way since she was a baby.

Has he been ill recently? They tend to come up during or before an illness, and usually go back down again, but in my LO's case, that didn't completely happen.

 

[george83]

My son also has these but they come and go so as pp said I'm assuming they are lymph nodes and I'm only noticing them when he's ill. I'm constantly saying im going to take him to the doctor about them but then feel silly as they disappear again

 

[_Meep_]

^ That's definitely normal in children. And in us, but it's not usually as obvious! Next time you're ill, if you feel around your own neck, you might be able to pick them out. I think children's lymphoid tissue is much more reactive and susceptible to inflammation than ours, like their tonsils and adenoids, which generally shrink down and stop being a problem as they get older.

 

[smurff]

Thankyou everyone. I took him docs this morning and yes it is a lymph node because of the conjunctivitis

 

[donnarobinson]

My son has a lymph node in his neck tha I can feel all the time and see it it isn't huge and does sometimes get a bit smaller but hasn't gone away since I noticed it in October we've done blood tests that check all is ok because I kept going back dr reassured me it's ok to be able to feel them I still worry tho but I have awful health anxiety it is nice to hear other people can feel them too x

 

[_Meep_]

For sure, I've worried about it too. I was told they wouldn't even begin to worry about it until it was at least the size of a marble, which it isn't, not even close. We just have to trust them I suppose! It doesn't seem to cause any problems, and she's had it so long that if there was something seriously wrong, I'm positive we would know about it by now.

Glad it's nothing scary, smurff.

 

[mazndave]

My son is another one with a lump in exactly the same place. It's just an enlarged lymph node as others have said, but it's definitely had me worried in the past. He's spent a year under a consultant up at the hospital to monitor it, had an ultrasound, blood test, been to the ENT clinic etc. If they'd found anything slightly suspicious they were going to do a fine needle biopsy, but luckily they didn't need to and discharged him last month. Apparently it's very common in young children to have nodes that don't go down.

 

[Zephram]

It's normal if a person is ill to have enlarged lymph nodes. I went to the doctor about the exact same thing in January on myself. I had an enlarged gland on my neck and had been sick the week before but already felt better. The doctor said they can hang around for weeks after being sick and then just go. I just checked and mine is now gone. I actually forgot all about it after the doctors visit so I have no idea how long it took to go away. She said it's only a cause for concern if it is getting bigger or is starting to hurt, etc.