When you call to set up your appointment, you may be urged to seek immediate medical care if you're experiencing severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing or swallowing.
While you wait for your appointment, if your swollen nodes are painful, try easing your discomfort by using warm compresses and an OTC pain reliever, such as ibuprofen Advil, Motrin IB, others or acetaminophen Tylenol, others.
Unsupported Browser! This website will offer limited functionality in this browser. We only support the recent versions of major browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Swollen lymph nodes. Overview Swollen lymph nodes usually occur as a result of infection from bacteria or viruses. Symptoms Your lymphatic system is a network of organs, vessels and lymph nodes situated throughout your body.
When your lymph nodes first swell, you might notice: Tenderness and pain in the lymph nodes Swelling that may be the size of a pea or kidney bean, or even larger in the lymph nodes Depending on the cause of your swollen lymph nodes, other signs and symptoms you might have include: Runny nose, sore throat, fever and other indications of an upper respiratory infection General swelling of lymph nodes throughout your body.
When this occurs, it may indicate an infection, such as HIV or mononucleosis, or an immune system disorder, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis Hard, fixed, rapidly growing nodes, indicating a possible cancer or lymphoma Fever Night sweats When to see a doctor Some swollen lymph nodes return to normal when the underlying condition, such as a minor infection, gets better.
See your doctor if you're concerned or if your swollen lymph nodes: Have appeared for no apparent reason Continue to enlarge or have been present for two to four weeks Feel hard or rubbery, or don't move when you push on them Are accompanied by persistent fever, night sweats or unexplained weight loss Seek immediate medical care if you're having difficulty swallowing or breathing. Causes Lymph nodes are small, round or bean-shaped clusters of cells.
Complications If infection is the cause of your swollen lymph nodes and isn't treated, an abscess may form. Diagnosis To diagnose what might be causing your swollen lymph nodes, your doctor may need: Your medical history. Your doctor will want to know when and how your swollen lymph nodes developed and if you have any other signs or symptoms. A physical exam.
Your doctor will also want to check lymph nodes near the surface of your skin for size, tenderness, warmth and texture. The site of your swollen lymph nodes and your other signs and symptoms will offer clues to the underlying cause.
Blood tests. Certain blood tests may help confirm or exclude any suspected underlying conditions. The specific tests will depend on the suspected cause, but most likely will include a complete blood count CBC.
This test helps evaluate your overall health and detect a range of disorders, including infections and leukemia. Imaging studies. A chest X-ray or computerized tomography CT scan of the affected area may help determine potential sources of infection or find tumors.
Lymph node biopsy. Your doctor may have you undergo a biopsy to secure the diagnosis. He or she will remove a sample from a lymph node or even an entire lymph node for microscopic examination. Treatment Swollen lymph nodes caused by a virus usually return to normal after the viral infection resolves. Treatment for swollen lymph nodes from other causes depends on the cause: Infection.
The most common treatment for swollen lymph nodes caused by a bacterial infection is antibiotics. If your swollen lymph nodes are due to an HIV infection, you'll receive specific treatment for that condition.
Immune disorder. Swollen lymph nodes can be an early symptom of an HIV infection. When the body first senses the virus and combats it, the person may experience flu-like symptoms, or what doctors call seroconversion illness. The person may also be able to feel swollen lymph nodes throughout the areas listed above.
The flu-like symptoms usually appear within 2—4 weeks of exposure to the virus and last for several days or weeks. HIV enters white blood cells called CD4 cells and damages or destroys them.
If the person does not receive effective treatment, the damage continues until the immune system is too weak to fight off infections. If the number of CD4 cells drops below cells per cubic milliliter , a doctor diagnoses stage 3 HIV.
This is the most advanced stage. A person with stage 3 HIV may develop various infections and illnesses due to damage to the immune system. These infections can lead to swollen lymph nodes. In some people, swollen or large lymph nodes are among the first signs of a stage 3 HIV infection, and they may be enlarged for more than 3 months.
Stage 3 HIV may not develop for a decade or more after the initial infection. If a person receives effective treatment, HIV likely will not progress to this stage. Learn more about the stages and timeline of HIV. Swollen lymph nodes can result from a wide range of infections, and they can represent one symptom of early HIV.
It is impossible to diagnose HIV by its symptoms alone. The only way to be sure involves testing. Anyone who wants to know their status or who may have recently been exposed to the virus should take a test or contact a healthcare provider for advice. By around day 14, the virus will begin to stop multiplying rapidly. Although some people can experience ARS symptoms for up to three months, most people will start feeling better within two weeks, as the immune system gradually brings the infection under control.
The exception: a symptom called lymphadenopathy, the sometimes painful swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, behind the ears, under the armpits, or in the upper groin or inguinal region. Even when the other symptoms have disappeared, lymphadenopathy may continue for months or even longer.
HIV is forever and is better treated sooner rather than later. The chronic stage of infection occurs once the immune system brings the virus under control.
During this phase, HIV will go into hiding, where it resides in various cells and tissues throughout the body in a dormant state known as latency. HIV latency can persist without symptoms for 10 years or more, although some people may experience signs within a year or two.
These symptoms usually disappear in a week to a month and may be mistaken for other viral infections. During this period, people are very infectious and HIV is present in large quantities in genital fluids. An infected person may not experience severe symptoms for eight to 10 years or more. This period — called the asymptomatic period — varies in length for each person.
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