Hi All,
My 9y/o son's lymph nodes on his right side of his face are swollen. I have never had to deal with this before, other than hurting him when you touch them there are no other signs that he is sick. I noticed them Sunday Night and he said they had just started hurting when he swallowed or moved his jaw a certain way...but today they don't hurt him anymore.
What do I do? Wait for them to go away? If they don't go away in a few days do I take him in to be seen?
Like I said, other than them being swollen and hurting when you touch him he feels fine.
As always, any and all opinions appreciated!
I called and talked to the nurse hotline at their ped's office and she said that he is most likely fighting off something and just to watch it and if they don't go down in 2 weeks or get larger go ahead and schedule him an appointment. I guess that's all I can do!
Just wanted to throw in that it could be a dental issue based on where the lymph nodes are located, does he have any teeth that are bothering him?
That is a dign that his body is fighting something.
That's what the lymphatic system does.
It's a good sign!
But if it lasts a long time-/have him looked at.
There are people that have permanently enlarged lymph nodes (prob not at 9 though!)
Unilaterally swollen nodes are something to take seriously. That alone would be enough for me to make an appointment with the pediatrician.
Break out the flashlight and have him open his mouth as wide as he can. Take a look at his throat, especially the area around the uvula (the hangy-downy thing back there). Does it look lopsided...even a little? One side more swollen than the other? Any pain? Any redness or pus?
I say get him in. He could have strep, mono, or a peritonsillar abscess. NONE of these will go away without medical intervention, and a PA can progress to a dangerous systemic infection.
I was going to say the same thing you wrote that the nurse said. We don't even notice that we have them until our bodies start fighting something off. My son was very sick when he was young and one morning in the middle of this, I looked at him and to my shock, the lymph node on the side of his neck reminded me of Frankenstein. It scared me a lot, and of course, I looked it up online and saw that leukemia is mentioned when it comes to swollen lymph nodes. I took him back to the doctor and he explained that the neck lymph nodes are not the ones to worry about for leukemia. The ones to worry about are above the collarbone.
My other son as a teen had swollen nodes in the groin area, and they hurt him to walk. Turned out that he had an infected cut on his knee, and we had to put him on some pretty strong antibiotics to help his body fight that infection.
The thing I would worry about for your son is that since his jaw hurts, perhaps he has an infection that his body won't be able to fight on its own without the help of antibiotics. I'd take him to the doctor if I were you.
Good luck!
Dawn
I wouldn't be happy with your SWH. Swollen lymph nodes are a sign of an infection. The infection needs to be identified and treated.
I have had this happen many times. The nurses advice is good, although I would only wait a week, not 2 weeks. As long as the nodes continue to shrink, then his body is fighting it off, but if they do not shrink or get larger, he'll probably need antibiotics to help him get over it.
Calling the advice nurse is always the way to go when we're uncertain about health issues.
Swollen lymph nodes are fairly common in kids, from what I understand. I'd go ahead and schedule an appointment with the pedi just to determine the cause. It can't hurt. Best of luck!
