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𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞se 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬.

What are they?

🌟Think about lymph nodes (LN) as the collection of soldiers in our body. They are clustered throughout severe places in our body, including the neck, armpit, chest, abdomen (belly), groin, etc. When the body is exposed to an infection or external stimuli (inflammation), these lymph nodes come together to fight hence get bigger while doing that. 

🌟 In kids, they tend to be more obvious because they are constantly fighting infection (& getting sick) as they build their immune system. Younger kids can get sick about 1-3 times per month and as they get older, and have been exposed to multiple infections and built their immunity, this frequency begins to decrease.

What causes them to get swollen (bigger)?

🔸When there’s an infection (both viral or bacterial)- such as colds, sore throat, ear infection
🔸Swellings or skin irritations (inflamed ringworm on hair, eczema or other skin irritation)
🔸Illnesses that cause inflammation such as arthritis
🔸Infection from cats- called cat scratch disease. This is because the bacteria involved affects the lymph nodes too and causes it to swell up

🔺 One important one to remember is that it can also get bigger due to Cancer (malignancy). 

What should you watch for?

● The size: how big is it? Normal ones should be less than 2 cm. > 2cm needs to be checked out by your child’s regular physician to be certain it’s still ok.

● The feel: how does it feel? Normal ones should feel like small rubber balls that move around. If they feel too hard or fixed or matted together, needs checked.

● Is it painful? Most LN that develop after a viral cold infection, typically don’t hurt when you feel them. Others may hurt when your child has an active infection or the nodes may be infected. A painful lymph node does not necessarily mean your child needs antibiotics, it means your Dr has to check it out to decide.

● Where is it? Kids tend to have more LN around the neck (mostly the 1st 2 areas in the reel). Nodes located in the supraclavicular area (just above the clavicle/collar bone), elbow and back of knee are not normal and should always be checked out. These are concerning for malignancy (cancers)

Other Red flag symptoms

If your child has:

• matted, firm lymph nodes
• multiple lymph nodes in multiple areas of the body
• easy bleeding wounds
• bruises of the skin of unknown injury
• unexplained weight loss
• persistent fevers

These mean you chould get your child checked as soon as possible. 

Be sure to feel your child’s neck today to see if they have any lymph nodes you need to keep your eye on and always ask your doctor for clarification.

Leave a comment if you felt the nodes. 

If you are looking for tips for diaper rash for your little one be sure to check out this post: Diaper rash tips

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