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Check the front and back borders of your armpit as well the inner border of your arm. Use the fingers on your opposite hand to feel the center of your armpit. To check the lymph nodes in your arms and armpits, remove your shirt and lift up one arm. Bring your elbows forward and hunch your shoulders when checking the lymph nodes above your collar bone. Tilt your head toward the side of your neck you’re checking to make it easier to feel for lymph nodes. To check the lymph nodes in your head and neck, move your fingertips in a circular motion in front of and behind your ears, around your jaw, down the sides of your neck, and above your collar bone. An enlarged lymph node may feel like a pea or a grape, and it may feel tender. Lymph nodes are located in your head, neck, arms, armpits, and groin.
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Please consult a physician or medical professional for personal medical advice or treatment.Checking your lymph nodes once a month can help you detect any swelling that could indicate a medical issue. CNN is not responsible for any actions or inaction on your part based on the information that is presented here. The information contained on this page does not and is not intended to convey medical advice. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Good luck, and please check in with your doctor if you have any questions!ĬNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. A biopsy of the node may be needed if a cause is not found. In one report, the chance of a patient having a diagnosis of cancer after showing up to their primary care doctor with an enlarged lymph node was around 1 percent.įor enlarged lymph nodes that persist (longer than about two weeks), get bigger or happen along with other symptoms such as fever, unexplained weight loss and night sweats, your doctor may order blood tests, X-rays or other studies to try to determine the cause. Finally, cancer and HIV infection are rare causes. Certain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are also associated with enlarged nodes. Less common causes of enlarged lymph nodes include infections such as cat scratch disease, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. This may be what your doctor was referring to. If untreated, infected lymph nodes may progress to an abscess (pus collection) or spread bacteria to the overlying skin or into the bloodstream. Infected nodes (called "lymphadenitis") are fairly common and may be treated with an antibiotic, warm compresses and over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. The node may become swollen and tender to the touch, and the overlying skin may be red and warm. The node will usually shrink back to normal within a few weeks after the infection has passed.Ī lymph node itself can get infected when overwhelmed by the infection it is trying to fight. An enlarged lymph node in the area of an infection (such as a swollen neck node during an ear infection) may double in size, going from about a quarter or half of an inch to nearly an inch wide. Some nodes can become enlarged when they work overtime during common infections such as the common cold, strep throat, infected skin wounds or canker sores caused by a virus, as you may have had. Lymph nodes contain white blood cells and filter the germs in the body. Even though they are about the size of a pea, lymph nodes are usually not noticeable unless they are close to the skin's surface (such as in the neck, armpit or groin) or are much larger than usual. There are over 500 lymph nodes (also called lymph glands) in the body, which are connected in a network called the lymphatic system.
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Having said that, let's talk about the reasons lymph nodes get enlarged and when you may need to be concerned. Let me first reassure you that the vast majority of swollen lymph nodes soon return to normal size on their own without the need for an antibiotic and do not indicate a serious or dangerous medical condition.