Symptoms: Swelling and tenderness of lymph glands (a sign of illness); unusual swelling, pain, and redness of the skin (a sign of infected glands).
Home care: In the case of mild swelling, identify and treat the disease or infection responsible.
Infected glands require medical attention.
Precautions
- Infants have limited immunity to disease; swollen glands in an infant should be examined by a doctor.
- Consult the doctor if a lymph node continues to increase in size and tenderness, or if the overlying skin becomes red.
- When your child turns his or her head, you may notice lymph nodes the size of a pea or smaller in the sides of the neck; these nodes are normal.
The term swollen glands is often used to refer to swelling of the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are sometimes called lymph glands, although they are not true glands. Lymph nodes are widely distributed throughout the body, and in their normal state are 2 to 4 millimeters in size.
Many lymph nodes lie just beneath the skin. These lymph nodes are located in front of the ears, behind the ears, at the base of the skull, under the chin, down the sides of the neck, in the armpits, in the folds of the elbows, and above and below the creases in the groin. Lymph nodes are also found within the chest and abdomen, but these lie too deeply within the body to be felt.
All lymph nodes lie along thin-walled tubes called lymphatic vessels. These vessels resemble and roughly follow the course of the veins in the body. They do not contain blood, however. These vessels carry thin, clear, slightly sticky liquid called lymph, which resembles the clear, watery fluid that oozes from a scrape or that forms within a blister caused by rubbing.
Lymph nodes are important in helping the body fight infections and disease. When lymph nodes become swollen and mildly tender, it is a sign that they are fighting an illness or infection. The lymph nodes of the entire body may be swollen, or nodes may be swollen only in one area of the body.
When all the lymph nodes or the nodes in many areas are swollen, this usually indicates a general illness or widespread infection affecting the body.
When nodes are swollen only in one location, this is a sign of an infection in the area of the body guarded by those nodes. Swollen glands in one area might be caused by a variety of local infections. The appearance of red streaks under the skin (which typically precede blood poisoning) is caused by infection traveling along the lymphatic vessels in that area.
In some cases an infection may become too severe for the lymph nodes to handle. In such a case, the lymph node itself may become infected.
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