Post inflammatory lymph nodes?!
Question: what are they ? i have on behind the back of my neck i had for years and my doctor said that its fine
Answers: what are they ? i have on behind the back of my neck i had for years and my doctor said that its fine
This is a very important question that perhaps I can shed some light on from personal experience. I'm a physician, and as the above author put very well, there are lots of these lymph nodes, sort of like little collection sites throughout the bodies lymphatic system. They're normally tiny, but if you've had a recent infection, say perhaps a virus, these nodes can reactively swell to become palpable, even painful because of a build up of our own immune cells. We have lymph nodes all over the body including the front of the neck, beneath the jaw and in back of the neck apposing the occipital bone. Most commonly when people have these tender, swollen nodes, it's reactive, or post-inflammatory and they will get better on their own.
If, however, they continue to enlarge or don't subside, that's when we as doctors have to be worried. We are trained to consider what might be the worst possibility, even if something is likely no big deal... This is for the patient's benefit, not a defense strategy. Anyhow, one of my dearest friends, a police officer came to me about a year ago complaining of exactly this, and I gave him the same spiel, essentially to keep an eye on it and ensure that if it's not better go back to the doctor and have him re-evaluate. He turned out to have a type of cancer called Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a very unusual cancer in a 30 y.o. Now please, understand that this was extrememly unexpected, that neither his doctor nor I expected this to be the problem. As a friend, I was sure that the most likely explanation was that he'd recovered from a virus, e.g. mononucleosis or whatever, and now has this normal post inflammatory enlargement of the lymph nodes about his head. Needless to say, we were all freaked out when the diagnosis came that these were not post inflammatory, but rather malignant nodes. I brought him to see a leading expert in the treatment of this type of cancer who was brilliant but in all her years of treating patients had never seen a patient so young with this diagnosis. I'm quite happy to say that he thankfully he was treated over the course of several months and the cancer has gone into remission.
The take home message is this... Please don't get nervous. You most likely have enlarged, reactive, post-inflammatory lymph nodes like your doctor and the above author indicated. In rare circumstances, these swollen nodes may be something more serious which may require additional tests. Simply monitor them and ensure that they get smaller or that they at least don't grow. The most important thing you should do is to just monitor these "lumps" and if you feel that they're not going away as quickly as your doctor suggested, then call the doctor, let him worry about what to do. Don't let yourself get freaked out because of this. It's is extremely common, I've had it and just about everyone I know has had these post inflammatory lymph nodes. Your doctor had the benefit of examining you, so you should trust his medical opinion more than anything that I can offer. Please don't let this occupy your mind, but if it persists for more than a couple weeks, do go ahead and schedule a follow up visit with the doctor.
I hope that I've allayed some of your fears while providing a reasonable explanation and that you don't feel that you are stricken with something terrible. The fact that they have been there for years, unchanged, is good news, it leans more in the direction that they are "hardened" occipital lymph nodes, nothing more. So please rest easy and don't let this concern you unless something changes.
Your lymph nodes both collect infections and produce lymph to fight infections.
You have had an infection somewhere in the past, inflamming the lymph nodes. But they have hardened for no obvious reason. Prehaps from the infection?!
I have 3 very large, hard lymph nodes on my neck and although I am assured they are fine they still worry me.Mine have been there for about 6 years and are painful and bleed. I know this is not normal, but I am butting my head against a wall with my Doc.