Please read, just need some advice...
My son will be 3 next month and just yesterday we noticed a hard lump on the left side of his neck. It's kind of where his lymph nodes are.
He is otherwise healthy, eats well, sleeps well and is generally happy. He does have a bit of a temperment problem, but what 3 year old doesn't?
I'm hoping I can just get some insight here first before I take him to the doctor, because it's expensive (we don't have health insurance). Has anyone ever experienced this before?
Plus, it always seems when we take our kids to the doctor, they can never find anything wrong (not that we want them too) but it always feels like we are waisting their time. I'm just worried.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Marie
Answers:
Hi,
I know how it is when you take a sick child to the doctor only to have them seem fine while there...and then when you get home...it magically returns. However, I think if you are feeling a lump, you should take him for a check-up. If it is something to be concerned about, waiting could cause more problems. I have heard that some doctors are willing to give a discount to patients that do not have insurance.
Best wishes.
Answers:
thanks for the replay....my gut tells me I should just go and get it checked out.
We are on a payment plan, but it's just not a good time right now finacially (that's another story though).
I just wondered if anyone has seen this before, I read about lymph nodes and such, but he has no sign of illness and has been healthy for a while.
When it rains it pours I guess.
Marie
Answers:
D-
I know this is very concerning for you. I know EXACTLY how you feel because I've been in your shoes. My son had the same thing and it terrified me. I was thinking Hotchkins, Lymphoma, Cancer, Cat Scratch Fever- you name it.
My son has always had "allergy" problems and had ear infections one right after the other, strep throat numerous times, croup a couple times a winter which required ambulance trips to the ER for breathing treatments, and even when he was healthy his tonsils were so big they almost touched. The doctor called it "Kissing Tonsils". He has never been technically diagnosed with asthma, but rather "Reactive Airway" and does occassionally use an inhaler.
Anyway, back to the topic- my son (12 years old, almost 13 now) was never a heavy set kid, so never has had much fat. His neck is fairly thin. I noticed a lump on the right side of his neck fairly close to the shoulder area when he was 3 years old, almost 4 years old. I knew it was a lymph node. I had him checked by an ENT and he told me that many times, when you have a child that is allergy proned, or prone to numerous ear infections and respiratory illnesses, their lumph nodes sometimes will tend to get enlarged. Sometimes it will be just one, and sometimes a whole group of them.
He examined this lump and told me that because it was "free floating", or able to be moved around under the skin, and not frozen in place was a good thing. He also told me that because the lump wasn't hard, but softer and able to be "smushed", that this was ok as well. He confirmed it was simply an enlarged lymph node due to my son's allergies.
I still highly recommend taking your son to an ENT doctor for a concrete diagnosis. Somtimes they want to do a small biopsy to be sure, and sometimes they don't really feel the need to after getting a complete medical history from the parents.
Please take care, and make an appointment with an ENT. In the mean time, try not to worry too much. Please do keep us posted!
Answers:
I agree that you should take him to be seen. I freak out over small things, and take my DD everytime I turn around for little things. Sometimes they are ear infections, some times it is just nothing...LOL! BUT a lump is something that should be checked out. OR at least put in a call and talk to the doctor. If they lump is moveable (wiggly) and kind of "squishy" in the middle...it is a lymph node. What feels hard to you, may feel soft in the center to the doc too. Most lumps are nothing. It could mean that he is going to come down with a cold or it just could me that his body is trying to get rid of something before it gets into his system. I am sure he is fine. Let us know!
He is otherwise healthy, eats well, sleeps well and is generally happy. He does have a bit of a temperment problem, but what 3 year old doesn't?
I'm hoping I can just get some insight here first before I take him to the doctor, because it's expensive (we don't have health insurance). Has anyone ever experienced this before?
Plus, it always seems when we take our kids to the doctor, they can never find anything wrong (not that we want them too) but it always feels like we are waisting their time. I'm just worried.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Marie
Answers:
Hi,
I know how it is when you take a sick child to the doctor only to have them seem fine while there...and then when you get home...it magically returns. However, I think if you are feeling a lump, you should take him for a check-up. If it is something to be concerned about, waiting could cause more problems. I have heard that some doctors are willing to give a discount to patients that do not have insurance.
Best wishes.
Answers:
thanks for the replay....my gut tells me I should just go and get it checked out.
We are on a payment plan, but it's just not a good time right now finacially (that's another story though).
I just wondered if anyone has seen this before, I read about lymph nodes and such, but he has no sign of illness and has been healthy for a while.
When it rains it pours I guess.
Marie
Answers:
D-
I know this is very concerning for you. I know EXACTLY how you feel because I've been in your shoes. My son had the same thing and it terrified me. I was thinking Hotchkins, Lymphoma, Cancer, Cat Scratch Fever- you name it.
My son has always had "allergy" problems and had ear infections one right after the other, strep throat numerous times, croup a couple times a winter which required ambulance trips to the ER for breathing treatments, and even when he was healthy his tonsils were so big they almost touched. The doctor called it "Kissing Tonsils". He has never been technically diagnosed with asthma, but rather "Reactive Airway" and does occassionally use an inhaler.
Anyway, back to the topic- my son (12 years old, almost 13 now) was never a heavy set kid, so never has had much fat. His neck is fairly thin. I noticed a lump on the right side of his neck fairly close to the shoulder area when he was 3 years old, almost 4 years old. I knew it was a lymph node. I had him checked by an ENT and he told me that many times, when you have a child that is allergy proned, or prone to numerous ear infections and respiratory illnesses, their lumph nodes sometimes will tend to get enlarged. Sometimes it will be just one, and sometimes a whole group of them.
He examined this lump and told me that because it was "free floating", or able to be moved around under the skin, and not frozen in place was a good thing. He also told me that because the lump wasn't hard, but softer and able to be "smushed", that this was ok as well. He confirmed it was simply an enlarged lymph node due to my son's allergies.
I still highly recommend taking your son to an ENT doctor for a concrete diagnosis. Somtimes they want to do a small biopsy to be sure, and sometimes they don't really feel the need to after getting a complete medical history from the parents.
Please take care, and make an appointment with an ENT. In the mean time, try not to worry too much. Please do keep us posted!
Answers:
I agree that you should take him to be seen. I freak out over small things, and take my DD everytime I turn around for little things. Sometimes they are ear infections, some times it is just nothing...LOL! BUT a lump is something that should be checked out. OR at least put in a call and talk to the doctor. If they lump is moveable (wiggly) and kind of "squishy" in the middle...it is a lymph node. What feels hard to you, may feel soft in the center to the doc too. Most lumps are nothing. It could mean that he is going to come down with a cold or it just could me that his body is trying to get rid of something before it gets into his system. I am sure he is fine. Let us know!