Swellings in the Neck
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Toddler's swollen lymph node
July 2013
Hello, i am very new to BPN and have a question regarding my Toddlers swollen lymph node. About two months ago my 2 1/2 year old woke from a nap with a huge swollen neck.... I panicked and took her to our Kaiser facility and was told she had a bacterial infection in her lymph node and she was given a 7 day course of anti biotics. The swelling went down and the redness dissipated within two days but node stayed swollen. After a week the redness returned as did I back to the doc. I love my pedi and she did a nasal swab a throat swab a skin test and blood work which all came back normal , but she decided to put her on some different antibiotics while we waited for further results. We then had an ultra sound done.... Came back normal with a bit of calcification. We then saw ENT who said he was not worried that he sees this frequently in young children and that the color was most likely her node '' doing its thing''. Well he said wAit and watch for a couple months and if it stays the same or gets larger we would see a pedi specialist in Oakland. Well i a m not good at waiting.... So she is scheduled to see specialist in late August, but i am terrified it is something bad.... Has anyone had similar situation with kids????? Amy
Our son went through something like this. Turned out to be a ''thyroglossal duct cyst.'' They did minor surgery, and then he was fine. Might be worth asking your ped (or better yet, ENT), if that could be it. Good luck! Betsy
Swollen gland and ear pain due to dental work?
Oct 2005
Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever exeperienced a bad reaction to a dental filling and/or the anesthetic used? I had a white colored filling put in at the beginning of this months and a few days later noticed a swollen gland on that side of my neck and ear fullness/mild pain. The tooth is also quite sensitive and I get a burning headache sometimes when I eat hot or cold items. I thought that this was perhaps a sinus/ear infection as a result of a cold I had had 2 weeks before the dental filling, but am beginning to feel that this is related, at least partially, to the dental work. I also at times get a slightly tingly/cold feeling in my upper and lower lips on that side and pain in the jaw joint there that makes me think nerve damage. All are fairly minor but the full ear is annoying and the swollen gland is worrying me.
I was willing to wait a while and see if it was just raw nerves from the filling or novacaine, but it has been almost a month without any change. I am also allergic to sulfa medications and worry that the anesthetic used contained sulfites as they commonly do. In researching this there are a number of health forums with people who have similar experiences, although none seem to offer any solutions. I am on Zithromax presently in case of a sinus infection, but my PPO said I do not have an ear infection. I can't take some of the more common antibiotics (amoxicillin sp?) due to an allergic reaction, and I am nursing so that also limits what I can take. However, I am less inclined at this point to believe that a sinus infection is causing this. Especially because the timing of this all was right after the visit to the dentist. I went back to him and he cut down the filling to see if that was causing irritation, but still no change.
Would love to hear if anyone else has been through this and what they have done. Thanks
This kind of reaction is more common than people think. You may have had some local damage, and there may be some lingering or even increasing inflammation in the area that could cause you a lot of problems. mv
I was beginning to think I was the only one with this problem. With the exception of the numbness, I have exactly the same symptoms, allergies,etc. I also have a swollen gland in my neck near a tooth that had some MAJOR work. After 3 visits to an ENT, an MRI and an ultrasound, the doctor said that since it hasn't changed size, there really is nothing to be done about it. Of course, I have my doubts about that, but it really hasn't changed in the last 10 months. My dentist couldn't find anything wrong either. If you ever hear of anyone with a concrete solution, please let me know, since the full feeling in the ears is MOST irritating. em
I had bad swollen glands sublingually after a root canal once, along with shooting pains to the temple, and I eventually thought it was because of the antiseptic solution they used to sterilize the root of the tooth before putting a crown on. Very strong and irritating. That and the strain of keeping my jaw in the same postion for so long. I took antibiotics at first which did not help, then to homeopathy and a chiropractic adjustment which together cleared it completely, immediately. I remember being appalled that the dentist didn't know what to do, had no answer except Vicodin. I now have a new dentist. Good luck. Bonnie