Swollen glands

Alternative Names

Home Care

Soreness in lymph glands usually disappears in a couple of days without treatment, but the nodes may not return to normal size for several weeks after the infection has cleared. Generally, if glands are painful, it is because they swell rapidly in the early stages of fighting an infection.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call your doctor if:

• Your glands don’t get smaller after several weeks or continue to get larger.
• Your swollen glands are red and tender.
• Your glands feel hard, irregular, or fixed in place.
• You have a fever, night sweats, or unexplained weight loss.
• Any node in a child is larger than 1 centimeter in diameter.

Your doctor will perform a physical examination, checking all of your palpable lymph nodes for size, texture, warmth, tenderness, and other features.

Your doctor may ask the following medical history questions:

• Which nodes are affected?
• Is the swelling the same on both sides?
• When did the swelling begin?
• How long has it lasted (how many months or weeks)?
• Did it begin suddenly or did it develop gradually?
• Is the swelling increasing in size?
• Are the number of nodes that are swollen increasing?
• Are any of the swollen nodes painful or tender when you gently press on them?
• Is the skin over or around the nodes red?
• Have you had any other symptoms?

The following diagnostic tests may be performed:

• Blood tests including liver function tests, kidney function tests, and CBC with differential
• lymph node biopsy
• chest x-ray
• liver-spleen scan

References

Abeloff MD. Clinical Oncology. 3rd ed. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier; 2004.

Bisno AL. Infectious Diseases Society of America. Practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of group A streptococcal pharyngitis. Clin Infect Dis. 2002; 35(2): 113-125.

Vincent MT. Pharyngitis. Am Fam Physician. 2004; 69(6): 1465-1470.