About a month ago, my wife and I took our son to Cancun with us on a vacation. He is almost 2.5 years old. He came down with strep (fever, red throat)while we were there and was given antibiotics. About two weeks after we returned, he had a fever again. We took him to his Pediatrician and a test came back slightly positive for strep. We also mentioned a swollen gland (Lymphnode?) under his right ear. She said that was an odd place for strep to affect but that it was nothing to worry about and shrugged it off. That was a month ago. I have been keeping check on the swollen Lymphnode and it is still swollen, about two centimeters long and it has me concerned. He plays normally. Has some bruises on his shins, but I think they are from normal play. But the swollen lymphnode has me concerned that it could be something serious. Does anyone here have any advice? I love this little boy more than my own life. I don't know if I'm being paranoid. Any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks,

Do not worry. Swollen lymph nodes are perfectly normal in the prescence of infection and when infection occurs in the body, it is their job to swell to deal with this infection and deal with all the debris that gets taken away in the lymph system. As you son still has signs of infection, this is why the node is still swollen. As long as he is still normal and healthy and has no other signs of illness, I would not worry and it will go down when the infection has cleared fully. Also, this is not abnormal in kids either. They are more prone to things such as this, even more so than adults, as their immune system has not developed to its fully capacity, as has ours.

Also, with a strep throat you would get lymphadenopathy of the cervical lymph nodes, which are under the chin and around the neck, however, there are lymph glands that exist behind and just below the ears (called the mastoid process) and these can become enlarged too.

Try not to worry and this should resolve in time, but just keep an eye on it and if it does not, then take him back to the doc just to check.

Good luck

Thanks for the response....I really do appreciate it.

I had swollen lymphnodes myself that I noticed at 15. I didn't want to tell anyone and upset them, so I kept them to myself. I had them for several years...but now I'm 33 and just fine. Lymphnode enlargement confuses and frightens me. I don't want to freak out about it, but I do. I'll just keep an eye on his for another month or so and go from there. Thanks again for the feedback. This forum is a good source of information.

Brad

Hi degreeofsanity~
Welcome!
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I am by no means a professional and this is just my opinion. When my son (now 12) was an infant, I would panic when I found the swollen lymph nodes. It is so scary. His doctor told me the same thing that Sarah68 mentioned about how they swell when you are sick (infections and etc.). I would ask many doctors about it since he is asthmatic. They all just sort of grinned and would tell me that even if he doesn't appear ill, his body could be fighting off infection.

I now have 3 children and I realize that they were right. I feel the lumps from time to time in all my children and they go down soon.

I cannot remember when they said to be alarmed with swollen lymph nodes though. If they don't go down soon, perhaps you may want to mention it again. Otherwise, I think your son will be fine.

Best of Luck to You!