A lil medical advice plz...

[Durakken]

I woke up sometime Tuesday evening i was fine as far as i could tell... by Wednesday morning (hadn't slept) I discovered a lump on my neck, about 2-3 inches under my ear. I did a google search for the symptoms and it seems this is a lymph node. I feel perfectly fine and have no other symptoms that i can relate to what might be causing this.

Should I go to a doctor as soon as possible, or should I wait a week or so before I do so?

I have no insurance right now so I'd really rather not see a doctor if I don't have to.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

I would say that it sounds like a faty blob (nothing to worry about), but there is no way I can be sure.
It kind of sux living in America in situations like this.

 

[Aught3]

Yeah, most likely it is nothing to worry about but there is a very small chance it could be something more serious. If it were me, I'd want to get it tested.

 

[Prolescum]

Yes, I would go to a doctor. Self-diagnosis is useless in most cases.

 

[Durakken]

i know its m ore than likely nothing serious..i'm questioning how much time should i give it to go away on it's own. A week? a month?

 

[nasher168]

Is it painful at all? If not it could just be something always there. I have a lump just above the back of my jaw which I'd never noticed, but it turned out to have always been there, just a gland of some kind.

 

[Durakken]

Is it painful at all? If not it could just be something always there. I have a lump just above the back of my jaw which I'd never noticed, but it turned out to have always been there, just a gland of some kind.

i would hope you didn't spontaneously get new glands lol...

when something touches it or i try to turn my neck to the right too far or stretch my neck too far it 'hurts'... one of those pains that are more of an annoyance than it is anything else... just a reminder that's there more or less.

i am pretty sure it's a lymph node thing as it has none of the characteristics i'd associate with any bite or scratch or pimple and it's in the proper area and fits the description...

i looked at the free doctor thing site... it said it's probably nothing major so give it a while.

 

[Andiferous]

(This is a non-professional opinion). There are a few viruses (virii?) that cause swelling at the lymph nodes, but generally this isn't limited to a single node. Usually you will have a fever or other symptoms, although some people who have mononucleosis are able to get away with very few symptoms. In that situation I'd just keep an eye out for swelling in your other nodes.

 

[Durakken]

(This is a non-professional opinion). There are a few viruses (virii?) that cause swelling at the lymph nodes, but generally this isn't limited to a single node. Usually you will have a fever or other symptoms, although some people who have mononucleosis are able to get away with very few symptoms. In that situation I'd just keep an eye out for swelling in your other nodes.

I didn't know about it affecting other nodes for various viruses... I didn't find that info anywhere so. So more reason not to be that concerned.

Can't think of any way i could get any virus considering i don't go out much and anyone with such a virus would likely have noticed it long before i did and I would have known from them.

 

[nasher168]

Something perhaps worth noting is that I myself have a rare (1 in 60000) condition called cystic hygroma, which means a permanent swelling of one of my cheeks. This is caused by an unusually high concentration of lymph nodes. It occasionally swells up and is painful, although in recent years it has made me aware of it, but not been painful. The thing is that it only tends to swell up a few days or so before I go down with a cold or illness. Perhaps the same is occurring here on a smaller scale?

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Where is Niocam saying that you should smoke pot?

 

[CosmicSpork]

I've had a swollen lymph node on my neck for over 6 years, ever since I had glandular fever. Unfortunately it also gives me tinnitus in the ear that side. It will probably be like that for the rest of my life I was worried when I discovered it, so got it checked out... It was fine, but the swelling it had whilst fighting the glandular fever has left it larger than normal. Felt so much better for knowing. Get it looked at.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

Where is Niocam saying that you should smoke pot?

He got the banhammer.

On topic, I'd see a doctor...

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

He got the banhammer.

On topic, I'd see a doctor...

Really? What a shame. I knew something had to be wrong.

 

[Andiferous]

On topic, I'd see a doctor...

I agree with you all, but... American health care. Gah
(Still crossing my fingers for the universal solution)

 

[Giliell]

One piece of good advice: Never seek or take medical advice on the internet
This is the League of Reason and should have been the first response to that.

 

[Durakken]

One piece of good advice: Never seek or take medical advice on the internet
This is the League of Reason and should have been the first response to that.

That's not true. Having more people give input on a situation can help come to the right decision. Granted you should probably never follow advice 100% because when you seek advice you likely leave something out or the situation is interpreted differently wrongly than the reality, but it does allow one to hear input from others which often helps in the overall decision making process.

btw... I decide to wait a week since I noticed it (meaning tuesday or wednesday) to see what would happen with it before going to a doctor. After 2 days of pretty long hours of sleep it seems to be going down which alleviates fears that it might be something dangerous. I predict it will likely be gone by next week.

 

[Squagnut]

Go and see a doctor.

Durakken, I know you and I have our moments of friction. Please forget that.

A couple of years ago, I found a small lump in my eye socket, between eyeball and bridge of nose. I left it, hoping it would go away. It didn't go away - it grew. It turned out to be lymphoma (briefly, cancer of the lymph system), and CT scans revealed I had it all over the place, not just in the eye socket. Leaving it that long (a couple of months) nearly cost me my eyesight - luckily it was easy enough to treat, with a mild chemotherapy and corticosteroids. Now I'm stuck with it - it's incurable but eminently treatable, and most importantly, I know what's going on. Knowing is always better than not knowing.

What you have may be nothing, and it may be something that needs urgent treatment. Don't try to diagnose yourself via internet advice - see a doctor. It's what they do.

 

[Giliell]

One piece of good advice: Never seek or take medical advice on the internet
This is the League of Reason and should have been the first response to that.

That's not true. Having more people give input on a situation can help come to the right decision. Granted you should probably never follow advice 100% because when you seek advice you likely leave something out or the situation is interpreted differently wrongly than the reality, but it does allow one to hear input from others which often helps in the overall decision making process.

Yes, but only when you know what you're talking about. Until a doctor has examined you in person, all we can give are anecdotes. Those might give you either false alarm or false security.

Once you know what's up, I agree, the internet is a great place for getting information and hearing from others what experiences they made.

 

[Durakken]

Go and see a doctor.

Durakken, I know you and I have our moments of friction. Please forget that.

A couple of years ago, I found a small lump in my eye socket, between eyeball and bridge of nose. I left it, hoping it would go away. It didn't go away - it grew. It turned out to be lymphoma (briefly, cancer of the lymph system), and CT scans revealed I had it all over the place, not just in the eye socket. Leaving it that long (a couple of months) nearly cost me my eyesight - luckily it was easy enough to treat, with a mild chemotherapy and corticosteroids. Now I'm stuck with it - it's incurable but eminently treatable, and most importantly, I know what's going on. Knowing is always better than not knowing.

What you have may be nothing, and it may be something that needs urgent treatment. Don't try to diagnose yourself via internet advice - see a doctor. It's what they do.

I'm not just letting it go. I am keeping a close eye on it and if it were to grow or come up with other symptoms I'd be going to the doctor in the heart beat, but as i said it is shrinking and i slept for quite a while which means it is probably not anything serious. If it doesn't go away by the time i said I'll go see a doctor. It's not like i'm leaving it for months and it's growing or even remaining the same size.