Dis medical professionals....

[AmazingGrace]

Okay, I have this gland deep in my neck that keeps swelling painfully everytime i get sick. And each time i get sick, the gland stays swollen longer than the last time. It's just on one side. And if feels hard and swollen.
I'm calling on Monday to see a doc, but I'm just curious as to whether or not anyone else has had this and what the outcome was.
Thanks!!

 

[Tanuki]

Any lymph node that stays consistently enlarged for over two weeks should be checked out, but from what I am reading your post describes an intermittent process. If the lymph node hasn't returned to normal size and is larger than a pea and still has pain after two weeks you should probably get it checked out.

If the gland returns completely to normal between episodes that would just be the typical enlargement that occurs as the lymph node is trying to help filter out the infection from the blood and the enlargement should go away as the lymph node is finished taking care of the problem. During an infection the glands can sometimes swell markedly before returning to normal size when the illness ends, sometimes they get to an inch to two inches in size, but larger swelling than two inches on an individual node would also warrant a visit.

Sometimes scar tissue can occur in a lymph node after an infection but scar tissue shouldn't hurt and shouldn't be larger than pea sized. And it especially shouldn't be getting larger from week to week.