Hopefully the medical students on this board or doctors can offer some advice.


I have a huge swollen lymph node on my neck. This is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and is about the size of a walnut or bigger. The skin is very red on the lymph node. I have had this now for 17 days. It keeps getting worse. I have pains that shoot up my ear and has started giving me bad headaches. It is very tender and painful and I have trouble moving my neck now. I have been to the doctor twice. Actually two different doctors that diagnosed it as something different and prescribed different antibiotics. The first doctor told me it was a boil and gave me a 7 day course of amoxicillin. I finished the amoxicillin but it got worse and not better. I went to a different doctor last Thursday and he told me it looked like Cat Scratch Fever and prescribed me Augmentin. I haven't been around any cats so I don't know how he would have thought I had this. I researched and Cat Scratch Fever is only contacted if you have been scratched or bit by an infected cat or flea. I have been on the augmentin for 3 days now. It hasn't help at all. It just keeps getting worse.

Has anyone ever had anything like this happen to them before? Or am I just an alien? J/K.. but seriously if you know what this is or sounds like please educate me because apparently the doctors I have gone to don't know what they are talking about. The last doctor actually wants me to come back tomorrow so he can lance it. I don't think I can take that pain b/c it hurts so bad. Besides that I don't know if it is smart to lance a lymph node if you are not certain what is going on.

If I were you, I'd go back to one of those same doctors. It's probably easier the second or third time around.

I'd recommend doing what Midtowner suggested. Go back to the doc. Sounds like a pretty severe infection, to say the least. Might need to try an antibiotic in a different class.

If a 2nd round of antibiotics doesn't work, may have to remove the lymph nodes and send them off to path lab to see what's going on...whether it's simply infections, or cancerous, or something of that nature.

That's all I can really suggest for now.

okcgoddess, it depends on the reason for lancing it. If he's going to lance it to send off to pathology, that might be a really really good move. They'll be able to look at it under much preparation and look at it under a scope to determine what type of cells are inflitrating the node. That will allow them to make a further diagnosis and get you on the right diagnostic road.

I'd go back to the doc tomorrow.

What other symptoms are you having? Might help in limiting down the diagnosis. The 2 most common causes of enlarged lymph nodes are Staph aureus and Group B. Srep. Cat Scratch Fever can cause lymphadenopathy but is rare.

I haven't had any other symptoms at all. Besides a headache it has started to give me the last 3 days. I plan on going back to the same doctor tomorrow but it just concerns me if he is going to poke into it with a needle to try to drain it. That doesn't tell me much of why it is here. I might ask for him to send it off for testing. It is about to drive me crazy and the antibiotics aren't helping which is very discouraging. I have very thin hair so its hard to cover it up and it is very embarassing to say the least!

Thanks for your responses Mid and Patrick.

What other symptoms are you having? Might help in limiting down the diagnosis. The 2 most common causes of enlarged lymph nodes are Staph aureus and Group B. Srep. Cat Scratch Fever can cause lymphadenopathy but is rare.


I looked up some pictures of examples of staph infections which what I have doesn't look like staph. I don't have all the symptoms of staph either. On the Group B. Strep I couldn't find any reference to the lymph node being red in color. Mine is bright red I guess b/c of all the swelling.

Oh, you wouldn't have a Staph skin infection. Staph aureus is just the most common bacteria to affect a lymph node. Staph a is actually natural to your body...everyone has it. It's just when it goes ballistic that we have problems with it.

Anything that attacks a lymph node is going to cause it to turn red in color. It's due to the inflammation.

If he inserts a needle to drain it, make sure he's doing a fine needle biopsy. I'd at least bipsy it to make sure nothing more severe is going on. The bipsy specimen should be sent to a lab for further examination.

okcgoddess...

You might really want to change your signature for the time being..

"When it rains it pours... but hopefully when the blessings come they will overflow!"

Given the situation, I'm not getting a wonderful mental image.

It basically means that things can go sour in life but you have to keep faith that things can get alot better. When things get better in my life I will take out the "hopefully" part.

What type of mental image does my signature give? Please elaborate...

I had that about three weeks ago, the side of my face just swelled right up and actually made my ear ache, it was also hard to chew it hurt so bad. I had some dental work done a few days before that, but dont know if the two were related. My doctor gave me some antibiotic, that I cant remember what it was, but it went away that night. He said it may have been an alergic reaction to something I ate that day, but man did that hurt.

Doctor Office Update -- If anyone cares!

The doctor wouldn't lance it this morning so he is sending me to a surgeon so they can numb the area first and then try to remove it. My appointment is in an hour. He said the surgeons office can send the cells of to a lab to find out what it is.

Sounds like a winner. Exactly what they need to do. Keep us up to date, okcgoddess.

The surgeon didn't feel comfortable in doing this inside his office because of my reaction to anesthetics. My blood pressure normally drops really low and most of the time I pass out. So now I have to go to day surgery tomorrow morning. I have to be there at 7:30am! I can't wait til this is over. It is really hurting bad today.

The hospital said they don't send samples to the lab unless they extract something with substance to it. She said normally they won't send fluids to the lab for testing.

The surgeon didn't feel comfortable in doing this inside his office because of my reaction to anesthetics. My blood pressure normally drops really low and most of the time I pass out. So now I have to go to day surgery tomorrow morning. I have to be there at 7:30am! I can't wait til this is over. It is really hurting bad today.

The hospital said they don't send samples to the lab unless they extract something with substance to it. She said normally they won't send fluids to the lab for testing.
Hope everything turns out to be ok for ya Goddess :)

Everything worked out fine. They put me completely asleep. I woke up in the recovery room very sedated and talking out of my head. I was pretty much out of it the entire day yesterday. The doctor said they worked on my neck for 45 minutes. I have a huge hole now but he said it would heal up fine. I hope so. The doctors still didn't know exactly what it was or what caused it. They just kept calling it an abcess on the lymph node.

Everything worked out fine. They put me completely asleep. I woke up in the recovery room very sedated and talking out of my head. I was pretty much out of it the entire day yesterday. The doctor said they worked on my neck for 45 minutes. I have a huge hole now but he said it would heal up fine. I hope so. The doctors still didn't know exactly what it was or what caused it. They just kept calling it an abcess on the lymph node.
That is great news! I am glad to hear everything worked out well. Prayers were heard......and answered.

Glad to hear your ok Goddess and they got it out ok :)

Wow, I just read this thread! I'm so glad you are okay OKCGoddess! Are you okay now?

I wish I would have read this earlier but have been working like crazy and just saw it.

PM me if you need anything..