Ugh...found a lump UPDATE

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So I took DS to the Pedi first thing this morning. His Pedi wasn't in so we had to see the NP. She felt it and said she thinks its a lymphnode that may be swollen because of allergies. I told her he hadn't been sneezing, sniffly, coughing or rubbing his eyes. He was put on Zyrtec at the beginning of the spring season but I had taken him off of it because he did not react well to the medication. She said because he has shiners beneath his eyes she thinks its allergies. I showed her the bug bite - she said it was not the culprit. He is now on Claritin and she said it can take up to 6 months for the lymphnode to go back to regular size.

So where we stand now is to monitor it. If it gets largers or if he begins acting like he is any pain we have to bring him back in. If it gets to that point they will do an x-ray and take some soft tissue.

I get so nervous because it bulges. I can see it without even trying to see it. Does that make sense? I circled it with my eyeliner to make sure its not any bigger tomorrow - is that completely over the top? Sigh.

DEBBIE33CASEY

Sounds like everything will be fine   But still us Mom's worry!  I'm glad it was nothing more serious!

*Bre*

my sister had these through most of her adolescence.

I had one on my neck that was very large (larger than a quarter) that bulged out for years, and the dr. was not concerned. It eventually went back to normal.

 

Try not to worry, just keep an eye on it. Swollen lymph nodes are extremely common, but good for you for being proactive. 

CrystalDaun

It's impossible not to worry. I think you are reacting exactly how I would.

Quazel

CrystalDaun:

It's impossible not to worry. I think you are reacting exactly how I would.

Agreed.  And I totally would have done the eyeliner thing, that was a great idea!

7/04Bride

The eyeliner was a good idea.  You could also measure it to keep more accurate track of it.  Good luck!

Mrsosh

Try not to worry...I know it's hard.  I was very worried about a very visible bulging lump in my son's neck.  The pedi gave me the same advice; just watch it and make sure it doesn't get bigger.  It does sound like it's just enlarged because of allergies though - esp. since your original post mentioned that you had just gone camping and I'm assuming you spent most of that time outdoors.

Best of luck!  I'm sure everything will be fine.

Jays-n-Shane

Easier said than done, but try not to worry.  We've been dealing with this for 5 months now.  It started with the ones on the back of her head, then behind her ears, then down her neck, then her groin, and finally her armpits and behind her collar bone.  We've seen a specialist, and consulted with others.  There is still no explaination for the swelling, but all of her blood tests are mostly normal and have really shown no change.  The suspected culprit at this time is CMV (super common and symptomless).  We don't know when she had it, but we know she had it because she tested positive for the antibody.  The infectious disease specialist is thinking she may have had the CMV at the beginning of the year (when we first noticed swelling) and it's just taking a while for it to go down.

He also said that while LO's growth slows down dramatically after about age 1, the lymph nodes continue rapid growth until about age 10.  And, any infection or something that raises the body's immune response can trigger inflammation in the lymph nodes.  If the bug bite is in the same region as the lymph node, that could be the cause if bacteria was transmitted..

 Sorry so long, but I was hoping to reassure you.  It's nearly impossible not to worry about it, but there are so many reasons other than the worst that it could be.

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Jays-n-Shane:

Easier said than done, but try not to worry.  We've been dealing with this for 5 months now.  It started with the ones on the back of her head, then behind her ears, then down her neck, then her groin, and finally her armpits and behind her collar bone.  We've seen a specialist, and consulted with others.  There is still no explaination for the swelling, but all of her blood tests are mostly normal and have really shown no change.  The suspected culprit at this time is CMV (super common and symptomless).  We don't know when she had it, but we know she had it because she tested positive for the antibody.  The infectious disease specialist is thinking she may have had the CMV at the beginning of the year (when we first noticed swelling) and it's just taking a while for it to go down.

He also said that while LO's growth slows down dramatically after about age 1, the lymph nodes continue rapid growth until about age 10.  And, any infection or something that raises the body's immune response can trigger inflammation in the lymph nodes.  If the bug bite is in the same region as the lymph node, that could be the cause if bacteria was transmitted..

 Sorry so long, but I was hoping to reassure you.  It's nearly impossible not to worry about it, but there are so many reasons other than the worst that it could be.

Thank you!