My teen daughter keeps getting swollen lymph nodes

[popmom]

And yes, I’m going to take her to the doctor this week. I’ll call for an appointment in the morning. I’m posting here hoping someone else has been through this, so I know what to expect. She’s 18. Over the past year, several times she has complained about tender, swollen lymph nodes. I’ve read that it’s not uncommon for this to happen to teens, but she keeps getting them. Today she told me she has a swollen node in each armpit. First time she’s had two at once. She says she feels fine. She hasn’t been ill recently. She did have the flu several weeks ago but no secondary infections from it. 

Anyway, after she told me about the 2 today, I’m a little worried. Trying so hard not to Google this!

Edited April 22, 2019 by stephensgirls

[klmama]

Swollen lymph nodes are pretty common even weeks after having been ill.  Last year I had a cold that lasted three weeks, but my lymph nodes were swollen for several months!  One of my dc had a lymph node that was swollen for about 6 months after a bee sting.  I completely understand your concern, but it's likely nothing serious.  Just add it to the list of things to discuss with the doctor.

[Bootsie]

This past year my son had a swollen lymph node behind his ear--I noticed it when he got a haircut.  The doctor said that it was quite common and that it could take months before it was not swollen.  I think it ended up being 4 months before all of the swelling was gone.  The doctor measured it to have a baseline and examined to see if there were any other swollen nodes.  The doctor told my son symptoms to watch for.  The doctor's advice was--these are almost always nothing, but you should have it checked out because in very rare situations it can be the first sign of something more serious.  I spent several months trying to pretend I wasn't looking to see if the swelling was improving so he wouldn't know how worried I was, so I know how you feel.  It is good that you are getting it checked out, but in our experience, it sounded as if this was pretty common.  

[WendyLady]

We’ve been dealing with swollen lymph nodes with my nearly 18 year old dd for a couple months. Her neck lymph was the size of a small chicken egg, not an exaggeration!  It’s been a little scary, honestly. 1 urgent care. 3 dr appts. 2 blood tests. Not strep. Just a virus. Rest, Drink water... 

Just this week she was diagnosed with mono. I’m glad for the diagnosis so we can at least know that it will be a while before she’s well. 

I’m sorry your daughter is not feeling well. From what our dr said, the swollen lymph nodes can hang around for months and aren’t necessarily a sign of anything!!

 

[popmom]

Thanks, y’all! My 2 older daughters never had this happen, but it’s comforting to hear that others have been through similar issues. 

[J-rap]

My dh and a couple of my dd's get swollen lymph nodes easily, and they can last months.  Sometimes they happen after insect bites.  One dd had what we thought was one under her arm pit, but it turned out to be some kind of a benign cyst.  It wasn't a big deal at all.  

[katilac]

I got them quite frequently in my teens and early 20s. It was nothing serious (they never actually pinned it down to anything in particular, I never went to the doctor for it but would mention it if there for another reason). 

One of my dds has had them a few times, again nothing serious or bad. 

So go to the doctor but don't worry about it, it's common!

                             

[Pawz4me]

My niece had the same problem when she was in her late teens/early 20's. The docs blamed it on having had mono a few years before and it still clearing out of her system (or some very similar reason--I know it related to her having had  mono). And I do think some people are just more prone to having swollen lymph nodes than others are. I'm 56 and can only remember having a swollen lymph node once in my life (and coincidentally that was in my teens), and for no reason that my mom or I could figure out. That was back in the day before everybody went to the doctor for everything, and since I had no symptoms of anything else we never got it checked out. It eventually returned to normal.

[mumto2]

Mono......for years after my first bout with mono my glands swelled hugely any time I was ill.  I had some hair pulled out once that somehow affected a lymph node three inched above the hair loss.  The node stayed swollen for almost a year.

 

[PeterPan]

I had them as a kid, my mother was scared, and turned out it was the deoderant. 

[Kalypso]

Please at least have her checked by a doctor.  Two years ago, my friend's ds9 had swollen lymph nodes in his neck that would get better for a bit and then get worse again. I think this went on for about a year, and he was under a doctor's care during this time. Unfortunately, he had thyroid cancer. Sometimes, it is something serious. 

 

[MercyA]

I had swollen glands for at least a year after a bad respiratory virus. I had them checked by multiple doctors and there was nothing wrong. Even now, many years later, they sometimes ache if I am coming down with an infection or even if someone else in the household is sick! 

Just an aside, but rebounding on a mini-trampoline supposedly helps the lymph nodes drain. You can google it. I did it on a regular basis for a while and it honestly made the nodes significantly less sore. 

 

[popmom]

16 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I had them as a kid, my mother was scared, and turned out it was the deoderant. 

Very interesting. She recently switched to a natural deodorant.