Lymph nodes at the neck: causes, diagnosis, treatment

Enlarged lymph nodes, called lymphadenitis, can be inflammatory in nature, which is more common in young people, and non-inflammatory. In addition, the increase can be local and generalized. It is important to establish the nature of the changes in the lymph nodes, which is necessary for the diagnosis of various diseases. From another point of view, distinguish painful and painless lymph nodes. If the change in nodes is observed only in one area and is painful, the range of possible diseases narrows sharply, since it can be acute lymphadenitis, indicating an inflammatory process in the nearby area. If the large lymph nodes on the neck are painless, it often indicates a recent inflammatory process, a chronic infection or a tumor metastasis.

One of the most common, and often the first, localizations of knot changes is the neck.

The lymph nodes on the neck can be enlarged and painful with acute or exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis, pharyngitis, pharyngeal inflammations due to banal viral infections, as well as scarlet fever and diphtheria, which occur with plaque formation. It is necessary to remember the possibility of carcinoma of the tonsils, in which metastases to the lymph nodes on the neck are very dense.

The enlargement of the lymph nodes on the neck located at the top of it can be associated with the inflammatory process in the teeth, periostitis, gingivitis, local inflammation.

In acute lymphadenitis, regional lymph nodes are characterized by moderate density and pain and presence of entrance gates of infection. In severe cases, reddening of the skin over enlarged lymph nodes, hyperthermia, changes in blood analysis in the form of leukocytosis and an increase in ESR. In severe cases, abscessing may occur with the development of fluctuations, that is, softening of the lymph node as a result of accumulation of pus, followed by opening and fistula formation.

Chronic nonspecific lymphadenitis is manifested by cicatricial lymph nodes formed after acute inflammation. They are dense, do not hurt at palpation, usually of small size. Such lymph nodes on the neck do not change with time, they are limited to the neck area. Most often they are associated with acute acute inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx.

Large peripheral lymph nodes are observed in various infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, brucellosis, toxoplasmosis and other infections. These diseases are diagnosed taking into account the characteristic features of the clinical symptoms obtained from the data of additional studies.

With a generalized increase in nodes on the neck, whole gland packets of larger or smaller size are formed. The disease begins with a regional increase in lymph nodes, which soon turns into a generalized one. Cervical localization is also observed in certain acute and chronic leukemias, lymphogranulomatosis, syphilis and other pathologies.

If there are enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, treatment should be performed only after determining the cause of this symptom. With the increase of nodes due to inflammation, it is necessary to prescribe antibacterial, anti-inflammatory therapy, dry heat. In case of a specific inflammation developing with tuberculosis or other infections, appropriate etiotropic treatment is prescribed. Malignant diseases, in which the lymph nodes on the neck are defined, require surgical interventions, chemotherapy and radiation exposure.