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Are you meant to be able to feel your lymph nodes?

Hi,

So the question is as the title says. More specifically, the ones if your neck/under your jaw. And how big are they meant to be?

:smile:

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Reply 1
I don't think so... I once felt them, and in a week I was lying in bed with mononucleosis.
Reply 2
Oh. :s-smilie:

I've been able to feel them for months. They're very easy to find on my neck.
Reply 3
If you know where they are what they feel like you'll always be able to once you know how.
I've always been able to feel mine ever since I can remember. I don't have much fat on my neck.

I used to get worried run up to my mum (she's a nurse) and go "omg I found a lump!" she'd go "Don't be silly, they're just your lymph nodes" and it didn't seem to bother her. Unless they're ridiculously swollen up like grapes I don't think there's an issue...
I have three that i can feel. And i've had them 6-12 months. My doctor doesn't seem too concerned...

Have they grown? What do they feel like? Do you have any other symptoms?

It's worth getting them checked out.

And stop googling! I know you are. I did too..
Reply 6
screenager2004
I've always been able to feel mine ever since I can remember. I don't have much fat on my neck.

I used to get worried run up to my mum (she's a nurse) and go "omg I found a lump!" she'd go "Don't be silly, they're just your lymph nodes" and it didn't seem to bother her. Unless they're ridiculously swollen up like grapes I don't think there's an issue...

Its reassuring at least to know I'm not alone. I was reading elsewhere online that people were getting/considering biopsies on them to rule out things like cancer and I was like :eek3: :eek3: that can't be right.

May I ask; roughly how big would you say yours are?
Reply 7
Anonymous
I have three that i can feel. And i've had them 6-12 months. My doctor doesn't seem too concerned...

Have they grown? What do they feel like? Do you have any other symptoms?

It's worth getting them checked out.

And stop googling! I know you are. I did too..

yeah I was googling and it doesn't make positive reading :rolleyes:

I'm not ill or anything (I hope) but I don't think its worth a trip to the doctor over my anxiety about them either.

They feel hard, but slightly squeezable at the same time. It's hard to explain, and I don't know a better way of describing them. They haven't grown, they've always (or as long as I've noticed) been about 2 or 3cm long.
PJ991
Its reassuring at least to know I'm not alone. I was reading elsewhere online that people were getting/considering biopsies on them to rule out things like cancer and I was like :eek3: :eek3: that can't be right.

May I ask; roughly how big would you say yours are?


Hmm I dunno, maybe the size of a pea? I keep losing it in masses of neck tissue!
Reply 9
Mine keeps getting pushed back under my jaw bone.
Reply 10
Your nodes usually come up when you're stressed; leastways, that's what the nurse told me when I went in, slightly worried, a couple of years ago. I know it's easy to say but just try to ignore it; it's fairly common and nothing to worry about, but if it would set your mind at ease go see your GP; that's what they're there for!
Nodes can come up and stay up after something as minor as a cold. However they can be a sign of something more serious (for me it was an autoimmune disease).

You might be feeling your submandibular glands if they're under your jawbone or if you're skinny it might not even be your lymph nodes at all, particularly in your neck.

I have loads and loads of swollen nodes and I had a CT scan for them and they weren't cancerous, so just having swollen nodes doesn't mean it's cancer :smile:
Reply 12
My brother had this. Just finished his chemo.
Reply 13
Clunge
My brother had this. Just finished his chemo.

I can't tell if you're being serious.
I can only feel the ones behind my jaw, and its quite common. The swollen one on the right the doctor says is fine, but it gets a bit bigger having drank alcohol, which is a bit concerning.

And yes, the internet makes people panic!
Reply 15
PJ991
I can't tell if you're being serious.

Well put it like this, he still has some cancer in his arm pit, so is having to have intensive radio therapy everyday for 3 weeks soon.

Please go to the doctors and get checked out, hopefully they are more reliable than ours who said it was 'nothing'.
Reply 16
If you've recently had a cold or been otherwise unwell, it's quite common to find enlarged lymph nodes in your neck. If you're otherwise well, then it's worth getting them checked out, personal experience tells me.
screenager2004
I've always been able to feel mine ever since I can remember. I don't have much fat on my neck.

I used to get worried run up to my mum (she's a nurse) and go "omg I found a lump!" she'd go "Don't be silly, they're just your lymph nodes" and it didn't seem to bother her. Unless they're ridiculously swollen up like grapes I don't think there's an issue...

same thing hapoened to me..I was soscared Iwent to the doctors.
I've had 2 either side of my neck just under my chin there soft and move when I press them been to doctors he's not concerned he said once you know where they are you will then always be able to find them but I'm going back tomorrow because I'm not convinced I've had them for weeks now I've had a bit of a bad throat and ear ached On and off for ages but still unsure. The reason behind me being like this is my aunt who I loved and adore so much was having stomach pain for months she went bk and forth to doctors hospital they said she was fine she even payed 500 pounds to see a private consultant who sent her away with gaviscon. Saying it was just stomach acid. She was dead just 5 month later with pancreatic cancer and God I miss her like hell she was a beautiful woman full of life when she died you would of not known she was the same woman.
Just been bk to doctors found out something I wasn't aware of this may be of interest and relevant to some of you on here to. If you suffer with any type of muscle illness such as fibromialger which I do your glands will be always swollen because this illness causes your body To think it's under constant attack from viruses and such like.. the doctor said that she isn't worried at all about anything sinister going on my lungs and chest are absolutely clear. Hope this could be of some help to some of you. Just thought it may be worth sharing with you. Thanks for reading

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