Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Swollen lymph nodes combined with accompanying signs and symptoms are a common reason that people, particularly children, visit their doctors.
Your lymph nodes, also called glands, play a vital role in your body's ability to fight off viruses, bacteria and other causes of illnesses. Most often, lymph nodes swell and become inflamed as a result of an infection. However, there are many possible causes of swollen lymph nodes.
Treatment for inflamed, swollen lymph nodes, also known as lymphadenitis, depends on the cause. In some cases, the passage of time and the use of over-the-counter pain relievers and warm compresses may be all you need. For more serious cases, treatment of swollen lymph nodes involves treating the underlying cause.
Symptoms- Fletcher RH. Evaluation of peripheral lymphadenopathy in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 28, 2008.
- Schmitt, DB. Swollen lymph nodes brief version. In: Burley J, et al., eds. Pediatric Advisor. Broomfield, Co.: Clinical Reference Systems; 2008.
- Rubinovitch B, et al. Generalized and regional lymphadenopathy. In: Cohen J, et al. Cohen & Powderly: Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2004:197.
- Neck swelling. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/514.html#4. Accessed Nov. 28, 2008.
- Lowry PA. Hematologic malignancies. In: Noble J, et al. Noble: Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2001:1074.
