What’s wrong with my child’s lymph nodes not shrinking?

Everyone may get sick in their lifetime. Some diseases are easy to cure, and some can even heal on their own without treatment, such as the common cold. However, some other diseases are more special. Even after effective treatment, they may not be cured due to various reasons, or may even recur, which is very upsetting for patients. So, what is the reason why the child’s lymph nodes have not disappeared?

Lymphadenitis

Lymphadenitis is an acute inflammation of the lymph nodes caused by the spread of bacterial infection through the lymphatic vessels to the lymph nodes in the area. However, not everyone will develop lymphadenitis when encountering bacterial infection. This disease is only likely to occur when the body's resistance is reduced. Tonsillitis can cause submandibular lymphadenitis, and scalp infection can cause occipital, preauricular, and posterior auricular lymphadenitis.

Typical clinical manifestations: high fever, headache, malaise, local skin redness and lumps, obvious pain, and severe cases may cause cellulitis.

Most cases of lymphadenitis respond very well to antibiotics.

Swollen lymph nodes

In the hot summer, children wear less. Sometimes when they twist their necks, they find a small lump on the back of their necks. It doesn't hurt or itch, but it moves when touched. What is this? Is it a lymph node? Why do lymph nodes exist? What is the reason? It can't be a blood disease, right?

This type of lymph node enlargement caused by inflammation of the surrounding tissues is often significantly enlarged in the acute phase, and the swelling will gradually decrease as the infection subsides. However, some lymph nodes will not completely subside, and a small lymph node (such as the size of a soybean) may remain and never subside. These lymph nodes are generally smooth, mobile, and not tender. Parents do not need to worry about this type of swollen lymph nodes, and generally they do not need to be treated or examined separately.

However, if you find that the lymph nodes continue to swell, or the swelling increases significantly but the tenderness is not obvious and the boundaries are unclear, you should go to the hospital and have the doctor identify the nature of the swollen lymph nodes. If necessary, a lymph node biopsy is needed to determine the nature of the lymph nodes.

In addition to swollen lymph nodes, leukemia that parents worry about often causes systemic symptoms such as persistent fever, anemia, fatigue, and poor weight gain. A preliminary diagnosis of leukemia can be made through a peripheral blood examination. If the peripheral blood white blood cells, platelets, and hemoglobin are normal, leukemia is generally not considered.

Kawasaki disease

When considering lymphadenitis, XIAOLEI mentioned at the beginning of the article should also be careful to exclude Kawasaki disease. About 50% of patients with Kawasaki disease will have swollen lymph nodes in the neck, mostly on one side. The swollen lymph nodes are hard in texture, but the redness and heat are not obvious, and they are slightly tender, indicating acute non-suppurative lymphadenitis. Kawasaki disease is a disease that needs to be differentiated when fever is accompanied by swollen lymph nodes. To learn more about Kawasaki disease, please click on the blue words "Talk about Kawasaki disease".

Epstein-Barr virus infection

Epstein-Barr virus infection should also be considered if there is fever and swollen lymph nodes. Lymph node swelling caused by EB virus infection is mostly systemic lymph node swelling, and some are also accompanied by hepatosplenomegaly. The peripheral blood leukocytes are mainly composed of monocytes, accounting for 70%-90%, and abnormal lymphocytes account for 10%.