Moveable, Painless Lump On Neck Since Years. Had Used Dip In The Past. What Could It Be?

Posted on Wed, 1 May 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 1 May 2013 Answered on

Thu, 23 May 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello I have a small, moveable, painless lump on the left side of my neck. the lump is hard, and about the size of a pea. the lump is below the skin on my windpipe, I believe just above the hyoid, and about 3/4 inch down from my jawline in the crease where the bottom of my jaw goes down to my neck. the lump is not visible, but can be felt, and its been there for a couple years without growing. I am 18 years old. Also, I used dip for a couple years in high school. What do you think it could be?

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (1 hour later)

Hello!

Thank you for the query.

The lump you have noticed is most likely a lymph node. This is a very common location for it and usually there is nothing to worry about. Especially as the lump is painless, movable and does not get larger for years. This lymph node could appear due to some infection in this area (throat, tooth etc) as a normal reaction for an inflammation.
So in my opinion no need to do anything with it. However if it bothers you, you may have an ultrasound of this area and have a biopsy of it if necessary.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (20 minutes later)

Appriciate it! Thanks. And yeah ill get it check out. its just weird cause its only my left side and not the other and its the only one thats been hard. I really appriciate the quick answer it really helped calm me down. ive had it for so long but havent done anything about it cause i put it off then forgot, but i felt it by accident today and remebered it was there so i figured id see what I could do about it!

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (22 minutes later)

Lymph nodes does not have to be on both sides. Like I have said before, it appears due to an infection. If the infection were on the one side, the lymph node will be only on that side.
So get the ultrasound of it and biopsy if necessary and you will have a clear situation.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar