What Causes Tenderness And Swelling In The Center Of The Neck?

Posted on Thu, 1 Dec 2016

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

Thu, 1 Dec 2016 Answered on

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I have tenderness and looks like slight swelling in the center of my neck above the breast bone - almost like a very soft lump or swelling that I noticed for the first time last evening around 6:00 PM. It is tender to the touch. Does not seem to be getting any better or worse. It is not aggravated by movement of my neck.

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Looks to be from thyroid

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thank for your query.
To recapitulate: Female/64 - tenderness and slight swelling in the center of the neck above the breastbone - like soft lump noticed at 6 pm yesterday - tender - Aleve - not aggravated by movement ...
As per the description you have provided, this looks to be a swelling related to the thyroid gland or can be a lymph node.
Swallowing moves any swelling that is attached to the trachea, particularly thyroid.

I would advise you the following:
Ultrasonography with FNAC that is fine needle aspiration cytology almost always gives the results -
Tests of blood: CBC and particularly thyroid functions and related investigations as may be needed for proper diagnosis and hence for the plan of treatment.
I hope this answer helps you, please feel free to ask fr further relevant queries if you feel that there is a gap of communication.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad