Hi,I am Dr. Shanthi.E (General & Family Physician). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
I was wondering if swollen lymph nodes were something I need to go to er over or wait to see my doctor in a month... I have two that I know for sure that have been swollen for at least 4-5 years now. They don t hurt that s why I never got them checked
Hello, lymph node enlargement may occur in various conditions. The most common (and benign) ones are infections but they can also enlarge in rheumatological conditions, malignant diseases (cancer, lymphoma etc) and drug use. If you've had the nodes for 4-5 years then waiting one more month wouldn't hurt. They are not very likely to be caused by infections and if they are big enough (definitely more than 1 cm and perhaps 2cm depending on the site) they need investigation. Nothing urgent here, particularly if you don't have any symptoms.
I hope I've helped! Contact me again if you have more questions about this condition.
Kind Regards!
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What Causes Swollen Lymph Nodes?
Hello, lymph node enlargement may occur in various conditions. The most common (and benign) ones are infections but they can also enlarge in rheumatological conditions, malignant diseases (cancer, lymphoma etc) and drug use. If you ve had the nodes for 4-5 years then waiting one more month wouldn t hurt. They are not very likely to be caused by infections and if they are big enough (definitely more than 1 cm and perhaps 2cm depending on the site) they need investigation. Nothing urgent here, particularly if you don t have any symptoms. I hope I ve helped! Contact me again if you have more questions about this condition. Kind Regards!