The lymphatic system runs through your whole body. It is made up of lymph glands and what connects them together. The lymph glands protect the body from infection. They make a white blood cell that kills germs in the body. Lymph glands also trap viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells.
You can feel your child’s lymph glands when they swell up. When a lymph gland swells up from an infection, it usually hurts when you touch it. Sometimes the glands stay swollen for a long time after the infection is gone. They usually don’t hurt and are not dangerous.
Watch out for glands like this:
- Hard
- “Rubbery”
- Without pain
- Getting bigger
These glands can be signs of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands), leukemia, or some other cancer.
The salivary glands are another kind of gland. They are under the tongue, on the bottom of the mouth, and just below the ear. They are not lymph glands. They make saliva, or “spit.” The salivary glands under the ears (near the jaw line) swell up when your child has mumps.
What Causes Swollen Glands?
- A throat or ear infection is a common cause of swollen glands in the neck.
- An infection in the feet, legs, or groin can make the lymph glands in the groin swell.
- Mononucleosis can make neck glands swell. (High school and college students also call this “mono” or “the kissing disease.”)
- Mumps
- Cat scratch fever. A cat’s claws carry this sickness.
- Medicines like Dilantin (This medicine is for epilepsy.)
- Dental work
- Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph glands, or leukemia
- Tuberculosis (TB)
How to Keep Your Child from Getting Swollen Glands
Keep your child away from people who have sicknesses they can catch.
Questions to Ask