Earlobe & Neck/Armpit Lumps

Hello,

For the past few years (three or so) I have had small lumps in my earlobes. Although they have never fully disappeared, the size of them changes quite often. One week they might be inflamed and painful to the touch and the next they could be very small and unnoticeable. About half a year ago I noticed that I had a few small, soft lumps on my neck. At that time I decided it would be best to have my physician have a look. She examined my ears and neck and told me that the lumps on my earlobes were cysts and that the ones on my neck were lymph nodes trying to get rid of the cysts. I was prescribed antibiotics and am now taking them twice daily.

I figured that the cysts on my earlobes could be caused by my wearing headphones a LOT. Probably four to five hours daily for the past six years.

After working out last week I came inside to rest and get a drink of water. But after raising my arms in the air I noticed that my right armpit felt uncomfortable. I felt under my arms and noticed that I had a medium-size lump (which I read that lymph nodes are found in the armpit area, too). I'm still not entirely sure if that has anything to do with the cysts in my ears. But basically, my armpit was sore for a day or two. Then the lumps basically disappeared.

It might be a good idea to note that I have had a rash under my armpits for a couple of weeks now and when I was scratching my armpits very heavily, I noticed a lump came up (this was before the work-out incident), but it went away as soon as my doctor gave me medicine for the rash. Could this lymph node be an effect of my rash?

Any comments or ideas about what I just wrote?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
This lump in the neck sounds like a swollen lymph node only. Lymph nodes are small (1-2cm) and bean-shaped nodes. they are very important to your body keeping you healthy. Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Other causes include allergic reactions, arthritis, cancer, metabolic diseases, and an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). In your case it can be due to the skin infection.

Biopsy(FNAB) of the lump can help in confirming the diagnosis. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[thedevilpup]

Thank you for the information. How is a biopsy performed?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
There are many types of biopsy procedures but for lymph nodes, fine needle aspiration biopsy is done. In this procedure a very thin needle is inserted into a lump (tumor), and a few tens to thousands of cells are drawn up (aspirated) into a syringe. These are smeared on a slide, stained, and examined under a microscope by the pathologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.