Lymph nodes or parotid gland?????

[n8tiv_ndn]

greetings all,

I have an extremely swollen lump under my left ear and behind my jaw that is excruciatingly painful and rather large, approx. the size of a quarter maybe a little bigger. I have had a lot of sinus congestion over the past several days and producing a lot of mucous,really thick viscous and slightly greenish-yellow. I had a very low-grade fever for a day or so (99.0-99.8) but none for the past few days since this lump showed up and has gotten large and very painful rather quickly. I also had a mild sore throat a week or so before this and my daughter informed me that my grand kids had been diagnosed with strep throat. As I didn't really have a bad sore throat or a high fever my doctor suggested I watch it and come in if it got worse. Now this developed and is causing me really bad discomfort and I am planning to make an appointment tomorrow. Any ideas???? Probably a swollen lymph node, but it is really really painful....I've tried ear drops,warm compress, massaging it to try and get it to drain without any real success it just keeps getting worse!!!!!! Any suggestions or comments welcome.....

Thx.
n8tiv_ndn

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

It could be enlarged lymph node/nodes. Lymph are protective mechanisms of the body and they 'trap' the infecting source causing enlargement of lymph nodes. Lymph node enlargement is usually due to infections like bacterial and viral. The source of infection for you appears to be  from your throat.  Treatment is usually with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. So, consult your primary care physician for proper clinical assessment. In the meantime for pain relief you can use OTC Tylenol (acetaminophen).

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.