Swollen Lymph Nodes after alcohol consumption

[Worried8802]

Hello,

I am a 20 year old female who has been experiencing swollen lymph nodes in the groin area for about 2 days after i consume alcohol. Muscle soreness is also present during this time. I have been taking Doxycycline for acne purposes since late august. I have had my tonsils and adenoids (adenoids) taken out when I was 16 because of frequent infection and one tonsil constantly swollen. Other than this, I a have been healthy. When i first noticed the swollen gland in my groin, i went to the gyno. He told me that he thought it was just my lymph nodes clearing up a virus, and to come back in a month. I was supposed to go back a day ago, but got my period. This recently happened a second time after i drank alcohol the night before. What do you think this is? I thought it may be hodgkin's disease, and looked up the symptoms, and i do not have any of the night sweats, fever, or painless swollen nodes. However, I am worried about this. Should I go see the doctor earlier than my rescheduled appointment for January 17th? This will be about 2 months after my first episode of swollen nodes in the groin area.  Thanks again.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  Before considering the possibility of hodgkin's disease, we should first try to exclude the more common cause of swollen groin nodes, which is infection.  Are you sexually active? Various sexually transmitted diseases can present with swollen groin nodes, so this may be a possibility.  I doubt that the alcohol directly caused those swollen nodes.  If ever, this would be the first time that I've heard of such a thing happening.  If you're still having symptoms at present, it's probably better to see a doctor earlier.

[Worried8802]

No, I am not sexually active. I only feel tenderness in the nodes the day after i have a few drinks, and I am fine otherwise. The symptoms always go away within 2 days after. Should I definitely still call my doctor to make the appt. earlier?

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi. I've thought about your case and have looked up the literature regarding lymphoma symptoms.  I've found that some patients with lymphoma do experience pain and swelling in their lymph nodes after drinking alcohol.  This is just an observation. No explanation was offered in the literature why this happens.  I'm not saying that you probably have lymphoma.  But if the lymph node swelling persists and does not go away completely after a few days, it might be wise to have it checked earlier.

[Worried8802]

Thank you. I will try to get an appointment earlier.

[fireB]

Hello.  I have the exact same issue occur two days after a heavy night of drinking.  Painful and swollen lymph nodes in my neck and groin.  I also seem to just have painful spots all over my body.  This usually always happens the second day after a night of heavy drinking.  I was wondering if your doctor ever discovered what was going on...?

[Worried8802]

fireB- I actually forgot that I had posted this 2 years ago. I ended up going to my doctor's. She tested me and everything came back normal, so there was no real explanation for the swollen glands.

In hindsight, however, I was a college student and I did drink rather frequently and quite a lot (most college students do without realizing that). I was also under a lot of stress and some emotional problems that I was not very aware of. I really do think that the stress and alcohol combined was the cause of these swollen glands. But this does not mean that your lymph nodes are swelling for the same reason. The most common reason for lymph nodes to swell is fighting off infection, so it could be that you drank too much and the alcohol compromised your immune system, causing your lymph nodes to swell in order to fight something off...to play it safe, see your doc.

P.S. I am not a medical professional!