Does anyone else have a toddler with palpable lymph nodes?

[Toposlonoshlep]

Hi mamas,

My toddler has palpable (not really swollen or hard) lymph nodes on the sides of his neck and on either side of his groin. When do these become a sign of a problem? I know toddlers get into a lot of stuff and are exposed to a lot of cooties, but it just seems weird to me that he always has a couple somewhere that I can feel. This has been the case with him since pretty much birth, and I can attribute some of the ones on the back of his head or sides of neck to colds and whatnot, but what's up with both sides of the groin?

He does have a couple bruises on his shins from bumping into things on the playground, and a scratch on his hip, but would that alone cause those to swell?

Every time I ask the ped about them, she says, "Oh yeah, h has some here. He must have gotten bumped or scratched, or maybe fighting something..." Is that a good enough answer?

Strangely enough, DH has always been a skinny guy like DS and has a palapable lymph on either side of his groin, too. Always had. Is it just a skinny guy thing?


Thanks for any help!

[sunnygir1]

I can feel lumps on either side of my groin too, I was told they are glands (is that the same as lymph nodes?).  I can always feel them -- they aren't swollen or sore.

I don't check daily, but I can often feel my 19 month old's nodes on his neck and head.  He has had so many colds and flus and ear infections in a row, though, that I'm not sure they ever have a chance to get back to normal.  I guess, for me, I don't have any reason to think that there is something wrong -- he seems healthy in every way.  I'm not worried about it.  If it worries you, though, you should ask your doc directly, and try to find out what kinds of things it might indicate.

[hildare]

my dd only had this once following an illness, but do you think this could be a sign of allergies of some sort and the drainage associated with it?  depending on your diet, if it were a food related allergy, the babe could have experienced that since birth.  you should ask in the allergy forum, as i'm not sure that is what would happen but it seems likely...

[4Marmalade]

My youngest ds (almost 3 years) has very obvious lymph nodes in his neck. They are about the size of a pea, are soft and move around quite a bit.  You can sometimes see them from across the room if his head is turned a certain way.  We asked our family doctor and he asked us to monitor them for a few months.  We did and they didn't really change so we were referred to a pediatrician.  He checked ds over and we did some bloodwork and nothing showed up.  He also felt some larger nodes elsewhere on his body that we hadn't noticed.  He told us that some kids just have large lymph nodes.  He also mentioned that they can become swollen if you play with them too much which I know we did sometimes because we were worried about them.  My ds's lymph nodes have not changed over the last 1-1/2 years and ds has not been sick more than his siblings.  I feel better knowing that we checked it out.

Edited by 4Marmalade - 4/25/11 at 1:41pm

[Abraisme]

Yes, it's very easy to feel the lymph nodes in both of my children (20mo and 7yrs).  The lymph nodes in my 7yo are so large that I've had his pedi check them to make sure that he was okay.  She said that it's normal for young kids to have obvious glands, some of the ones in my DS's neck are as large as a small grape!  Anyway, it's normal.

[Toposlonoshlep]

Originally Posted by Abraisme 

Yes, it's very easy to feel the lymph nodes in both of my children (20mo and 7yrs).  The lymph nodes in my 7yo are so large that I've had his pedi check them to make sure that he was okay.  She said that it's normal for young kids to have obvious glands, some of the ones in my DS's neck are as large as a small grape!  Anyway, it's normal.

Thanks much for this! It takes away some of my worry. Because he has always had them and because daddy has them too, I think maybe that's just how they are. The allergies idea is also something to think about. He does have a dairy allergy, and I suppose it is possible he is mildly allergic to something yet-to-be-discovered. I really appreciate everyone's help!