Lymph nodes in medicine are called accumulations of lymphatic tissue, which are located throughout the human body. Inflammation of the lymph node on the cheek or any other part of the body should certainly alert a person and make him seek the advice of a specialist. He, in turn, must give direction to the patient for the necessary tests and studies, then make prescriptions in the form of drug treatment. In rare cases, more serious action may be required.
When a lymph node becomes inflamed
The lymphatic tissue cells that form the lymph node begin to become inflamed when the human body suffers from attack by pathogenic cells. For example, when the immune system is weakened, and a person has caught a cold viral disease - this is at its best. At worst, it could be cancer cells. That is why doctors recommend contacting qualified doctors at the slightest suspicion of inflammation of the lymphatic tissues.
Locations of lymph nodes
Lymph nodes are also called collectors. Because they collect lymph from the whole body. Lymph nodes can be superficial and visceral. The inflammatory processes of the last of them cannot be detected without ultrasound.
What can not be said about the outdoor. Lymph nodes are classified according to their location on the body:
- Occipital. They are located in the area where the neck passes into the skull.
- The popliteal lymph nodes are located behind, on the surface of the knee joint.
- The groin are located in the groin folds.
- The mediastinal lymph nodes are located in the chest cavity. This location is considered one of the most dangerous, since there are vital organs nearby: heart, lungs, trachea.
- Axillary lymph nodes are located in the armpits. Their number makes up a fairly powerful group of lymphatic tissue, which filters about 70% of the lymph.
- Parotid can be located in front of and behind the auricle.
- Facial lymph nodes are usually located on the lower jaw, cheek and chin.
They are also in the area of nasolabial folds, eyes and mimic muscles.
What to do if the lymph node on the cheek is inflamed
First you need to do a self-diagnosis. To do this, you need to feel the formation on the cheek, and check other places where the lymph nodes are located. It is necessary to evaluate the intensity of the increase in the node and slightly press it. If there are painful sensations during inflammation of the lymph node on the cheek, and the pain is accompanied by an increasetemperature. This is an occasion to immediately seek the advice of a therapist. Also, with such symptoms, the lymph node may have a heterogeneous consistency (in one place it is hard, in another it is soft). This should definitely alert the specialist, and he, in turn, will prescribe antibiotic therapy.
Causes of inflammation of the lymph nodes on the cheek
A swollen lymph node is a collection of lymphatic tissue that fills with pus and causes severe pain with or without pressure.
Doctors identify more than one reason why an inflammatory process can occur in the lymphatic tissues. If the lymph node on the cheek is inflamed, this may be evidence:
- caries,
- periodontal disease,
- presence of pathogenic bacteria in the body (staphylo-, streptococci);
- weakened immune system;
- infectious disease;
- tumor process,
- TB,
- syphilis,
- HIV infections,
- allergic reaction.
- often, and various fungal diseases can cause the lymph node on the cheek to hurt and become inflamed.
Women often get inflamed lymph nodes in the armpits. This is especially true for breastfeeding mothers. In this case, it is necessary to conduct an examination to exclude diseases such as lactostasis, mastitis and mastopathy.
What inflamed lymphatic tissue might look like
The type of lymph node that started the process of inflammation can be different. It depends on whatwhat causes the pathology. If the cheek is swollen due to the lymph node, its structure may be smooth or uneven when palpated.
Also, lymph nodes (LU - as they are called for short) can grow together with each other during inflammation. At the same time, they will be mobile on palpation. According to tactile sensations, LU can be both soft and hard. And the skin on top can sometimes be swollen and reddened.
What is lymphadenitis
Lymphadenitis is the inflammation of the lymph node on the cheek in a child or adult. It is accompanied by severe pain. LU at the same time are solid and motionless. With more severe symptoms: elevated body temperature and chills, intoxication appears. Lymphadenitis can provoke:
- abscess;
- furuncle;
- mug;
- Carbuncle;
- phlegmon.
Under such a course of circumstances, the infection from the focus moves through the blood vessels, getting into the lymphatic tissues, and provoking inflammation in it. Initially, the tissues simply become inflamed, then pus forms inside. They impregnate he althy tissue and fatty tissue.
Diagnosis of lymphadenitis
How to treat lymph nodes on the cheek and how to diagnose them depends on their condition, texture, cause and symptoms that accompany them.
To begin with, the specialist proposes to determine the localization of the focus of the inflammatory reaction. This can be done with a blood test. Ultrasound should be done if necessary.and x-ray. At the slightest suspicion of a specialist in malignant tumors, a thermographic examination should be performed. Rarely, severe pain on palpation of the lymph node may indicate oncology.
With such a suspicion, the doctor should take a puncture (taking a small amount of tissue for analysis) and send the patient for an MRI.
Treatment of lymphadenitis
The fight against this problem necessarily requires the help of a qualified specialist. The beginning of treatment should be the fight against the main cause of inflammation of the LN. If the doctor was able to make a diagnosis and it turned out to be an allergic reaction, they will be prescribed an antihistamine. In the case of diagnosing an infectious disease, treatment with antiviral agents should be prescribed. Infectious diseases in this case include: purulent tonsillitis, measles and rubella. Often, when diagnosing an infection, doctors prescribe broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs. They will help to normalize body temperature and reduce soreness of the lymph nodes. Aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen are commonly prescribed as stand-alone pain relievers.
Inflammation of the lymph nodes in tuberculosis
First of all, in tuberculosis, inflammatory reactions begin in the intrathoracic lymphatic tissues. Then, if treatment is not started in time, they can spread to superficial lymph nodes throughout the body. Including on the cheeks.
Mild stages are accompanied by a slight swelling of the LN and mild pain. Next, ifinflammation cannot be cured, it will provoke the fusion of the nodes with each other, then with the surrounding tissues. So a dense tumor with pus inside can form. After a while, it will turn into a fistula.
Inflamed lymph nodes in HIV infection
This dangerous disease can affect the development of lymphatic tissues throughout the body. Often, it is this symptom that helps a doctor diagnose HIV. It can only manifest itself in this way for quite a long time. When HIV infection develops into AIDS, the lymph nodes increase more and more often. As everyone knows, no one has yet been able to cure HIV infection, and there are no drugs for it yet. Therefore, doctors are forced to focus on suppressing the virus, in the fight against which they use special antiretroviral drugs. At the same time, specialists are fighting parallel infections, which often provoke the death of a person with AIDS.
Rubella and swollen lymph nodes
In this disease, inflammation in the lymphatic tissues is one of the first symptoms. At the same time, the LU begins to become inflamed a little earlier than rashes begin to appear on the body. Often with rubella, the facial, cervical and occipital nodes become inflamed. They do not tend to grow together with surrounding tissues. Treatment of LU for rubella, of course, should begin with isolation of the patient. Serious measures for treatment are taken only in severe cases. For example, if the joints are affected. Rubella refers to infections of a benign nature, therefore, most often it cannot be treated with anything other than isolation.account for. It passes - LU return to their usual state.
