Lymph nodes in medicine are called accumulations of lymphatic tissue that are located throughout the human body. Inflammation of the lymph node on the cheek or any other part of the body must certainly alert the person and make him seek the advice of a specialist. He, in turn, must give the patient the direction for the necessary tests and studies, then make appointments in the form of treatment with drugs. In rare cases, more serious measures may be required.
When the lymph node becomes inflamed
The lymph node cells that make up the lymph node begin to become inflamed when the human body suffers from an attack by pathogenic cells. For example, when the immune system has weakened, and a person has caught a catarrhal viral disease - this is in the best of cases. At worst, it could be cancer cells. That is why doctors recommend, at the slightest suspicion of inflammatory processes of the lymphatic tissues, contact qualified doctors.
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 latter of them without ultrasound can not be detected.
What can not be said about the outside. Lymph nodes are classified depending on their location on the body:
- Occipital. They are located on the site where the neck passes into the skull.
- Popliteal lymph nodes are located behind, on the surface of the knee joint.
- Inguinal are located in the inguinal folds.
- Lymph nodes of the mediastinum are located in the chest cavity. Such their 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 is a fairly powerful group of lymphatic tissue, which filters about 70% of the lymph.
- Parotid can be located in front and behind the auricle.
- Facial lymph nodes are usually located on the lower jaw, cheek and chin.
They are also located in the nasolabial folds, eyes and facial muscles.
What to do if the lymph node on the cheek is inflamed
First you need to conduct a self-diagnosis. To do this, it is necessary to probe the formation on the cheek, and check other places in which the lymph nodes are located. It is necessary to evaluate the intensity of the increase in the node and slightly press it. If pain occurs with inflammation of the lymph node on the cheek, and the pain is accompanied by an increase in temperature. This is an occasion to immediately consult a therapist. Also, with such symptoms, the lymph node may have a heterogeneous consistency (in one place it is hard, in another - soft). This must 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 an accumulation of lymphatic tissues that are filled with pus, and cause severe pain when pressed, and without it.
Doctors distinguish 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 of:
- caries
- periodontal disease
- the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the body (staphilo, streptococci);
- weakened immune system;
- infectious disease;
- tumor process
- tuberculosis
- syphilis
- HIV infection
- an allergic reaction.
- Often, various fungal diseases can be the reason that the lymph node on the cheek hurts, and it inflamed.
In women, lymph nodes in the armpits are often inflamed. This is especially true for breastfeeding mothers. In this case, it is necessary to conduct a survey to exclude diseases such as lactostasis, mastitis and mastopathy.
What may inflamed lymphatic tissue look like?
The type of lymph node that started the process of inflammation can be different. It depends on what causes the pathology. If the cheek is swollen due to the lymph node , its structure during palpation can be smooth or uneven.
Also, lymph nodes (LU - as they are called in abbreviated form) can grow together with inflammation. In this case, they will be mobile during palpation. By tactile sensations, LUs can be either soft or 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 soreness. LU at the same time solid and motionless. With more severe symptoms: increased body temperature and chills, intoxication appears. Lymphadenitis can provoke:
- abscess;
- furuncle;
- erysipelas;
- carbuncle;
- phlegmon.
In this case, the infection from the focus moves through the blood vessels, entering the lymphatic tissues, and provoking inflammation in it. Initially, the tissues simply become inflamed, then pus forms inside. They impregnate healthy 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 to propose determining the localization of the focus of the inflammatory reaction. This can be done with a blood test. In urgent need to do an ultrasound and x-ray. At the slightest suspicion of a specialist on malignant tumors, you need to undergo a thermographic study. Rarely, severe pain during palpation of the LU can indicate oncology.
With this suspicion, the doctor must take a puncture (a small amount of tissue for analysis) and send the patient to an MRI.
Lymphadenitis treatment
Fighting this problem without fail requires the help of a qualified specialist. The start of treatment should be the fight against the main cause of inflammation of the LA. If the doctor was able to establish 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, antiviral treatment 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 the pain of LU. As separate pain relievers, aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen are usually prescribed.
LU inflammation 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 the superficial lymph nodes throughout the body. Including on the cheeks.
Light stages are accompanied by a slight swelling of the LU and mild pain. Further, if the inflammation cannot be cured, it will provoke the fusion of nodes among themselves, then with the surrounding tissues. So a dense tumor with pus inside can form. After some time, it will turn into a fistula.
Inflamed LU with HIV infection
This dangerous disease can affect the development of lymphatic tissues throughout the body. Often, it is this symptom that helps the doctor diagnose HIV. It can manifest itself for a long time only in this way. When HIV infection develops into AIDS, lymph nodes increase more and more often. Nobody has been able to cure, as everyone knows, HIV infection, and there are currently no drugs for it. Therefore, doctors are forced to focus on the suppression of 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 inflammation of the lymph nodes
With this disease, inflammatory processes in the lymphatic tissues are one of the first symptoms. In this case, LU become inflamed a little earlier than rashes begin to appear on the body. Often with rubella, the front, cervical and occipital nodes become inflamed. They do not tend to fuse with surrounding tissues. Treatment of LU with rubella, of course, should begin with the isolation of the patient. Serious treatment measures are taken only in severe cases. For example, if the joints are affected. Rubella refers to infections of a benign nature, so most often it is not necessary to treat it except isolation. It passes - LU return to their usual state.