How to Check Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes are small, round clumps of tissue that are part of the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes are critical to the body's immune response, and so they commonly swell in reaction to infection and other causes. Lymph nodes may even stay swollen for a few weeks after an infection heals. Checking your lymph nodes yourself may help you detect a health problem early on. If your lymph nodes are swollen for longer than a week, have them checked out by a doctor. If your lymph nodes are painful and swollen and you have other symptoms of illness, get them looked at by a doctor right away.

Part 1 - Feeling For Swollen Lymph Nodes

1

→ Locate your lymph nodes. You have the highest concentration of lymph nodes in your neck, collarbone, armpits, and groin. Once you know where they are, you will be able to check them for pain or swelling.

→ There are other groups of lymph nodes throughout the body, including the inside of your elbows and knees, but these are not commonly checked for swelling.

2

→ Test an area with no lymph nodes for comparison. Press your first 3 fingers against your forearm. Feel around under the skin, paying attention to the feeling of the tissue underneath. This will give you a sense of what a normal, unswollen area of your body feels like.

→ Lymph nodes that are not swollen have only a slightly firmer density to their surrounding tissue. It is only when they get irritated and swollen that you can feel them easily.

3

→ Check the lymph nodes on your neck and collarbone. Use the first 3 fingers of both hands simultaneously to circle behind the ears, down both sides of your neck, and under your jaw line. If you feel lumps accompanied by tenderness, you may have swollen lymph nodes.

→ If you can't feel your neck lymph nodes, don't worry. This is completely normal.

→ Press gently and move your fingers slowly to feel for firm groups of tissue under the skin. Lymph nodes are typically present in groups, and are about the size of a pea or bean. Healthy lymph nodes should feel more rubbery and pliable than the surrounding tissue but not hard as a rock.

→ If you can't feel the lymph nodes in your neck, lean your head towards the side you are having trouble checking. This will relax the muscles and allow you to feel the lymph nodes more easily.

4

→ Feel the lymph nodes in your armpits. Place your first 3 fingers in the center of your armpit. Then slide them slowly down your torso a few inches until they are just above the side of your breast. The lymph nodes in this area are located toward the bottom of your armpit, near the rib cage.

→ Run your fingers all around this area with gentle pressure. Move them towards the front of the body, the back of the body, and up and down a few inches.

5

→ Feel for the inguinal lymph nodes in your groin. Move your first 3 fingers to the crease where your thigh meets your pelvis. Press your fingers into the crease with moderate pressure and you should feel the muscle, bone, and fat beneath. If you feel a distinct lump in this area, it may be a swollen lymph node.

→ The nodes in this area are typically right below a large ligament, so they can be hard to feel unless they are swollen.

→ Be sure to feel both sides of the groin. This will allow you to compare how they feel and to identify if one side of lymph nodes is swollen.

6

→ Determine if your lymph nodes are swollen. Do you feel a difference from how it felt when you pressed your forearm? You should feel the bones and muscles underneath the skin, but a swollen lymph node will feel different and almost out of place. If you feel a lump accompanied by tenderness, you may have a swollen lymph node.

Part 2 - Having a Doctor Check Your Lymph Nodes

1

→ Monitor the swollen lymph nodes. Sometimes lymph nodes swell in reaction to an allergy or a short-lived infection caused by a bacteria or a virus. If that's the case, they'll usually return to normal within a few days. However, if your lymph nodes remain swollen, hard, or sore for more than a week, it's important to see a doctor to determine the cause.

→ Even if you have no other signs of illness, you should see a doctor if swollen lymph nodes persist.

→ If you have hard, painless, and inflexible lymph nodes that are greater than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size, see a doctor as soon as possible.

2

→ See a doctor right away if you experience certain symptoms. Swollen lymph nodes could be a sign that your body's immune system is fighting off a serious illness. If you experience swollen lymph nodes in conjunction with any of these symptoms, see a doctor right away:

→ Unexplained weight loss

→ Night sweats

→ Persistent fever

→ Trouble swallowing or breathing

3

→ Tell your doctor if any other symptoms are present. While not all symptoms signal a serious illness, letting your doctor know about all of your symptoms will help them diagnose you. Some common symptoms that that often show up alongside swollen lymph nodes include:

→ Runny nose

→ Fever

→ Sore throat

→ Swelling of several lymph node areas at the same time

4

→ Assess whether swelling is due to an infection. If you come into your doctor's office with swollen lymph nodes, your doctor will feel the nodes to ensure they are swollen. Then they will need to test you for bacterial and viral infections that could be causing the swelling, either by testing your blood or taking a culture from an area of your body, such as your throat.

→ It's likely you will be tested for the most common illnesses that cause lymph nodes to swell, including common viruses like strep throat.

5

→ Get testing done for immune system diseases. Your doctor will likely assess the health of your immune system overall. The doctor could order a variety of tests, including a general blood analysis, which will gauge your immune system's activity. This will help them determine whether you have an immune system disease, such as lupus or arthritis, that is causing the lymph nodes to swell.

→ Diagnostic tests will allow the doctor to assess how your immune system is functioning, such as whether you have a low blood count, and whether there is anything abnormal going on in the lymph nodes themselves.

TIPS

→ Swelling in the lymph nodes is common and generally goes away after several days.

Warnings

→ Lymph nodes can get irritated if you touch them a lot, so don't push on them too hard or too often or the swelling might be your own doing.