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Swollen gland behind left ear/ left side of throat

Jackal

Jackal

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Apr 28, 2006
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Chasing my tail.
If I am ever ill in my lifetime it's always something related to sinus leading to sore throat, leading to sick chest.

In any case, for more than half my life the gland on the left side of my throat, tends to pop out, become swollen usually when I am thirsty, tired, run-down, have a head cold, yawn too widely . . . . and so on.

Last year I developed a swelling in the gland behind my ear on the same side, which get's bigger and makes my ear itchy every few weeks, before skrinking again. It always does so in tandem with the throat gland.

Now, it's not like I have a fucking Golfball behind my ear or anything but, it pissed me off so I went to a doctor in november and was prescribed antibiotic ear drops, which I used for half the prescribed time.

After the Xmas I went to a different doctor and was given a nasal spray and amoxycillin which I again took for half the prescribed course.

I was drinking 50+ units a week while taking both these 'scripts on account of not being given any instructions to the contrary.

I now live in a country where it's best practice to not see the doctors or visit hospitals as one would probably get infected or mis-diagnosed.

Um, and yeah, no other swellings or lumps anywhere on my body - so any medical pro want to tell me the score?
 
First, you should always finish your antibiotics. ALWAYS!

Second, I got this once when I was sick. The doctor just said it was a swollen gland and it went down on it's own. My advice from personal experience is just not to touch it, try to forget about it. If it hurts, take some Advil or something, it should go away on it's own.

What kind of country discourages going to the doctor? >< xD
 
Lymph nodes. Thats what the lumps are called. You have them all over your body, but alot of them are around your neck and head. Mine started to be raised when i was around 10 years old, and the doctor couldnt figure out why they were like that but he said not to worry about it. Its been over a decade since and im still kickin, so its not a life threatening condition, if thats what your asking. My nodes are generally swolen on the back of my neck just below the hair line, 1 on each side of my spine.. and ive got ones behind where my jaws hinge is which are pretty big and they are pretty much always swolen but more often when im sick/feeling like shit..

For example, ive had some sort of bug for the last 2 weeks.. always having diarrhea, feeling hot and sweaty, not being able to sleep properly and so on.... my nodes behind my jaw are constantly aching but only a little wee bit, not enough to really annoy me. Im not sure whats wrong with me, but if it persists im definitly going to see a doctor.

I was drinking 50+ units a week while taking both these 'scripts on account of not being given any instructions to the contrary.
Click to expand...

Well arent you stupid. You didnt think for not even one second 'oh maybe i shouldnt drink poison while im taking medication'? :\

Oh and heres a link to what lymph nodes are all about and why they swell up. It can range from something like a throat infection, to cancer.

I think when my doctor looked at them he said it was probably due to allergies.. yet i dont see anything about that on wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymph_node
 
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Well yeah, I am aware that drinking while taking medication is generally frowned upon. However, it is standard practice for a prescription/ instruction guide that comes with the meds to say if you should not drink alcohol with those particular meds, and neither of these carried such a warning.

Also, 50 units a week is roughly half what I had been drinking on a more or less daily basis for a few years and I have been progressively reducing that amount.

I had seen the wiki on the lymph nodes and similar advice on medical info pages. What I took from them was that if they cause some discomfort, as mine do, it's better tan if they are just swollen and not painful, and that one should not be unduly worried unless you also have nodes in your armpits and/or crotch that are swollen.

I live in Cambodia, and generally, the best practice is that if you can self-diagnose then just visit the pharmacy and get the required meds (scripts not being required in this country) and if I were seriously ill I would travel to Bangkok for treatment, rather than visit a clinic/hospital here where you would quite possibly be mis-diagnosed, mis-treated or contract a worse illness than you had going in in the first place.

A case in point would be a man from Japan who had worked with my company and had a bad laceration on his leg, visited the "hospital" where the "doctor" poured neat caustic soda onto his wound. . . .
 
hmm... have you had your wisdom teeth out? they can start to press on the lymph nodes just behind them, causing inflammation. also if you've had recurrent throat infections you probably should get your tonsils & adenoids out if you haven't already.
 
I never had my tonsils out, I generally don't go to the doctor, so they never got the chance to have at them.

I do have wisdom teeth, two of them impacted. They have caused intermittent aches - so maybe that's a likely cause. My dentist also informs me that I grind my teeth in sleep.

I'm going to be getting dental work done in the next six months, so I might get the old bastard things out then.
 
Antibiotics - a full course of doxycycline or something should clear that up, 200mg 3 times a day, I've had similar things happen to me when travelling. If you are somewhere as sketchy as that you should have no problem getting it from a chemist without having to see a doctor
 
Jackal said:
If I am ever ill in my lifetime it's always something related to sinus leading to sore throat, leading to sick chest.

In any case, for more than half my life the gland on the left side of my throat, tends to pop out, become swollen usually when I am thirsty, tired, run-down, have a head cold, yawn too widely . . . . and so on.

Last year I developed a swelling in the gland behind my ear on the same side, which get's bigger and makes my ear itchy every few weeks, before skrinking again. It always does so in tandem with the throat gland.

Now, it's not like I have a fucking Golfball behind my ear or anything but, it pissed me off so I went to a doctor in november and was prescribed antibiotic ear drops, which I used for half the prescribed time.

After the Xmas I went to a different doctor and was given a nasal spray and amoxycillin which I again took for half the prescribed course.

I was drinking 50+ units a week while taking both these 'scripts on account of not being given any instructions to the contrary.

I now live in a country where it's best practice to not see the doctors or visit hospitals as one would probably get infected or mis-diagnosed.

Um, and yeah, no other swellings or lumps anywhere on my body - so any medical pro want to tell me the score?
Click to expand...
 
was searching under similar things- did you ever have a diagnosis for this? thank you and hope you are well
 
Could be mono. I had it when I was a teen and the glands in my neck and base of my neck were swollen.
If not that, do you have any issues with your teeth in that side?
 
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