How Do I Know if My Nodes Are Enlarged?

Examining the enlarged nodes is a matter of practice. Lymph nodes are usually not palpable. When they are, this is due to pathological processes, either infectious or tumoral. It is preferable to try to palpate those that are easier to locate: the cervical nodes, which are on the sides of the neck; the axillary; and the inguinal nodes. Sometimes they are so big that you can see them with the naked eye, like the one in the picture. Nodes that are this big usually mean mononucleosis or cancer.

As a mastologist, I have a lot of experience palpating nodes as it is important for me to see if the tumor process in my patients has spread to the armpit. I always explain to my patients that nodules that are infectious have completely different characteristics than tumors. When there is an infection, the nodule is painful because it becomes acutely inflamed within a few days. In contrast, in a tumor, the nodes have been growing for a long time, which gives the body time to adapt to this new size. That is why they are not painful and are very hard; they are described as stony. When they are infectious, they are rather soft, even if their size is large. There are chronic infections that cause gingival disease with true abscesses. One of them is glandular tuberculosis. My recommendation, so you can learn to feel the ganglia properly, is that you try to do it if someone is sick or has a hand or head injury. That way, by gently feeling with your fingers the areas of the armpits or neck, you can find these smooth, round formations that lie deep within the tissues. It is common for people with breast prostheses to have palpable axillary nodes as this foreign body creates a chronic inflammation process. These nodes alone have no significant clinical relevance.

Coronation Dental Specialty Group, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0