lymph nodes

Former Member

How do I tell whether a swelling is down to an infection? Would I have a cold, fever, sore throat etc or can they get infected on their own?

Former Member

Lymph nodes become swollen during infections because they are involved in the immune response and the production of white blood cells and antibodies. In theory they can become infected but its unlikely that they would be the only bit of your body to be infected.

Sometimes you may notice your lymph nodes are a bit swollen but you have no other symptoms - it could be that you have a very minor infection and your body is dealing with it, hence the swollen glands.

Some illnesses can cause prolonged and painful swelling of the lymph glands so if your symptoms persist for longer than a week with no other obvious sign of infection it might be worth chatting with your GP about it.

Former Member

Swelling of lymph glands can be associated with a condition called Lupus- affects mostly women though