It’s best to keep an eye on swollen lymph nodes

WITH the number of viruses going around at the moment, it’s quite common to see patients with swollen lymph glands.

Usually these little glands — which are also sometimes called lymph nodes — aren’t that noticeable when everything’s going well.

They’re part of the body’s immune system and contain a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, which produce antibodies and help fight infections.

Usually they’re about the size of a pea, but they can enlarge to roughly the size of a kidney bean and become quite noticeable.

It can be especially pronounced in children — I saw one child recently whose throat infection had caused a large swelling in one side of their neck.

There’s a bit of a misconception that the lymph glands are only located in the neck, but they’re actually found throughout your body — including the

They’re about theh size of a pea

armpits and groin and some places you can’t feel within the torso.

They’re all joined together by a network of channels, like small blood vessels, which carry a watery fluid called lymph.

The glands closest to an infection swell as the immune system fights off the virus or bacteria, which can be quite a handy guide to indicating what’s wrong.

For instance, if the lymph glands in the neck are swollen, it may point towards a throat infection, whereas enlarged nodes in the armpit might be down to some kind of infection in your arm.

And something like glandular fever affects the whole body, so potentially all of the lymph nodes could end up swollen.

Sometimes there are rarer causes, like rheumatoid arthritis, or sarcoidosis.

Some cancers can spread to lymph glands, so if the cause isn’t obvious you should be seen by your doc. You should also get checked if swollen glands caused by an infection don’t vanish after a couple of weeks, too.

But don’t panic — most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about.