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Lymph node pain
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Most often, pain in the lymph nodes occurs as a result of the body being affected by some kind of infection.
Lymph nodes are represented in the human body as lymphoid formations approximately the size of a bean or pea. The main function of the organ containing lymphocytes is to protect the body from various infections. Lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system.
[ Diseases that cause pain in the lymph nodes
Enlarged lymph nodes can indicate the presence of serious diseases, ranging from the common flu or sore throat to rare types of diseases, such as leukemia.
The next disease that provokes pain in the lymph nodes and their enlargement is acute inflammation of the lymph nodes. Often the disease occurs with elevated body temperature, various ailments, headaches, general weakness of the body. Acute inflammation of the lymph nodes is sometimes accompanied by inflammation of the lymph vessels.
Acute inflammation of the lymph nodes is divided into three categories: hemorrhagic (inflammatory fluid with blood streaks), catarrhal (non-purulent inflammation) and purulent inflammation. Each category is characterized by pain in the lymph nodes. If a person suffers from thrombophlebitis, blood poisoning, involvement of adjacent tissues in the inflammatory process, then the course of the inflammatory process in the lymph nodes may worsen due to this. Advanced acute inflammation can gradually become chronic.
Chronic inflammatory process affecting lymph nodes is characterized by tissue proliferation and frequent absence of purulent accumulations. Chronic lymphadenitis is accompanied by compacted, enlarged lymph nodes, pain in the lymph nodes.
The presence of an inflammatory process in the lymph nodes can be judged by the enlarged size of the lymph nodes. The reasons for their enlargement are divided into six groups: cancer, widespread (generalized) infection, local (localized) infection, granulomatous disease, connective tissue diseases, hypersensitivity state.
Cancerous diseases include Hodgkin's disease, leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which cause high body temperature, pain in the lymph nodes, etc.
Generalized infection is a bacterial infection that causes typhus, tuberculosis, blood poisoning; viral infections (rubella, chickenpox, cytomegalovirus, mononucleosis, AIDS) and other types of infections - pathogens. It should not be forgotten that when a generalized infection occurs, lymphadenopathy first has the status of localized, and then is transplanted into widespread (generalized) lymphadenopathy.
Localized infections also include viral and bacterial infections. Viral diseases include rubella and cat scratch disease. Bacterial diseases include diphtheria, plague, tuberculosis, etc. Spirochetes, single-celled organisms, and fungi can also provoke any disease. In young children, the lymph nodes can enlarge after the child has had whooping cough, tetanus (DPT), or diphtheria. All these ailments are accompanied by pain in the lymph nodes.
Connective tissue diseases include lupus erythematosus and arthritis.
The hypersensitivity state that causes lymphadenopathy is the body's reaction to certain medications and substances, for example, horse serum, which is part of antisera used to treat many diseases.
What to do if you have pain in your lymph nodes?
If pain in the lymph nodes occurs, it is necessary to urgently contact a medical center for help from the following doctors: oncologist, infectious disease specialist, hematologist, surgeon. Only with the patient's tests and diagnostic studies can the exact cause of the disease be determined.