My lymph nodes feel swollen. When should I worry?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
Nodes are immune stations, and they swell honestly with infections: tender, mobile, pea-to-grape lumps in the neck during a sore throat are the system working, settling over two to three weeks.
The features that change the calculus: nodes that keep growing beyond three or four weeks, feel hard or fixed, exceed a couple of centimeters, or arrive with night sweats, fevers, weight loss or no infection story. Nodes above the collarbone always deserve review.
Do not massage or squeeze-test them hourly; measure roughly, note the date, and let a doctor examine anything persistent.
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