Best antibiotic for swollen lymph nodes

All that commotion in response to a threat is, again, what shows up as swelling.

Lymph nodes cancer symptoms

That can look different depending on the person, but generally, a lymph node bigger than one centimeter across is considered swollen, Sairah Ahmed, MD, an associate professor in the department of lymphoma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SELF.

Anything abnormal in your lymph—whether that’s bacteria, a virus, or something else—is subject to that screening process and immune response, which is why a variety of illnesses can cause swollen lymph nodes.

On the mild end, that includes everything from the common cold to strep throat to a localized skin infection from a cut. On the more severe side, it could be something like parasitic food poisoning, an STI, or yes, in rare instances, various types of cancer (it’s estimated that as few as 1.1% of swollen nodes are malignant).

“Some people might feel the tingle of a swollen lymph node before they get sick, whereas in others, it can come after,” Dr. Davis says, “and it’s not uncommon for the swelling to outlast an infection.”

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