My six yr old son has em. And their big. Big enough that I can see them bulging out of his skinny neck. I know that swollen glands are a part of many illnesses, but at what point do I "definitely" need to take him to the Dr? He's been feverish since Monday and has been coughing too. We've been giving him ibuprofen and cold medicine that has kept most of his symptoms under control. But his glands have got me a bit worried.
The thing is we are in between medical insurances (new job) for the next 3 weeks and would have to pay cash and we don't have a Dr picked out yet.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
[ December 19, 2005, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: peterh ]
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
I'm not a doctor but I play one at home. I have always understood swollen glands to be an indication of infection. If I could see them, and they're accompanied by fever, I would go to the doctor as he may need antibiotics. But I know how hard it is to decide whether you really need to go, when you don't have insurance. Good luck with your little boy.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
quote: Infections that commonly cause swollen lymph nodes include mononucleosis, German measles, tuberculosis, mumps, ear infection, tonsillitis, abscessed or impacted tooth, gingivitis (swelling of the gums), mouth sores, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Home Care
Soreness in lymph glands usually disappears in a couple of days without treatment, but the nodes may not return to normal size for several weeks after the infection has cleared. Generally, if glands are painful, it is because they swell rapidly in the early stages of fighting an infection.
Call your doctor if:
Your glands don’t get smaller after several weeks or continue to get larger. Your swollen glands are red and tender. Your glands feel hard, irregular, or fixed in place. You have a fever, night sweats, or unexplained weight loss. Any node is larger than 1cm in diameter in a child.
Are the swollen glands you are talking about behind the ear? Do they look like nuts? I ask because usually the mumps don't look like that. With mumps, you look like a chipmunk.
This is also a handy site listing possible causes. Probably one of these.
Common cold Upper respiratory infection Mononucleosis Sore throat Strep throat Viral infection Bacterial infection Sinus infection Ear infection
Posted by Theaca (Member # 8325) on :
Sick kids get big lymph nodes easier than adults do, it is pretty common with the routine kiddie illnesses. Like the routine ones in Kayla's list. If they are tender, they are more likely to be fighting infection. As far as when to call the doctor, I'm not a pediatrician, I don't honestly know how long a six year old should be sick with fever before you call the doctor. If he has an very painful sore throat I'd be considering about strep throat though, and that always needs antibiotics to prevent complications. Otherwise I'd be looking at the whole picture, not just the lymph nodes, when considering options.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I don't know how big Chandler is, peter, but some cities have free clinics for those who don't have insurance. You might check around in your local area..
FG
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
Thanks for the suggestions. FG, you have a great memory, but I've moved to Utah. The $50-$75 isn't a huge issue, but I definetely don't want to spend it if I don't have to...
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
$50-$75?!?
Last time I had a strep test done, it was $69 for the office visit, $47 for the strep test and $22 for specimen collection, for a total of $263!
Granted, Medicare won't allow most of that, but when you don't have insurance, you have to pay it all.
And my son's last "med check" with the pediatrician was $110.
Is medical care really that cheap in Utah?
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote: FG, you have a great memory, but I've moved to Utah
Well, thanks -- but I just got that from your profile! (which you haven't changed!)
FG
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
...lurks off to change profile... Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
If it's a standard office visit with no testing and collection, you can usually negotiate a decent cash price with the Dr. I always do it directly with the Dr in the exam room. The staff isn't always as nice about it. Also, since we just moved here, we don't have a Doctor that has records on file, so just finding one to see him may be a challenge. We may end up going the clinic/urgent care route at this rate...
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
How high is his fever?
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
It's been as high as 101. But it really gets knocked down well by ibuprofen.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
And does he have swollen tonsils or spots on the tonsils? Earache?
My tonsils had a tendency to stick out too, and still get swollen at the drop of a hat today, but the only times there were really problems was when I had the mumps, and that is rather distinctive. I never had strep without having a sore throat. Not that I know of anyway.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I don't know if you can look up these kinds of things, but if you can find a pediatrician who accepts all kinds of health insurance, including the kind for people who make very little money, she will probably have cheaper office visits.
My pediatrician charged me $30 when I went this summer, and I don't have any kind of insurance. I'm pretty sure her tests are very cheap too, but I don't remember. And also, she's so nice!
-pH
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Also, does his throat have bumps or white spots on it?
-pH
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
His throat is clear. I don't think it's strep. It's more of a flu type thing I think.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I get swollen glands every time I get even a cold. Runs in the family. (On both sides.) Treat it as you would any virus; standard recommendation I've been told is bring the child in if a fever lasts more than three days, a cough lasts more than a week, a cold without either symptom lasts more than two weeks, or symptoms worsen dramatically (child is acting listless, fever is over 102, and/or there's just something "not right"-- trust your parent radar.)
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
So after a week of 101 degree fevers and coughing, we finally took him into the local urgent care clinic. It cost $95 ($60 after adjusting for our income, which isn't that low to begin with) and took 5 minutes for the Dr. to say it's probably something viral or Mono and to keep doing what your doing, but no antibiotics for now.
Thanks again to everyone that replied. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Um, if it's mono, they should have tested for that. And possibly given an anti-viral, depending.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
When I got mono, my doctor gave me nothing, well maybe a cough syrup, I forget, I napped on the way home. I was 18 and it was my last week of high school.
I do agree they should have tested, but that's owwy, if you do have to go back to any sort of doctor, do request he's tested, just in case.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
In a lot of cases they don't give anything. But depending on the strain and the age of the patient and the severity of symptoms, they sometimes do. And the most important thing is to know it's mono and watch out for the emotional side-effects-- and make sure no one else around gets it.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah, I was told I couldn't ride horses for a month, that didn't go over well, but I don't think I did. Also I'm pretty sure all my friends either had it then, or had had it before, because they would have by a few days later.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I've heard you can't get mono more than once. Is that true?
I'm not sure if I've had it or not, so I guess ir doesn't do me any good either way...
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I have always understood swollen glands to be an indication of infection. If I could see them, and they're accompanied by fever, I would go to the doctor as he may need antibiotics. But I know how hard it is to decide whether you really need to go, when you don't have insurance. Good luck with your little boy.
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The $50-$75 isn't a huge issue, but I definetely don't want to spend it if I don't have to...
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