Question
The patient often experiences headaches and discovers gradually enlarging lumps in the area behind the ear and neck, which are also painful when not touched. The doctor has diagnosed it as lymph node enlargement. How should lymph node enlargement be treated?
Answer
Lymph node enlargement is usually associated with a clear source of infection, often accompanied by regional lymph node swelling, pain, and tenderness, with diameters generally not exceeding 2-3 centimeters. Patients with tuberculous lymphadenitis may experience symptoms such as fever, sweating, fatigue, and an accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, which are more common in young and middle-aged adults. The texture of the lymph nodes may be soft or hard, and they may be adherent to each other or to the skin. Lymph node enlargement in malignant lymphoma is usually painless, progressive in nature, of moderate texture, and generally not adherent to the skin. In early to middle stages, they do not fuse and can be moved. In the later stages, the lymph nodes may enlarge or fuse into large nodules over 20 centimeters in diameter, which can penetrate the skin after invasion.