HIV Swollen Lymph Nodes: Symptoms and Treatment Options

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First symptoms of HIV

Many of the first symptoms of HIV are similar to the flu. In addition to fever and fatigue, swollen lymph nodes are commonly experienced. Treating the virus itself is the best way to ease these symptoms.

Learn why HIV can lead to swollen lymph nodes and how to reduce lymph node inflammation using a few at-home methods.

Lymph nodes are a part of your lymphatic system. This system plays an important role in your immune system. Lymph, a clear fluid that circulates throughout your body, is partly made of white blood cells that attack bacteria and viruses.

Lymph nodes are located in certain parts of the body, including your neck, groin, and armpits. They’re shaped like beans and measure no more than 2.5 centimeters long. Your lymph nodes are responsible for filtering lymph and producing mature immune cells.

Lymph nodes protect both your blood and immune system by:

• filtering excess proteins
• removing extra fluids
• producing antibodies
• generating specialized white blood cells
• getting rid of bacteria and viruses

Swollen lymph nodes may also be the first signs of an infection, including HIV. The Mayo Clinic recommends that you call your healthcare provider if swollen lymph nodes last more than two to four weeks.

An infection from bacteria and viruses, including HIV, can cause swelling of the lymph nodes. The swelling occurs because the infection reaches the nodes through lymph fluid.

HIV most often affects lymph nodes around the neck as well as in the armpits and groin. Swollen lymph nodes may occur within a few days of HIV contraction. However, it’s possible not to experience any other HIV symptoms for up to several years after contracting the virus.

Usually, healthy lymph nodes aren’t visible. If there’s an infection, they become swollen and may look like hard bumps about the size of beans. As the infection progresses, more lymph nodes may swell in the body.

In addition to swollen lymph nodes, non-specific symptoms of HIV include:

• fever
• diarrhea
• fatigue
• unexplained weight loss

Treating swollen lymph nodes often comes down to treating the underlying cause. Antibiotics can treat bacterial infections. Most swelling associated with viral infections requires time to heal. However, HIV is different than other types of viruses.

While symptoms may be absent for months at a time, the untreated virus is continuously present in the blood and other tissues. Swollen lymph nodes that occur as a result of HIV must be treated with antiretroviral medication. Antiretroviral therapy reduces symptoms and prevents transmission of HIV.

Home treatments

Other remedies may help soothe swollen lymph nodes. For example, heat from warm compresses along with medications may make you more comfortable and reduce pain. Getting plenty of rest may reduce swelling and pain as well.

Over-the-counter pain relievers may also help. However, only use these remedies as complementary treatments and not as replacements. Never rely on these remedies in place of prescribed medications for HIV.

HIV is a chronic, or ongoing, condition. This doesn’t mean swollen lymph nodes will occur all of the time. HIV symptoms tend to fluctuate depending upon the level of virus in the body and the various complications it causes.

Medications for HIV help slow the rate of immune system breakdown. It’s important to stick with all prescribed medications and treatments, even if symptoms are reduced.

Untreated HIV can weaken the immune system, leaving a person at risk of other infections. Someone with HIV is most likely to experience symptoms during these periods of sickness. Healthcare providers can give more information about managing HIV.

Noticeably swollen lymph nodes could indicate that your body is fighting an infection. Even when already taking antiretroviral medication, notify a healthcare provider if lymph nodes are swollen.

Common Causes for Swollen Lymph Nodes

By
Stephanie Thurrott

, Contributing Writer

Jan 10, 2022

Teach Me

You have lymph nodes throughout your body—they’re in your neck, armpits, chest, belly and groin area. Sometimes they get swollen. You might notice a lump when they do, and the site might feel sore or tender.

Most of the time, a swollen lymph node means your lymphatic system is doing its job. It’s trapping viruses, bacteria and pathogens and signaling your body to make white blood cells that can help you fight infections. “Rather than being something scary, most enlarged lymph nodes are a sign of a healthy immune system,” said Rebecca Moran, MD, a family medicine specialist at Banner Health Clinic in Phoenix.

When you have swollen lymph nodes, you’ll probably notice other symptoms from whatever is causing them, such as fatigue, fever, sore throat, runny nose or other signs of infection.

What are common causes of swollen lymph nodes?

It’s typically things like cold viruses, strep throat, mononucleosis or skin infections that cause swollen lymph nodes. But there can be other causes, too:

• Autoimmune disorders such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
• Some vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, which can cause temporary lymph node swelling when your body makes antibodies against future infection. (In fact, women should consider postponing routine mammograms for four to six weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, since swollen lymph nodes in the armpit could look like an abnormality.)
• Rarely, cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia or other cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes.

How can you prevent swollen lymph nodes?

You can’t stop a lymph node from swelling as it fights off infections and other things that don’t belong in the body. “That is what they are designed to do, and we want them to do it,” Dr. Moran said.

You can try to prevent the infections that lead to swollen lymph nodes by washing your hands, disinfecting surfaces, avoiding touching your nose and eyes and staying away from people with contagious infections. You can also help keep yourself healthy by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet and avoiding tobacco products.

How can you treat tender lymph nodes?

Tender lymph nodes will feel better when the underlying infection clears. If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. A viral infection needs to run its course. In the meantime, you can apply warm compresses to your tender lymph nodes and take pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

If an autoimmune disorder or cancer is causing your tender lymph nodes, your health care provider can provide treatments for those conditions.

When should you be concerned about swollen lymph nodes?

You don’t need to worry about your swollen lymph nodes most of the time. But you should talk to your health care provider if your swollen glands:

• Feel hard and don’t move around easily when you press on them
• Grow bigger than one centimeter (or the size of a large pea)
• Don’t shrink within a month
• Appear without any apparent reason
• Are located throughout the body rather than in one area
• Appear along with unexplained weight loss, persistent fevers or night sweats
• Develop just above your collarbone or in your armpit, especially if there’s no explanation for them
• Grow large quickly and become painful and red, which could mean they are infected

The bottom line

Swollen lymph nodes are a sign your body is fighting off infection, like it is supposed to do. But sometimes, they can signal a more serious problem.

Have concerns about swollen lymph nodes?

Schedule an appointment with a primary care provider near you.

Other useful articles:

• How to Know Whether It’s a Virus or Bacteria That’s Making You Sick
• Should You Use Antivirals for the Flu?
• What Happens if You Get Strep Throat a Lot?

Cold and Flu
Infectious Disease

Sore lymph nodes in the neck | Network of clinics “Hello!”

Recognizing the causes – not the fact that angina

When the lymph nodes in the neck hurt, the causes can be very diverse. Some patients decide that it is cervical osteochondrosis and begin self-treatment of the spine. The second common diagnosis that people put themselves is angina. When the lymph nodes in the neck and head hurt, many people think that problems with the throat are about to begin, and they take anti-tonsillitis drugs in advance. This is a completely wrong approach. Here is a far from complete list of reasons why a lymph node is inflamed on the right or left side of the neck and hurts:0005

• otitis;
• ARVI, acute respiratory infections, other respiratory diseases;
• measles, chickenpox, cytomegalovirus;
• pulpitis, caries, inflammation of the sinuses, other problems of the nasopharynx and oral cavity;
• mononucleosis;
• HIV;
• toxoplasmosis;
• leukemia;
• lymphoma;
• lymph node metastases from other types of cancer;
• skin infections (for example, you tried to squeeze a pimple and brought infection into the wound).

From all this list, infectious diseases at first glance seem to be the most harmless. However, if untreated, an abscess forms under the influence of infection. In addition to fluid and white blood cells, pus contains bacteria, dead tissue, and other dangerous components. Get rid of abscesses with antibiotics and drainage.

In addition, the infection can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body. Significant blood poisoning can lead to sepsis and death. With the threat of such consequences, the patient must be hospitalized and antibiotics should be administered intravenously.

Symptoms are obvious – it hurts, turns red, has a fever

Usually, patients go to the doctor when the lymph nodes in the neck are very sore. In fact, you need to go to the clinic immediately, as soon as the nodes have increased and there are difficulties in swallowing and breathing. Sometimes this problem is accompanied by fever, runny nose, sore throat, and other symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections.

But the fever can also appear on its own, without other signs of a cold. It is often accompanied by profuse sweating and unexplained weight loss. When the skin over the knot becomes hot and reddens, this means an inflammatory process is taking place. An alarming sign is the immobility of the nodes when they are tried to be pressed. In many serious diseases, the lymph glands become inflamed not only in the neck, but throughout the body.

When a lymph node hurts in the neck on the right or left side, and the limbs are swollen, there may be problems in the lymph nodes, which are located deep under the skin. This may indicate rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, mononucleosis, immune disorders, HIV.

We go through diagnostics and start treatment

To understand which symptoms and treatment of inflammation of the lymph in the neck apply to you personally, the doctor will first conduct a visual examination and get acquainted with your medical record. He will then issue appointments for blood tests, x-rays and chest CT scans. In some cases, a biopsy will have to be performed.

Neck pain is treated with pharmaceuticals or physiotherapy. If the cause of the problem is SARS or acute respiratory infections, the lymph nodes can return to normal after recovery on their own. Many of the drugs used to treat other diseases are strong and are sold in pharmacies only by prescription:

1. Antibacterial agents aimed at reducing inflamed nodes. For at least 10 days, the patient is treated with Sumamed, Ciprofloxacin, Azithromycin or Amoxicillin.
2. Antibacterial preparations directed against bacterial and purulent processes. They are prescribed on an individual basis, focusing on the age and condition of the patient, as well as the course of the disease.
3. Antiviral drugs. Thanks to Arbidol, Ergoferon or Anaferon, the reproduction of viruses in the body is suppressed and its own immune system is stimulated.
4. Immunosuppressants like Tacrolimus or Cyclosporine A are prescribed to fight autoimmune diseases.
5. Decarbazine, Methotrexate, Thioguanine are prescribed to block the development of neoplasms in tumor processes.
6. Painkillers are prescribed when the nodes are inflamed on both sides. At elevated temperatures, antipyretics can also be added to them.
7. Among the physiotherapeutic procedures, UHF, galvanization and laser therapy are especially effective, improving lymph circulation and promoting cell regeneration.

It is forbidden to interrupt the course of antibiotic treatment for at least one day, as this can provoke a relapse of the disease and the development of immunity to the drug. In some cases, it is useful to combine drug treatment with warming up – but only if the risk of intoxication and tuberculous lymphadenitis is excluded. If a purulent process has developed in the region of the lymph nodes, the treatment of inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck in adults may require surgical intervention.

As old as the world – do not get injured and do not get cold

Since the causes and treatment of inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck are extremely diverse, they cannot have a single prevention. Try to lead a healthy lifestyle, harden, avoid acute infectious diseases. Do not stay in a draft for a long time, do not allow hypothermia. Carefully observe personal hygiene, wear a gauze bandage during the epidemiological season. Protect yourself from microtrauma and infection of wounds. Finally, if you have a sore lymph node in your neck, right or left, see a doctor as soon as possible.

Healthy Spine Clinics “Zdravvuy!” certified doctors with many years of experience work. Among them are doctors and candidates of medical sciences, professors and doctors of the highest qualification category, teachers of the Department of Osteopathy and Manual Therapy of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia”. All of them have long experience of inpatient work in the leading medical and preventive institutions of the city of Moscow and form the strongest team of experts in the field of diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Comprehensive treatment in the clinics of the network is carried out by doctors in such specialized areas as traumatology and orthopedics, manual therapy and osteopathy, neurology and therapy, physiotherapy and reflexology, as well as specialists in other medical professions in demand among the population (cardiology, surgery, nutrition). Unique techniques and innovative equipment in Zdravstvuy! clinics allow you to quickly and accurately make the correct diagnosis, and most importantly, competently prescribe the necessary course of effective therapy. The high level of professionalism is confirmed by the numerous positive reviews of patients who have successfully solved their health problems and returned to their usual way of life.

Enlargement of lymph nodes – General information, Causes. Tomsk

General information

Lymph nodes are round or oval formations ranging in size from 1 millimeter to 2 centimeters. The lymph node is a barrier to the spread of both infection and cancer cells. It produces lymphocytes – protective cells that are actively involved in the destruction of foreign substances and cells.

There are several groups of lymph nodes. These groups are located in such a way as to become an obstacle to infection and cancer. So, the lymph nodes are located in the elbow, armpit, knee, and inguinal region. The lymph nodes in the neck provide protection against infections and tumors of the head and organs located in the neck.

A large number of lymph nodes are located in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Lymphocapillaries permeate organs as well as superficial tissues. Lymph nodes located along the course of the blood vessels perform the same functions. An increase in lymph nodes indicates trouble in the area that the node ‘serves’. Most often, an increase in the lymph node is associated with an infection, less often it is the result of a tumor lesion.

Causes of occurrence

In purulent processes, as a rule, acute lymphadenitis occurs – inflammation of the lymph node. An inflammatory process occurs due to the ingress of microbes from wounds located in the ‘service area’ of the lymph node. The main manifestation is an increase in the lymph node, the appearance of pain when it is felt. If a purulent process occurs over the lymph node, the skin may turn red. If at this moment the resulting cavity is not opened, the membrane of the lymph node is torn and pus penetrates into the surrounding tissues. There is a severe complication of lymphadenitis – phlegmon.

In children, swollen lymph nodes in tuberculosis is one of the characteristic manifestations of infection. Most often, the lymph nodes of the chest cavity increase. Rarely, there is an increase in the lymph nodes of the neck (popularly called ‘scrofula’).

Cat-scratch disease is a common cause of swollen lymph nodes in children. The causative agent of this infection is a microbe called Bartonella. Cats are carriers of the bacteria. From a scratch, microbes spread through the lymphatic vessels and enter the lymph nodes, which enlarge and become painful. A non-healing purulent cancer and an enlarged nearby lymph node should always suggest cat-scratch disease as the cause of this condition.

In acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) in children, there may be an increase in several groups of lymph nodes. This is a consequence of an excessive response of the immune system to the invasion of viruses into the body. As a rule, the lymph nodes in such cases increase slightly and are painful when palpated.

In sexually transmitted diseases, in particular syphilis, an enlarged lymph node, usually in the groin, is preceded by an ulcer on the genitals – a hard chancre. Unlike other infectious diseases, with syphilis, an enlarged lymph node can be painless. A long-term increase in several groups of lymph nodes may indicate diseases such as brucellosis, listeriosis, mononucleosis, and HIV infection.

Tumor lesions of the lymph nodes can be the result of both lymphoproliferative diseases, when the tumor initially comes from the lymph node, and the result of a metastatic lesion. Lymphoproliferative diseases include, first of all, lymphogranulomatosis and lymphosarcomas. Lymph nodes in these diseases increase to 3-4 cm, and sometimes more, while becoming dense. When palpated, such lymph nodes are painless. With an initial increase in the intrathoracic and intra-abdominal lymph nodes, lymphoproliferative diseases may not be immediately recognized.