What are the causes of lumps in the neck?

A congenital lump or neck lump that is present at birth is more commonly found in children than adults. They can be classified into two types, lumps developed from abnormalities of the vascular system or lymphatic malformation. The other type is lumps that occur from other disorders in the body.

Symptoms: Lump presents in the neck. The symptoms that appear along with the existing lumps depend on their type. The size could gradually increase or shrink as the patient age.

Lumps that are caused by inflammations are the type that is frequently found in people in general. This could be caused by bacterial or viral infections or inflammations from various conditions that result in enlargement of lymph nodes or swollen salivary glands.

Symptoms: Only an inflammation such as pain, swelling, warm or hot during palpation around the lump or skin redness. Having a history of inflammation in other organs or having a fever.

Tumors and cancer can be detected in every part of the neck. It could be a tumor or cancer that was originally developed from the neck itself or cancer that has been derived from other parts of the body, also known as metastasis. Elderly patients who have a record of smoking or drinking could be at a higher risk of developing cancerous lumps.

Symptoms: Depends on the type of tumor. If it is malignant, the size will gradually increase and spread to the surrounding tissues, resulting in the arising of other symptoms such as difficulties swallowing food, hoarseness or change in voice, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion, nosebleeds, spitting blood, tinnitus or earaches.

If a lump is detected from palpation of the neck or abnormal symptoms are suspected, the patient is highly advised to consult a specialist for further investigations and undergo proper treatment and medical care accordingly.