This is an automatically translated article.
The article is professionally consulted by Doctor Trinh Le Hong Minh - Radiologist - Radiology Department - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.
Ultrasound is a medical method with many implications. Cervical lymph node ultrasound will help patients detect cervical lymphadenopathy early. So when to go for cervical lymph node ultrasound?
1. What is the phenomenon of swollen lymph nodes in the neck?
Neck lymph nodes are like a place to remove toxic substances circulating in the blood of the head and face. When there are too many pathogens, the pathogens will be concentrated in the neck, causing the lymph nodes to swell.If cancer is present, the lymph nodes also gather cancer cells, slowing the spread of cancer. At some point, cancer cells will overwhelm the lymph nodes. Therefore, the phenomenon of swollen lymph nodes in the neck area needs attention because it warns of many dangerous diseases.
In fact, there are many lymph nodes that exist in the human neck and are hardly harmful. The effect of these types of nodes is to prevent the attack of disease-causing factors and protect the human body. As such, normal lymph nodes have many benefits for our health.
The size of lymph nodes is very small, they are usually around a few millimeters in size. The main feature of the ganglion is that it is very soft and mobile. Therefore, lymph nodes are not only found in the neck, but they are also found in several other parts of the human body. In which, can be mentioned: armpits, chest...
Hiện tượng nổi hạch vùng cổ cần quan tâm vì cảnh báo nhiều bệnh lý nguy hiểm
2. What are the characteristics of lymph nodes in the neck?
Nodules in the neck are divided into 2 types and each type has outstanding features:2.1 Benign lymph nodes
There are many reasons for swollen lymph nodes, of which most people experience this phenomenon because you have an infection. Specifically, when noticing the presence of factors that cause bacterial infection in the neck, the lymph nodes will try to protect the body, eliminating the invasion of pathogenic bacteria. When trying to kill bacteria, lymph nodes can become swollen. This is a signal that you have an infection. The characteristics of swollen lymph nodes due to infection are: soft and mobile.In this case, the neck lymph nodes will swell more than usual, in addition, we also feel pain in the area where the swollen lymph nodes are located. Some people have a fever when they have swollen lymph nodes in their neck. But you do not need to worry too much, because this phenomenon will automatically disappear after our body is no longer infected with bacteria. However, a few cases of swollen lymph nodes do not go away after a long time. If you encounter such a situation, you should go to a medical facility for examination and treatment.
In addition to the above reasons, enlarged cervical lymph nodes can occur with systemic diseases, for example: rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS. Many people, after being vaccinated against mumps, measles, typhoid or taking some drugs, have swollen lymph nodes in the neck. This is one of the possible side effects of the drug.
Sau đi tiêm vắc-xin phòng bệnh quai bị, sởi, nhiều người xuất hiện hạch lành tính ở cổ
2.2 Malignant lymph nodes
Doctors also pointed out that, people with cancer such as lung cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, thyroid cancer ... will see many lymph nodes in the neck. However, the characteristics of the lymph nodes are not the same as those of swollen lymph nodes due to infection. Malignant lymph nodes usually do not cause pain to the patient, instead, they become hard and unable to move. You should note this feature, if you see neck nodes with similar characteristics, see your doctor soon.Malignant lymph nodes are really dangerous and seriously affect our health. Therefore, people should not be subjective when they see that the lymph nodes appear abnormal, have no signs of pain and do not disappear after a long time.
In particular, after the appearance of malignant lymph nodes, your health deteriorates significantly, many diseases occur. For example, the patient suddenly lost a lot of weight, or had a low fever or night sweats. Some people have difficulty breathing or swallowing because of swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
Ung thư phổi cũng gây ra hạch ở cổ
3. Ways to treat lymph nodes in the neck
During the treatment, doctors will base on the severity of the lymph nodes to come up with the most appropriate treatment regimen. In particular, if you have swollen lymph nodes due to infection or side effects of drugs and vaccines, the treatment is not too complicated. The patient will be prescribed antibiotics to quickly recover from the disease.However, for people with cancer, the treatment regimen is very complicated. Some common treatment options are: radiation therapy for lymphoma, chemotherapy for lymphoma, or surgery.
It can be said that there are many different types of cervical lymph nodes, if you have swollen lymph nodes due to an infection, the lymph nodes will disappear on their own and do not affect your health much.
However, malignant lymph nodes are extremely dangerous, they can be caused by cancer and are life-threatening. When you see lymph nodes in your neck, you should actively monitor and see a doctor if necessary.
Sử dụng thuốc kháng sinh điều trị hạch ở cổ lành tính
4. What is neck ultrasound?
Before coming to treatment regimens, patients often go through examinations so that doctors can understand the patient's situation. One of the most commonly used methods is an ultrasound of the lymph nodes in the neck.Ultrasound is a technique that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves to create images of the internal structure of a certain part of the body. This allows the doctor to diagnose and diagnose the disease accurately.
Cervical lymph node ultrasound is a modern, safe diagnostic method that does not cause pain or discomfort to the patient. The obtained ultrasound image will show the location, shape, echo, size... of the lymph nodes. The doctor will use that information to make hypotheses and conclusions about the patient's condition, thereby giving appropriate treatment measures.
Phương pháp siêu âm hạch ở cổ giúp bác sĩ có thể phát hiện và chẩn đoán bệnh một cách chính xác
5. When to go for an ultrasound of the lymph nodes in the neck?
As mentioned above, there are two types of lymph nodes in the neck. Therefore, patients need to be very alert to recognize these signs to go to the doctor.Neck lymph nodes play an important role in the functioning of the immune system. Swollen lymph nodes can be a warning of the presence of pathogens. The following are abnormal signs in the cervical lymph nodes that patients should pay attention to for examination:
When the lymph nodes are palpated, they feel pain: Natural pain and mainly pain at night. This may be a manifestation of acute lymphadenitis, lymph node malignancy, lymph node metastasis... The lymph nodes are enlarged and many lymph nodes appear in the neck. In many cases the lymph nodes are swollen but painless, common in chronic diseases, leukemia, early malignancies. The skin around the lymph nodes is red hot, sore, bruised... The patient feels tired, may have a fever, anorexia... The lymph node examination has great significance in diagnosing and detecting the disease to make a decision. timely treatment measures to ensure the health of patients. Therefore, if the patient experiences the above symptoms, they should see a doctor for early examination and ultrasound, timely treatment to avoid dangerous complications.
Khi sờ hạch thấy thấy cảm giác đau, chán ăn, người bệnh nên đi siêu âm hạch ở cổ
6. A few notes when doing an ultrasound of the lymph nodes in the neck
Neck ultrasound also has a few certain notes, patients need to understand to make the ultrasound more convenient:No need to fast, fast before the lymph node ultrasound because this does not affect the ultrasound result. If you have any questions, ask and talk to your doctor about possible complications and risks during an ultrasound. It is necessary to provide complete and accurate information that the doctor asks. Above are the notes to know about the disease appearing in the neck lymph nodes. In general, the appearance of lymph nodes in the neck is a disease that poses a particular danger to the neck area. However, if the patient is detected in time by ultrasound of the lymph nodes in the neck, this danger can be ruled out.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is fully equipped with modern diagnostic facilities to help diagnose diseases faster and more efficiently. In addition, Vinmec also has the latest disease treatment techniques today, comparable to major hospitals in the world such as: multimodal cancer treatment from surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation. hematopoiesis, targeted therapy, immunotherapy in cancer treatment, new treatments such as autologous immunotherapy, thermotherapy...
Especially, now to improve service quality, Vinmec also deploys many cancer screening packages that can help customers detect cancer early before there are no symptoms, providing a good prognosis for treatment and a high chance of recovery.
Before taking a job at Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital, the position of Doctor of Radiology since February 2018, Doctor Trinh Le Hong Minh used to work as a resident in the Radiology Department at Vinmec Central Park. hospitals: Cho Ray, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Oncology, People's Gia Dinh, Trung Vuong... from 2012-2015. Officially worked at Cho Ray Hospital from 2015-2016, City International Hospital from 2016-2018.
To register for examination and treatment at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact the nationwide Vinmec Health System Hotline, or register online HERE.
