Can lymph nodes cause headaches

Many people often feel lumps on their necks when they touch their necks. The main reason for this phenomenon is swollen lymph nodes. If the lymph nodes are swollen, they will compress the nerves in the neck and cause great impact on the body. Some lymph nodes will turn into lymphadenitis after developing to a certain extent, and some people experience headaches after discovering lymph nodes in their bodies. So can lymph nodes really cause headaches?

Will swollen lymph nodes under the neck be accompanied by headache?

It is possible to have swollen lymph nodes in the neck accompanied by pain. Furthermore, there are multiple swollen lymph nodes of varying sizes on one or both sides of the neck, generally located at the anterior and posterior edges of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. In the early stages, the swollen lymph nodes are hard, painless, and can be moved.

The swollen lymph nodes below the neck continue to develop and lymphadenitis occurs, causing the lymph nodes to adhere to the skin and surrounding tissues. The lymph nodes may also adhere to each other and fuse into clumps, forming nodular masses that are difficult to move. In the late stage, the lymph nodes undergo caseous necrosis and liquefaction, forming cold abscesses. After the abscess ruptures, bean curd-like or rice soup-like pus flows out.

What are the causes of swollen lymph nodes below the neck?

Once the subcervical lymph nodes are swollen, it is recommended to actively treat them. Since there are many causes of subcervical lymph nodes, it is recommended that patients should distinguish the causes and treat them. Generally speaking, the causes of subcervical lymph nodes are as follows:

1. Inflammation. Acute cases are characterized by redness, pain, and heat, with rapid onset and local tenderness. The swelling will subside after anti-inflammatory treatment. Chronic cases have a long course of disease, are active, non-tender, and are often located in the submandibular area.

2. Tuberculosis. It can be primary or secondary to tuberculosis lesions in the abdominal cavity. The course of the disease is long. The enlarged lymph nodes are in the form of strings, with medium texture, movable, and no tenderness. They can adhere to each other into clumps. If caseous necrosis occurs, fistulas will form if they rupture.

3. Metastatic malignant tumors. It is one of the causes of cervical lymphadenopathy. The primary lesions are mostly located in the head and neck. The lumps gradually increase in size, become hard, have poor mobility, and are not tender. They are often unilateral but may also affect both sides. Nasopharyngeal cancer, tonsil cancer, and laryngeal cancer often metastasize to the supraclavicular lymph nodes. Cancers of the nose, paranasal sinuses, mouth, and face often invade the submandibular lymph nodes, and esophageal cancer metastasizes to the supraclavicular lymph nodes.

The formation of swollen lymph nodes under the neck and the headache symptoms caused by it do not occur overnight. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to the occurrence of swollen lymph nodes in themselves, patients should also prevent the symptoms of swollen lymph nodes in the subcervical area.