What causes pain under the chin

Some people experience unexplained pain under the chin, which they find very puzzling. Some people will make wild guesses, wondering if they have some incurable disease, and thus seek medical treatment and medicine everywhere. Sometimes pain under the chin may be caused by swollen submandibular lymph nodes. The cause of swollen submandibular lymph nodes may be inflammation of the oral cavity and pharynx. However, enlarged submandibular lymph nodes may indicate some serious diseases in the body.

1. What is submandibular lymphadenopathy?

Swelling of the submandibular lymph nodes due to inflammation of the oral cavity and pharynx. Lymph node enlargement refers to a condition in which the diameter of the lymph nodes exceeds 1.5 cm, the appearance changes, and the texture is abnormal. It often occurs in the submandibular area, neck, armpits, groin, etc. In more serious cases, the local lymph nodes are obviously enlarged and accompanied by redness, swelling, heat, pain, and possibly fever. If not treated in time, acute lymphadenitis may develop into an abscess.

2. Reasons

It refers to the submandibular lymph nodes that swell due to inflammation due to stimulation from bacteria and their toxins and can be clearly felt by hand, often accompanied by symptoms of pain. There are many causes of the disease. When an infection occurs in a certain part of the body, bacteria pass through the lymph nodes with the lymph fluid, which can cause swelling and pain in the lymph nodes. When the body suffers from malignant tumors, they often metastasize along the lymphatic vessels and stay in the lymph nodes to divide and proliferate, causing the lymph nodes to swell.

3. Clinical manifestations

There is fullness in the submandibular area, and enlarged and tender lymph nodes.

1. There may be other primary infection foci such as respiratory tract infection, oral inflammation, furuncle, skin lesion infection, etc.

2. Local lymph nodes are swollen, painful, or red, with a sense of fluctuation when touched, often accompanied by fever, loss of appetite, etc.

3. Perform lymph node biopsy if necessary to exclude malignant tumor infiltration.

4. Common diseases of swollen lymph nodes

1. Chronic lymphadenitis

Unexplained enlargement of the cervical and supraclavicular lymph nodes indicates a systemic lymphoproliferative disease and should be taken seriously and further examined and confirmed.

2. Tuberculous lymphadenitis

Symptoms include fever, sweating, fatigue, and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, which are more common in young and middle-aged people. It is often accompanied by pulmonary tuberculosis. The texture of the lymph nodes is uneven, some parts are lighter, some parts are harder, and they are adhered to each other and the skin, so their mobility is poor.

3. Malignant lymphoma

The lymph node enlargement is usually painless and progressive, ranging in size from soybean to jujube, and of medium hardness. Generally, there is no adhesion to the skin, and they do not fuse with each other in the early and middle stages, so they are movable. In the later stages, the lymph nodes may grow very large or fuse into large masses with a diameter of more than 20 cm, invading the skin and taking a long time to heal after rupturing.

4. Pseudolymphoma

It often occurs in areas outside the lymph nodes, such as pseudolymphoma of the eye sockets and stomach and lymphatic polyps of the digestive tract, all of which can form lumps. It is generally considered to be a reactive hyperplasia caused by inflammation.

6. Lymph node metastasis

The lymph nodes are often hard and uneven in texture, and the primary lesion can be found. Rarely, there is generalized lymphadenopathy.