Swelling of lymph nodes behind the ear in the child
Lymph nodes can also be enlarged, intensified or palpable in children without any cause. However, a swelling of the lymph nodes behind the ear (retroauricular) can also indicate a viral or bacterial infection. Retroauricular lymph nodes swell, especially in the case of rubella.
This swelling is usually accompanied by headaches, rhinitis and a slight increase in temperature. A few days after the onset of these symptoms, a nodular-spotted rash appears, which usually starts behind the ears and on the head and then spreads over the entire body. The varicella zoster virus, which is responsible for the childhood disease “chickenpox“, can also cause swelling of the lymph nodes behind the ears and in the groin area.
This also causes the child to be exhausted with fever and a nodular-stained rash. Children under 6 years of age in particular often suffer from inflammation of the lymph nodes (lymphadenitis) as a result of infection. Bacteria such as streptococci or staphylococci are mainly responsible for this.
If these cause a primary infection in the ear canal or at the pinna, the inflammation can spread to the lymph nodes behind the ears. In very rare cases, a tumor can also cause lymph node swelling. Our next topic might also be of interest to you: Swelling of lymph nodes in children
Summary
Lymph node swelling in children who are not pathological is usually harmless and usually occurs in the context of expired infections. Age-typical lymph nodes are characterized by the fact that they are soft, elastic, displaceable and small and do not cause pain or an inflammatory reaction. If the lymph nodes are abnormally enlarged, the first thing to think about is an infection, as this is the most common reason for abnormal swelling of lymph nodes in childhood.
Most often, swelling of lymph nodes occurs in children in the neck and groin. Usually, pathological lymph node swelling occurs due to simple viral infections, such as those that occur repeatedly in the cold season and are mainly manifested as colds, or in the typical infectious childhood diseases (measles, rubella). Thus a banal flu-like infection (common cold) in childhood can lead to swelling of the cervical lymph nodes.
Lymph node swelling behind the ear in children is much less common and can occur, for example, in the case of a rubella infection. Rubella is a viral disease. Children between the ages of 5-15 years are particularly often affected.In childhood and adolescence, lymph node swellings also frequently occur in the context of Pfeiffer’s glandular fever.
Another name for this is “kissing disease”, typical especially in adolescents. A transmission path of the virus is kissing and the exchange of body fluids associated with it.
