Worried of the soft or hard lump on back of neck? The bumps could also be appearing under skin, on hairline, left or right side of the neck or near spine. Most of these bumps hurt and appear enlarged. Most cases of neck bumps are caused by swollen lymph nodes. These are pea sized nodes that assists our immune system in fighting infection.
In this article, we have compiled a list of possible causes, their symptoms and the available treatment option on how to get rid of them and relieve the symptoms.
Lump on back of neck under skin
In practice, most lumps or swelling appearing under skin can be said to be normal. Most are harmless and can be left to clear on their own with little or no medication required. However, you need to have a doctor diagnose lumps on back of neck that appear suddenly. The lumps can be caused by an injury or an infection. If diagnosed early, you doctor can be able to prescribe the right medication and avoid the infection spreading to other parts of the body.
A possible causes of these under skin bumps is Lipoma. Lipoma are soft fatty lumps that grow under skin. When small and painless, lipoma can be left to clear on their own. This is because the bumps are harmless and do not pose any health risk. Lipoma bumps are noncancerous, they are caused by an overgrowth of fat cells. The lumps can grow anywhere on the body provided there is fat.
Abnormal weight gain cause d by Cushing’s syndrome can also result in these kind of under skin bumps. Cushing’s syndrome is an extremely complex hormonal condition involving many areas of the body. The condition is known to cause skin thinning, weakness, weight gain, increased fat around neck and slowed growth and obesity in children. There exists other symptoms of the condition.
Lump on back of neck right side
Lumps on the right side of the neck might exist for a number of reason. The bumps might be mild or severe, causing unbearable symptoms like itching, pain, swelling and inflammation. Though possible, cancer is not the only cause of these bumps.
In children and adults, swelling of the lymph node is thought to be the main cause of these bumps. These pea sized ball makes up the lymphatic system that assist the immune system in fighting infection causing pathogens. Other possible cause of these bumps will include the following:
1. Lymphoma
Lymphoma is cancer of the lymph nodes. It is the painless swelling of node in the neck, armpit and groin area. The swelling happens when certain type of white blood cell, known as lymphocytes collects in the lymph nodes.
Common symptoms will include night sweating, weight loss, and fever and persistent itching of the skin. Have a doctor check out these symptoms for early treatment.
2. Cyst
Sebaceous cyst, epidermoid cyst or pillar cyst are common skin cyst that develop as a result of bacterial infection of the sweat glands. The pore become blocked and may clog with sebum, dead skin cells and other fluids to form bumps on the right side of neck.
3. Skin tag
These are common small, soft skin growth. They are harmless but can be very annoying and detrimental to your self-esteem. They appear in numbers and can be seen around the neck, eyelids, armpit and groin area.
4. Goiter
Goiter is the swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement or inflammation of the thyroid gland.
5. Boils
These are painful pus filled that form under the skin. They are skin infections that start in the hair follicles or the oil glands. The skin will first turn red, then attender painful pus filled bump will appear.
6. Razor bumps
This are skin bumps along the hairline common after shaving. As the hair grows back, it may fail to protrude the skin, it thus grows inwards forming what we call an ingrown hair.
Lump on back of neck near spine
The spinal code (spine) is part of the central nervous system that runs from the base of your brain. The spine carries out function like electric communication, locomotion and reflexes. A lump appearing near the spine should therefore worry you. Have a professional health care provider at it as soon as possible.
Possible cause of these lump would be cancerous growths, diabetes, neck muscles injury or simply bacterial infections. Your doctor will be able to diagnose the condition and prescribe the right medication to get rid of the lump.
Lump on back of neck left side
The following are the possible cause of a lump that appear back of neck on the left side.
Tonsillitis
This is the inflammation of the tonsils. Tonsillitis is known to cause swollen tonsils, sore throat, difficult swallowing and tender lymph glands on the sides of neck. This condition is caused by bacterial and viral infection. The treatment will depend on the underlying cause and how severe the symptoms are.
Enlarged thyroid gland
Also called goiter, enlarged or swollen thyroid gland may cause a lump to develop in the neck. Goiter occurs when the thyroid glands produces too much or too little thyroid hormone. Eating too much goiter promoting food like soybeans, cabbage, spinach and peanuts might also have the same effect.
Bacterial and viral infection
Bacterial and viral infection in the mouth or around neck might also result in unwanted swelling. This will include the swelling of the lymph glands or painful bumps like boils appearing on the neck. Depending on the extent of these infection, antibiotic or antiviral medicine may be used to relieve the symptoms.
Swollen lymph nodes
These are common swelling caused as a result of fighting infections. The swelling will clear as the infection clears. If they fail to clear and go back to normal, you will need to have your doctor check them out.
Enlarged salivary gland
Persistent pain, a lumps or swelling near jaw or neck and difficulties in swallowing re typical symptoms of salivary gland cancer. Seek medical assistance if you notice the said symptoms.
Lump on back of neck near hairline
Those lumps appearing back of the neck near your hairline are most likely to be Lipoma. These are soft fatty lumps that grow under the skin. They are soft growing and in most cases will be situated between your skin and the underlying muscles layer. Though harmless though, unless they become painful, they can be left to heal on their own.
Abnormal tissues growth around neck is another possible cause of lumps near the hairline. These condition is known as neoplasm. It is a new abnormal growth of tissue in some part of the body, in this case on back of neck. This is especially a characteristic of cancer. If you notice this kind of growth, please see you doctor immediately for diagnosis.
Razor bumps is the other possible cause of hairline bumps. These is skin condition that occurs after having a haircut. After shaving, hair grows back under the skin instead of protruding out. This is what form ingrown hair which appears as bumps under skin on the hairline. These condition is referred medically as pseudofolliculitis barbae. The condition is common in people with coarse curly air.
Lump on back of neck for years that hurts
Lump on back of neck are common. The common cause is however the inflammation of the lymph nodes caused by an infection occurring in the mouth, throat or other parts of the body. This swelling usually clears up as the infection is treated. This is also true for sebaceous cyst and lipoma fatty growths.
If you have had the lump for years, then that is a sign of serious underlying infection. This is what is referred to as malignancy or chronic infection. With this kind of condition you need to be on medication, if you are not, have your doctor diagnose the condition and commence treatment immediately.
Hard Lump on back of neck causing headache
Headache is a common symptoms among people with glandular fever. Glandular fever is a type of viral infection that mostly affects young adult. The condition is also referred to as mononucleosis or simple as mono.
It is a highly infectious condition spread through saliva. That explains why some people refer to the condition as the kissing disease. Those with this condition complain of high fever, swollen lymph nodes and sore throat. Other symptoms will include fatigue, swollen tonsils and an itchy skin rash.
As said, the condition is caused by a virus. In adult the cases of the condition are rare as most of them will have develop antibodies to protect against these infection. There is no specific treatment for the condition. Your doctor will however prescribe corticosteroids to help reduce the lymph and tonsils swelling. Other treatment may also be used to ease and relive the symptoms.
Soft Lump on back of neck child
For an observant parent, it is ease to notice sot lump that might be developing at the back of your child’s neck. How do you tell the underlying cause of the bumps? To differentiate bumps caused by cancer and those caused by other conditions, you will need to watch out for symptoms like pain, itching, he size of the bumps and whether or not these bumps move when felt with the finger.
A common cause of these bumps is lipoma, as said earlier on, these are fatty tissue growth that develop underneath the skin. This is the most common benign form of soft tissue tumor. This tumor are not cancer nor do they develop into cancer. It is normal to have one or more lipoma at the same time.
Soft lump on your child neck could also be a skin cyst. Cyst are abnormalities in the body that may contain liquid or semiliquid material. A common form of these skin cyst is sebaceous cyst. Sebaceous cyst are also noncancerous and are mostly found on neck, face and torso. They grow slow and are not life threatening. They may become uncomfortable if unchecked for long.
You child could also develop a boil or an abscess on neck. These are painful, pus filled bumps that might develop underneath the skin. Boils are formed when the hair follicle on the skin get infected with bacteria, they swell, become clogged with sebum and form these boils.
Lump on back of neck no pain
A painless lump on your back should be a cause to worry. These is because, the lump could be cancerous. Should be watchful of other symptoms like, can the bump move when touched with finger, how regular the shape of the lump is, the speed of spread to other part of the body and color changes. You need to have a doctor diagnose the bumps to establish the underlying cause.
If the cause of the bump is cancer, then your doctor will discuss some available treatment option that will help prevent the spread of the cancerous cell by kill them. Treatment option for cancer will depend on both the type and stage of the cancer. These options includes surgical removal of the cancerous cells, chemotherapy and radiation therapy where high energy rays are used to destroy the cancerous cells.
Cancer is not the only possible cause of painless bumps. The bumps could also be caused by normal inflammation of the skin as is the case with sebaceous cyst. With these cyst, a hot compress twice or thrice a day will help relieve the symptoms and help get rid of the lumps.
Treatment for Lump on back of neck
As said, most lump appearing under the skin are harmless. They are life threatening and do not pose any threat to your general wellbeing. This is true for most of mild cases of lumps on back of neck. However, when the symptoms accompanying the lumps become unbearable or very discomforting, then some treatment option are available to help get rid of them.
Antibiotics which can be oral or topical will be used if the underlying cause of the bumps is bacterial infection or the bumps become infected with bacterial. This is common for most boils, abscess and ruptured skin cyst.
To relieve symptoms like inflammation, itching, swelling and the continued urge to scratch, Topical ointments such as anti-itching and anti-inflammatory creams can be used. These creams can be accessed OTC or through prescription.
For large painful lumps, your doctor may prescribe Corticosteroids. This will most likely be inform of injection. It will help shrink the bumps thus reducing their size and reliving the pan.
Lump on back of neck-home remedy
For mild cases, you could also relieve the symptoms with simple home remedies. We have complied a list of possible natural home remedies you can use to get read of the bumps. If the remedy isn’t responding, or the symptoms persist, please seek immediate medical attention.
Regular exercising
Regular exercises are very healthy for your body. Exercises will help you check on that unwanted weight gain, facilitate effective muscle functioning, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce the risk of some types of cancer, strengthen your bones and muscles and generally improve your mental health and mood.
Maintain a balanced diet
Adequate amount of vitamins and minerals are required to boost immunity and healthy development. A healthy body will help protect against an array of diseases. Maintaining a healthy balanced diet will help protect against non-communicable disease such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some type of cancer as said.
Have a nutritionist prescribe a combination of diet containing the right proportions of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, mineral and water necessary to maintain good health.
Hot compress
A simple warm compress twice a day can help drain small or large pus filled bumps on neck. After applying the warm compress, make sure you wash the area with an antibacterial soap to contain the infection.
Echinacea
Echinacea is an herb that can help stimulate the immune system. It is also a strong antibacterial and will help incases of ruptured bump on neck. The herb can be useful for ruptured boils, sebaceous cyst and others.
Honey tea
For swollen lymph node, organic honey is a natural anti-inflammatory that can help ease the pain and swelling. The antibacterial property of honey can also help fight the infection likely to cause the swelling of the nodes on your neck.
Castro oil
Castro oil, a pharmacological agent classified as an unstructured omega 9 triglyceride acid. It has been used to treat a variety of disease. Remember this is a naturally occurring remedy that can be used to detoxify you immune system. This will be very helpful in clearing the bumps and other symptoms.
Sources and references
- Neck lumps and bumps: http://www.med-health.net/Bump-On-Back-Of-Neck.html
- Bumps on neck: http://www.healthyhowto.org/bumps/neck-lump/lump-on-back-of-neck-meaning-causes-symptoms-and-treatment/
- Bumps on back of neck: http://www.livestrong.com/article/306654-bumps-on-the-back-of-neck-under-the-skin/
- Neck lumps: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lumps-swellings/Pages/Introduction.aspx#neck
- Home remedies for neck bumps: http://www.sorethroatremediesguide.com/14-home-remedies-for-swollen-lymph-nodes-in-neck/