Scalp Infection & Neck Lump: Potential Causes & What to Do

Question
Hi,

You recently answered the question below, I have a similiar question. I got a zit or something else on my scalp, it got a bit infected, so I think it is probably the cause.  However, I felt I should ask anyway.  I don't have medical insurance, so I don't want to run up huge bills if this is most likely not a big deal.  Anyway, after getting the 'bump/zit' whatever on my scalp and it getting a bit infected, I developed quite a sizable lump on the soft part of my neck just behind the bottom part of the ear, now I've developed another bump just back of the mid-ear on the boney part - and it is big!  This all happened within a few days. They are freaking me out.  Should I be seriously concerned about this? I tried a hot compress to see if they would go down, they didn't.

Question
I ocassionally get a small painful lump behind my right ear,it lasts for a just a few days.but im not sure why it comes.i was thinking it seems to come when im feeling sick or stressed.do you know what this could be?after reading on the internet im thinking about cancer.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Christina

Answer
It is not cancer... it is a swollen lymph node. They tend to swell when you get a cold, or a scalp infection or ear infection. That is why it comes and goes. Typically, we don't do anything to them. Now, if they persist and you have multiple ones going down the neck, then I would be concerned about one of the cancers, like Hodgkins. But, this clearly sounds like a non-cancerous lymph node.  

Answer
The zit is what is causing the lumps to develop.  Now, with no health insurance, that is what the urgent care clinics or Emergency Rooms are there for... one of their many uses is people who are caught in the middle,  no $$ and no insurance.  Bottom line, if you have this infection that is bad enough to cause these add'l bumps, then you have to see a doctor and get started on antibiotics.