Painless lumps or swollen glands

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Painless lumps or swollen glands

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Most lumps under the skin or swollen glands are not cause for serious concern.

Noncancerous (benign) growths are usually harmless. A benign growth may be:

A lipoma, a smooth, rubbery, dome-shaped lump that is easily movable under the skin.
A cyst, a sac of fluid and debris that sometimes hurts.
A ganglion, a soft, rubbery lump (a type of cyst) on the front or back of the wrist.
A sebaceous cyst, which often appears on the scalp, ears, face, and back.
A thyroid nodule, an abnormal growth on the thyroid gland, in the neck just below the Adam's apple.
An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which can cause a lump in the neck.

Children often have small, hard, swollen glands that last for weeks after they recover from minor illnesses, such as a cold or sore throat.

Most lumps are not caused by cancer. A lump that is caused by cancer is usually painless, hard, irregularly shaped, and firmly fixed to the skin or deep in tissue.

Credits

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Author	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Primary Medical Reviewer	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Updated	May 8, 2007

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Last updated:	May 08, 2007
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer

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