Hi,

I have a question about the submandible (sp?) gland. I had a sore throat about 2 weeks ago, went to doc and he said it was red and had "a small white puss area" and he did the feeling the neck thingy and I almost shot me to the ceiling when he got to the area mentioned above (it hurt A LOT) whilst feeling the area.

He put me on amoxicillian and it appears to be better, 2 days after starting meds the soreness was almost completely gone, this appt was with my primary care doc who said that it was my lymph nodes reacting to the bacteria (two of my kids had strep)...had my reg checkup with ENT today and after he felt around, it was tender, not really sore...

He had asked me if I was drinking enough fluids...oddly enough on the way to the appt today I was VERY thirsty and had to stop to get something to drink. I do drink a lot of coffee and take Allegra D 24 hour...which is a decongestant...

Any advice? I asked him if it was a tumor and he said "no, I think it will be fine", its an inflamed salivary gland...just keep an eye on it...what the heck does that mean? I can get another appt with a different ENT (I have one in md and one in pa)...just looking for some advice...as I typed in inflamed salivary gland and I almost passed out...everything said "tumor" then I got sick and couldnt read anymore, and am turning here for advice.

Thank you for reading my post...I know you guys are very busy...

Cathy

Hello Cathy

It is most likely that your problem is as your ENT said, "an inflamed salivary gland" and the cause is usually a bacterial infection. Hence the antibiotics. Sometimes, you can get a stone forming in the gland and causing the infection; it is thought that insufficient fluids could contribute to this occurring. Hence the need to drink enough. As medical diagnosis is mostly probability, your ENT was advising you to keep an eye on it, just in case we aren't right. No doctor is right 100% of the time, hence the patient should know what to expect and if it is not improving as expected to see the doctor again. That's all.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Vinod

Thank you Dr. Joshi!

I know you are right and I am drinking A LOT, so much so that my stomach was aching...so, I will do it in moderation. And lots of water - had almost no caffiene today, am ready to snap! LOL!

Have a happy weekend and thank you taking the time to answer my post!

Cathy