What is the Difference Between Swollen Lymph Node and Cyst

The key difference between swollen lymph node and cyst is that swollen lymph nodes are lymph glands that have swollen up to kidney bean size or even larger, mainly due to infections, while cysts are abnormal, fluid-filled sacs that develop in any part of the body mainly due to infections, clogged sebaceous glands, or piercings.

Swollen lymph nodes and cysts are two medical conditions that occur due to infections and tumors. Though they are normal medical conditions, they may give rise to several complications. Therefore, medical intervention is needed for both of these conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Swollen Lymph Node
3. What is a Cyst
4. Similarities – Swollen Lymph Node and Cyst
5. Swollen Lymph Node vs Cyst in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Swollen Lymph Node vs Cyst

What is a Swollen Lymph Node?

Swollen lymph node occurs when lymph glands are swollen up to kidney bean size or even larger, mainly due to an infection. In rare cases, swollen lymph nodes can be caused by cancers. Lymph nodes are also known as lymph glands. They play a vital role in the body by fighting off infections. Lymph nodes function as filters, trapping viruses, bacteria, and other foreign agents before they can infect any parts of the human body. The common areas where swollen lymph nodes may occur are the neck, chin, armpit, and groin. The symptoms of swollen lymph nodes include tenderness and pain in the lymph nodes, runny nose, sore throat, fever, other upper respiratory infections, night sweats, and hard, fixed, rapidly growing nodes. Swollen lymph nodes can be caused due to infections (like strep throat, measles, ear infections, tuberculosis, syphilis, etc.), immune disorders (lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), and cancers (lymphoma and leukemia).

Swollen lymph nodes can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, blood tests, imaging studies, and lymph nodes biopsy. Furthermore, swollen lymph nodes can be treated through medications like antibiotics, antivirals, pain relievers (aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen), surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, lifestyle, and home remedies such as applying a warm compress and getting adequate rest.

What is a Cyst?

A cyst is a closed capsule or sac-like structure. It contains a liquid, semisolid or gaseous material. Cysts are much like blisters. They vary in size from microscopic to very large. Very large cysts can displace even internal organs. Cysts are normally benign, but these cysts can be cancerous or precancerous. The common locations of cysts include skin, wrists, knees, ovaries, breasts, vagina, cervix, and kidneys. The common symptoms of cysts include a lump under the skin that is usually not painful or painful, draining of fluid, blood, or pus, tenderness, skin warmth, swelling, and redness. Cysts are caused by infections, clogged sebaceous glands, piercings, tumor, genetic conditions, a fault in an organ of a developing embryo, a defect in the cell, chronic inflammatory conditions, blockages of ducts in the body, and an injury that breaks a vessel.

Cysts can be diagnosed through physical examination, CT scan, MRI, mammogram, ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, blood tests, skin examinations, and biopsy. Furthermore, treatments for cysts include medications like antibiotics, pain relievers, draining the cysts, injecting medicines into the cysts, removal by surgeries, and laser removal.

What are the Similarities Between Swollen Lymph Node and Cyst?

• Swollen lymph nodes and cysts are two conditions that can occur due to infections and tumors.
• They may give rise to several complications.
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examinations, blood tests, and imaging testing.
• They are treated through medications and surgeries.

What is the Difference Between Swollen Lymph Node and Cyst?

Swollen lymph nodes are lymph glands that have swollen up to kidney bean size or even larger, mainly due to infections, while cysts are abnormal, fluid-filled sacs that develop in any part of the body mainly due to infections, clogged sebaceous glands, or piercings. Thus, this is the key difference between swollen lymph node and cyst. Furthermore, swollen lymph nodes may be observed in the neck, chin, armpit, and groin. On the other hand, cysts may be observed in the skin, wrists, knees, ovaries, breasts, vagina, cervix, and kidneys.

The below infographic presents the differences between swollen lymph node and cyst in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Swollen Lymph Node vs Cyst

Swollen lymph node and cyst are two conditions that occur due to infections and tumors. Both these conditions can cause complications. Swollen lymph node occurs when lymph glands are swollen up to kidney bean size or even larger, mainly due to an infection, while cyst occurs when abnormal, fluid-filled sacs develop in any part of the body mainly due to infection, clogged sebaceous glands, or piercings. So, this summarizes the difference between swollen lymph node and cyst.

Reference:

1. “Cysts: Types, Pictures, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International.
2. “Swollen Lymph Nodes.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Swollen Lymph Nodes” By Scientific Animations.com – (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Ganglion Cyst” By Glenn Malone (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr