3 year old, hard lump behind ear, Pain down neck

[mommabunny]

I have a 3 year old son who will be 4 in nov. A couple of months ago I noticed a hard lump behind his left ear. At the time I didn't think anything of it , passing it off as a bug bite or something. I noticed tonight, it is still there. He says when I touch it, it is not painful but he gets pain around his ear and grabbed at his neck saying he had pain down his neck. He has not been ill recently and like I said it has been there for a couple of months. He has however been extremely moody the past 2 weeks or so. One day he is extremely happy and helpful, and another day he seems almost depressed and uncooperative. (Probably normal for a 4 year old) It is dime sized, relatively firm and does not seem to move. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Tom Plamondon PA-C]

Hello,
Thanks for writing in. Sorry about the delay.

From your description, this could be a sebaceous cyst or a swollen lymph node. In any case, since it is not mobile and causing some pain in the surrounding area, it probably needs to be surgically removed.

I would recommend seeing your pediatrician for appropriate referral.

Let us know how it goes.