Hi, I was hiking & after being in the car about 20 minutes, I noticed a black bump on my neck. I started pulling at it, but it was latched on & wouldnt come off without some amount of force. After I got it off I developed a larger bump where it had been, & now my entire neck, moving down to my shoulder is throbbing. Should I worry & how can I treat it ?
Hello and welcome to Chat Doctor, A recurring lump in the neck could be due to lymph node enlargement, swelling due to trauma, soft tissue swelling etc. Association with throbbing pain suggests an infectious process. Usually throbbing pain is caused by pus collection. Black colored bump could be due to blood collection in the swelling or vascular lesion. A clinical assessment is required along with relevant investigations to assess whether the swelling is infectious or neoplastic in origin. In case it is associated with features of inflammation like redness, pain etc. an infectious etiology is suspected. An aspiration cytology of the swelling is required in which the cells are aspirated from the swelling, spread on glass slide and stained with appropriate stains. This investigation will determine the origin and nature of lesion and hence treatment can be instituted. Thanks and take care Chat Doctor. 