<s>[INST] I have a hard swollen lump behind my left ear. It started out small but now two weeks later it is the size of a quarter and hurts really bad. I cant afford to go to the doctors but im worried it might be an infection or something of that nature. Please anyone What should I do? Thank You [/INST] Hi, Thanks for your question. After going through your question, there is likely possibility of retroauricular lymphadenopathy (Lymph node swelling) most likely due to infection or infection of hair follicle. As you are not willing to go to doctor, you can try antibiotic like Amoxicillin+clavulunic acid along with painkiller and anti-inflammatory medicines for 5 days. If even after 5 days of treatment or if there is increase in size of swelling, high grade fever, swelling over other parts of the body there is a need for consultation with doctor for detailed clinical examination depending upon it further investigations may help in diagnosis and treatment.- Complete blood count.- ESR, CRP.- Chest X-ray.- Ultrasonography of swelling and abdomen. Hope this helps you, if so do vote as helpful. </s>