Swollen Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes are small filtering stations along the lymphatic system, and swelling usually means they are doing their job - enlarging in response to an infection somewhere in their drainage area. A sore throat swells nodes in the neck; a hand infection swells them in the armpit. Reactive nodes are typically soft, mobile, tender, under about 1 cm to 2 cm, and settle over 2-4 weeks once the trigger resolves. Viral illnesses such as glandular fever can cause more generalised, longer-lasting swelling. The features that change the picture are hardness, being fixed to underlying tissue, painlessness, steady growth, size above about 2 cm, location above the collarbone, and company such as night sweats, unexplained weight loss or persistent fever - that combination needs prompt assessment rather than watchful waiting. Supplement evidence here is thin and indirect. Zinc lozenges shorten common colds modestly when started within 24 hours, and correcting vitamin D deficiency supports normal immune function, but nothing shrinks a lymph node directly, and using supplements to delay assessment of a persistent node is the real risk.