Causes and Diagnosis of Armpit Lumps
An armpit lump is the enlargement of one of the lymph nodes under your armpit. Lymph nodes play a very important role in maintaining your body’s immune system. These are oval-shaped small glands that are located throughout the body. Sometimes the lump may feel very small and go unnoticeable. However, there are occasions when the lump may become large and noticeable.
These lumps may be the result of an antiperspirant you used or an after shaving lotion.
Causes of armpit lumps
In most of the cases, lump in the armpit is a harmless issue which happens due to abnormal tissue growth and generally goes away with time. However, there are certain instances that may indicate a more serious underlying medical issue. Let’s have a look at some of them:
- An adverse reaction to vaccinations
- A response to breast cancer
- A fibroadenoma (non-cancerous fibrous tissue growth)
- Bacterial or viral infections
- Leukemia (cancer of the blood cells)
- Lupus (a disease that targets your joints and organs)
- Lipomas (harmless fat tissue growths)
- Allergic reactions
- Fungal infections
- Lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system)
Diagnosis of armpit lumps
A thorough physical examination is needed in order to diagnose a lump in the armpit. Your doctor might ask you several questions or massage the area of the lump in order to find its texture. In some instances, the physical examination will prove that the lump is not harmful. In such cases, you don’t need any additional treatment. However, if the case is different and the doctor assesses by the primary examination that there is a need for additional treatment then, he/she might recommend that as well.
Test for armpit lumps
Based on your primary physical examination of the lump in the armpit, the doctor may ask you to do some tests so that he/she could rule out any serious underlying disease. These tests include:
- Complete blood count
- Chest or breast X-ray
- Biopsy
- Allergy testing
If you have a lump under your armpit then you should not worry because normally it will go away. However, going to a doctor will be beneficial because in this way you will be certain that you don’t have any hidden disease.
