When to Worry About Swollen Glands With HIV Infection

Swollen glands are enlarged lymph nodes. HIV infection can activate the immune system and cause nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin to enlarge, sometimes in more than one area. Other infections, including throat, dental, skin, or respiratory infections, can also cause this finding. Swelling alone cannot show whether HIV is present, whether treatment is working, or whether another problem is responsible.

Notice whether the nodes are tender, whether the skin over them is red or hot, whether they are changing in size, and whether swelling occurs in one area or several. Share these details with your clinician, especially if you have a known HIV infection or take antiretroviral treatment.

Arrange a routine medical appointment if the swelling does not settle, keeps returning, grows, feels hard or fixed, or occurs without an obvious infection. Do not squeeze or repeatedly press the nodes. Keep taking prescribed HIV treatment unless the prescriber tells you otherwise, and mention any missed doses or new medicines. A clinician may examine several lymph-node areas and look for an infection or another cause before deciding whether tests or follow-up are needed.

Seek urgent medical help if swollen glands come with trouble breathing or swallowing, rapidly increasing neck swelling, severe weakness, confusion, fainting, or a very high fever. Prompt assessment is also needed for drenching night sweats, unexplained weight loss, persistent fever, or repeated infections, because these symptoms may need evaluation alongside the lymph-node changes. Use local emergency services for severe breathing difficulty or collapse.

You could ask: Could an infection elsewhere explain the swelling? Which changes should prompt an earlier review? Do my HIV medicines, recent doses, or other medicines affect the assessment? What follow-up will check whether the nodes are settling?