Morning, 5 days ago I developed a painful swollen protruding lump on the top right at the back of my neck, I was hoping it would go down but i have felt slight flu symptoms and tingles in my scalp, since then I have woken up this morning with a severe stiff painful neck all down the right side, I cant move my head forward to touch my chin to my chest and is sore/difficult to turn head to the right, it also feels now at the base of my neck is swollen too, the lump at the top is so inflamed its hot and itchy... Please diagnose, its so hard to get to GP! Thank you!
Hello and welcome to Chat Doctor, Swelling on back can be due to many causes. Hot and itchy lesion suggests an infectious pathology. Difficulty in moving the neck in different directions, stiffness and pain can be due to muscle spasm or muscle stiffness secondary to the inflammatory process. An aspiration cytology of the lesion needs to be done. In this investigation, the cells are aspirated from the swelling, spread on slide, stained and examined microscopically. This investigation will determine the origin of lesion, its nature- inflammatory, non-neoplastic or neoplastic. Further management can be planned according to the results of the investigations. Thanks and take care Chat Doctor.