Q: My three years old son has developed a lymph node on the right side of his neck. It is small and was noticed two days back only. He is a normal child having no fever, cold, cough nor pain in the neck. But his mother had early stage of tuberculosis (TB). Now, she is OK. Why has my three years old son developed a lymph node on his neck?

A:The lump that you have noticed on your child's neck is most probably a small lymph gland. While small lymph glands may be normal for children, sometimes they may also indicate presence of an underlying disease, especially if there are many enlarged glands in the neck or in other areas of the body. It would be good to get your child examined once by a paediatrician. He can then decide if any further testing is required.