weird bump behind ear

Sydney came home from school today and told me that another girl in her class told her she has a lump behind ear.
picture
picture 2

She says it does not hurt., and she got upset when I mentioned changing her earring back to the piercing studs.

 

I could not see the pics but I do know that you can get an infection in the bone behind the ear- called mastoiditis

 

I can't see the pics but it may be a reactive lymph node. there are small lymph nodes behind your ear called the postauricular lymph nodes or retroauricular lymph nodes if you want to google it. Just like under your jaw you can get the occasional swollen lymph node either spontaneously or in association with sore throat, the ones there can get enlarged.

Mastoiditis can cause some swelling there but it isn't just an isolated, circumscribed, small lump. It is usually redness, warmth, larger area of swelling behind the ear. It is associated with pain, fever, and kids usually look pretty sick with it. The times I have seen mastoiditis it was so swollen the ear is pushed out farther than normal.

 

I saw those pictures on FB, I thought maybe it was a reaction to her earrings, but I'm not sure. My niece would get bumps like that, and it stopped when my SIL decided to take out the earrings forever. But I'm totally speculating; does it have pus?

 

Can't see but jazz gets excema behind her ears and it can be raised bumps. I've even had pink eye where all my lymph nodes swelled up in my neck and throat.

 

Tabbisue - it looks like it's the size of a pea, not overly crusty or gross looking, just like a pea has been inserted under the skin. I would take her to the doctor. Do her ears bother her? Occasionally I'll get a lump in my ear lobe (I have lots of earrings), but nothing like that one.

 

The one pic does look like it has pus in it. I'd say some sort of infection or a reaction to the earrings. have you tried the ones Claire's sell? They are hypoallergenic. Those are the only ones my girls can wear (besides real gold).

 

Thanks.
When I took the pictures , there was no pus. I put neosporin on it. Then there was pus/blood coming out of it. It does not hurt her unless I touch it. She only knew she had it since another girl in her class told her. We changed that earring back to the original piercing stud. Notice how I said that earring. Sydney would not let me take out the other earing, so she has one purple heart and one purple gummy bear earring in her ears today.

 

Ahh sounds more like metal allergy now. I get knots in my ears and bumps on my neck from it. I don't wear earrings any more because of it