Waking up to find the neck near the ear swollen and painful may be related to acute cervical lymphadenitis, parapharyngeal cellulitis and cervical cellulitis and other diseases, the common causative organisms of these diseases are mostly Staphylococcus aureus and hemolytic streptococcus.
1. Acute cervical lymphadenitis: it is mostly caused by upper respiratory tract infection, tonsillitis, dental caries, pharyngitis, stomatitis, otitis externa and other inflammatory diseases, which cause cervical lymph node infection through lymphatic drainage pathway. Swollen and painful lumps can be found in the neck near the ear.
2. Parapharyngeal cellulitis: it is the early pathological process of parapharyngeal abscess, which is mostly secondary to suppurative inflammation of neighboring organs or tissues, pharyngeal and oral traumatic infections and other factors. The affected side of the mandibular region and the posterior aspect of the angle of the mandible is swollen, hard and tender to palpation.
3. Cellulitis of the neck: it can be caused by infection of the skin or soft tissue of the neck after injury; it can also be caused by the spread of acute purulent inflammation in the mouth and throat. The superficial cellulitis that occurs in the neck near the ear can have obvious local redness, swelling, heat and pain.
When you wake up and find your neck near the ear swollen and painful, you need to actively seek medical treatment, systematic examination to clarify the diagnosis, and follow the doctor’s instructions to standardize the treatment.