Constant Swollen Salivary gland

Heartwood, Thank you so much for your info.  I will try to look at it as an allergy. Like you I have been tested for all of those and have no obvious blockages.  I have almost given up.   Did your swellings go away or when you do have the reaction do you just use the antihistamine?  thx again.

yes i get exactly the same symptoms been operated 6 times in two years.had full blood counts and the results are normal,my consultant says this is mystery to him,hope one day it will resolve itself

Hello friends, I have had the similar problem with both of my parotid glands swelling on and off lasting for roughly 5 days at a time..I can wake up in the morning and my glands be all swollen up...?? How? I do not know what causes this annoying problem and I feel as if I have gone to ALL different Doctors, my PP, Dentist, ENT, Allergist. No one could give me a solution. I am 100% healthy 25 yr old. I do have pretty bad TMJ and still believe it is possibly linked to my puffiness, but not certain. I do want to suggest to you all that when my symptoms of the obnoxious puffed up glands begin to start I have started massage the glands, both at same time on both sides of my face. I massage all around so that I hit everywhere on side of my face!  If I catch myself doing it in public, people always ask "honey are you okay?" - I just replying "oh yes...just bad TMJ"   ;)  I feel silly telling others - "Oh, Just massaging my glands!"  haha. This slight pressure of massaging on my glands throughout the day has really seemed to help reduce the swelling. This makes me think that it is possible that my salivary glands may be getting "stopped up" - I have no idea! The massaging is not an instant relief to rid you of the puffy face but give it time and it tends to help..at least for me its help some...I hope this may help some of you. I am sorry that all of you are going through this- if you are like me it is SO uncomfortable and I get very self-conscious and depressed about it! Please try to stay confident and let your sweet inner beauty shine through - i promise it will have a much longer lasting impression!

Your salivary gland is backing up with bacteria and the slimy stuff is mucous. I was told to use Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash twice a day plus milk the gland to release bacteria

i had swollen glands from the age of 17-20 and got diagnosed with glandular fever twice (your only meant to get it once apparently) and low and behold neither times was it glandular fever, i suggest anyone with the symptoms like i had (swollen glands constantly/weak immune system-catching ever flu and cold going, painful snoring, not being able to breath through your nose for months at a time, skin turning an off colour to your normal complexion, low energy levels... the list goes on) keep going back to the doctors and demand answers.

i had the same issues the dr gave me antibiotics and told me to suck on lemon drops went to a new dr sent me to get mri showed a 3.5 cm tumor in l parotid bed did fine needle aspiration and it was maligmant had surgery removed l parotid gland also all lymph node removed i had a great dr cant really tell i had been cut on had 35 treatments of radiation now just the aftereffects of radiation the gift that keeps on giving

Thank you so much for posting. I was beginning to think my daughter had mumps except the swelling would subside and that was strange. She also has very swollen tonsils with white blisters. The Dr. tested for strep, but it was negative so they gave her antibiotics. The saliva gland problems began two days laters with the swelling after each time she ate. I have her sucking on lemons now, but she says the bump under her tongue is too sore to touch. Again your info was very helpful and if you have any additional suggestions to get the stone out, I would appreciate it.

I have the long stringy spit coming from swollen glands in the roof of my mouth.  For the last two months, I've been suffering from indegestion, vomiting (so bad one morning that I went to the hospital), and in the evenings I get a sore throat (my doctor concluded that I had a cold, but I know I didn't, and that it's related to the indegestion and stringy spit.  I spit into a cup all day long because if I swallow this stuff it makes me vomit.  The dehydration that this causes (even though I drink lots of water) makes my esophageus constrict to where swallowing even a tiny bit of water is excruciatingly painful.  At the hospital I was told that I had "classic acid reflux disease" and prescribed $140 worth of acid pump inhibitors and a stomach coater.  They didn't work.  At all.  An American Indian cure for gastro disorders is to chew on a twig of yellow root, and for a week I thought it was really helping, I even got my appetite back (I've lost 15 pounds in the six weeks since this started), but today I'm having a terrible set-back, complete with tiny hiccops and shivering that is a prelude to vomiting.  I've quite caffine (don't smoke), quit sugar, gluten, dairy, and soy.  I did have a half a turkey sandwich last night which was on wheat breat (gluten).  That could be the reason I'm so miserable today ... The stringy spit thing is the most amazing thing though.  If I were to grab some between my fingers, I bet it would stretch as far as I could spread my arms without breaking!  And the glands on the roof of my mouth are painfully swollen most of the time.  : (

I am swollen on both sides under my chin, jawline to my ear. It is the size of plums, and I have trouble swallowing with fever. I went to the doctor immediately, when I had trouble swallowing. 2 ct scans were unremarkable. I don't have a bacterial infection or the mumps. I am 40. I have had a constant fever for over a month of 99.7-100.2. tylenol seems to help but it comes back when it wears off, I know immediately because fever makes you feel really bad especially when you have it so long. I had antibiotics oral for 10 days with steriods and IV for 3 days no relief. Now I am on oral antibiotics and steriods again, still no relief with the glands or the fever. I go for a biopsy on Tuesday. The people squirting stringy stuff out of your salava glands could possibly have a Bacterial infection, my doctor actually pushed on mine just to see if puss came out, and should go to the doctor if you haven't. If you have, go to one until they listen to you. The inside of my mouth is clean and with no absesses. Good Luck everyone.

I have the same issue with my saliva gland. After MRI with negative results, it keep swelling and was painful, then it would go down. So I went to the ENT and he said it a blocked saliva gland. No big deal, just suck on sweetarts when it happens and you will produce more saliva and it should go away fairly quickly. Good Luck!

Hi all, I've had some of the same problems in the past, and would like to be of help to some of you suffering from painful salivary glands in the head/neck area. I've gone through extensive testing, visited ENTs and TMJ specialists and have done extensive reserach in the meantime.

While it's possible that the problem is within the salivary gland (from infection, blockage, etc.), many times painful glands in the head/neck area are the result of a problem occuring nearby. Nerves, blood vessels, muscles, the lymph system, our ear canals, etc. are very condensed in our jaw/neck area. Everything is so close together that sometimes it's difficult to tell exactly where the issue is, especially because pain can be transmitted via nerve signals to random areas that are only secondarily effected.

For example, a consistently painful parotid gland may be the result of TMJ. You might simply have TMJ if other accompanying symptoms include: clicking jaw, jaw lock, pain in temples, sensation of clogged ears, tense masseter muscle, or tiredness of jaw from hard food or after extensive chewing. Check out this video if you think you have TMJ-- it changed my life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tv7-0mlSsQ.

Another possible thing it could be is actually acid reflux!! Can you believe it?? There are salivary glands under your tongue, which is itself connected to the esophagus. Painful salivary glands under the tongue can be due to either a throat infection or stomach fluid that reaches the upper part of your esophagus. If the following symptoms accompany painful salivary glands under the tongue, you may have LPR, a form of acid reflux that affects your larynx instead of manifesting as heartburn: ear canal pain, painful back of tongue, hoarse voice, phlegm clearing, sensitivity to alcohol and caffeine, the sensation of painful tonsilar lymph nodes, chronic laryngitis, puffy front of neck where your thyroid gland is, unhealthy digestive tract.

So don't worry or freak out, 99.9999% sure it's NOT cancer-- if it were cancer, chances are it would not hurt. I have both TMJ and LPR and these were the primary symptoms I had leading up to diagnoses. Very cureable. BEST cure: lifestyle changes as a result of intimately knowing your body. Your first step to feeling better is visiting an ENT (ear nose throat doctor) and receiving formal diagnosis or getting a referral to another specialist. Good luck everyone!! Be empowered knowing your health is in your hands.

Hi, My glands have been swollen going on two years.  The one under my chin is the worst.  Sometimes I cannot swollow anything, and it freaks me out. A few times I thought was going to have to call 911, cause I could not even get water down to clear my throat. I would finally vomit.  I eat lemons, pickles, and sour candy.  I've to ENTs and they said it takes along time for them to go down, that the salivary glands will also leave scare tissue.  I have given up on them ever going down and very upset over it.  I have Lupus and I am sure that is not helping the problem.

I am also tobacco user , recently I had some sores on my tongue ..i ignored them as it can be possible of undigestion .. but lately i am feeling itching on my tongue and slowly left side of my tongue is swelled and itching is there ..am worried what it could be ..am afraid to got to a doctor because ..idont know what is coming ..please guide me if this is very serious

I have Sjogren's and I look like a hamster with it's checks packed full, lol. Yes, Sjogren's can cause swollen parotid glands, but usually with Sjogren's you will experience very dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nose and pretty much all the mucous membranes.

That being said, Sjogren's is very rare and for most I would think other causes would be more likely. There are a couple of tests they can do, one is a blood test and one is a lip biopsy. My lip biopsy was "non-diagnostic" but the blood test indicated that it was likely. Te problem with Sjogren's, as with so many auto-immune diseases, is that they are difficult to diagnose. Auto-immune symptoms vary widely from person to person and there is no specific test that can absolutely diagnose them. Diagnosis is usually made from a combination of tests and a totality of the symptoms. Lupus, for example, has a list of 11 symptoms, of which you must have 4 to get a diagnosis. You can have 3 out of 4 of the 11 for 20 years and 20 more symptoms besides and you wont get a diagnosis of Lupus unless you develop a 4th out of the list of 11. You would most likely get a more vague diagnosis like undifferentiated or mixed connective tissue disease. The symptoms are very much the same for many auto-immune diseases, like joint pain and muscle spasms.

If you have moist ANYTHING it is most likely not Sjogren's. One thing to keep in mind when dealing with the medical profession, they didn't ALL graduate at the top of their class. Sometimes with an issue that is difficult to diagnose, a teaching hospital (around here we have UTMB - the University of Texas Medical Branch) often will will look deeper into the issue as you are a valuable teaching tool. For example, Sjogren's is very rare and so many people in the medical profession have never seen it, even if they have heard of it.

I was in the hospital and when the nurses found out I had Sjogren's they all congregatged in my room for a Q & A session, even though what I was in for was totally unrelated.