Why are my dog's swollen lymph nodes not improving with meds?

If witchy does have enlarged lymph nodes I would recommend doing a fine needle aspirate of the lymph node. This is where a vet places a small needle into the lymph node and looks at the cells under a microscope. This will tell you why the lymph node is enlarged. The most common causes are viral, bacterial, fungal, inflammation or cancer. I would not recommend using systemic strong anti-fungals without a diagnosis of fungal disease due to the affect on the liver. Hopefully between blood work ,x-rays and aspirate you can get a better idea of why Witchy is having big lymph nodes and start proper treatment.

It sounds like Hero is starting to feel better based on your information. Swollen lymph nodes can be secondary to infection, inflammation or local disease. It is possible the antibiotics has helped the lymph nodes go back to normal size. Unfortunately with out additional testing like X-rays or aspirates of the lymph nodes it is hard to give you additional direction. I would recommend following up with your vet to make sure Hero makes a speedy recovery. I hope that helps

Hi. I would recommend getting the cytology either redone again, or do a biopst to try to find the cause. The fact that it responds to antibiotics concerns me there is an infection somewhere that node is draining. I would be suspicious of the mouth/teeth. If cytology or biopsy comes back as reactive or unhelpful, I would plan a dental cleaning and dental xrays to look closer in mouth.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is certainly a somewhat common scenario unfortunately and it is important to make sure that the potential risks do not outweigh the benefits. That is why I can understand your veterinarian's concerns. Your veterinarian could consider a course of doxycycline or clindamycin antibiotic which are commonly used for dental disease as an important component of it is likely due to an infection. Also, it would be important to make sure that you clean her teeth regularly as that is likely going to help as well. Good luck and have a great day!

In my experience lymph nodes can be enlarged for days to week after a dental cleaning if the teeth were bad enough. However best thing to do is aspirate the lymph node and send out the cytology. This will tell you for sure why they are enlarged and help you not worry.

Hello, sorry to hear about Giuseppe. Because the lymph node has decreased in size with antibiotics alone and the fact that only a single lymph node is enlarged, this is less likely consistent with lymphoma. Lymphoma typically affects multiple nodes and does not respond to antibiotics. Occasionally, active lymph nodes may remain slightly enlarged for a few days, or if the infection is not being completely treated then the lymph node may remain big. The best way to confirm if this lymph node has lymphoma or not, would be to obtain cytology with a with a needle aspirate to have a pathologist examine the cells. Cytology is generally a non-invasive procedure and could be done by your veterinarian. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I would recommend talking to your veterinarian about getting an aspirate of Tiny's lymph nodes. My concern when all the peripheral lymph nodes are enlarged this can be lymphoma. If the aspirate is definitive then ideally you would start treatment as soon as possible. The aspirate can tell you if it is lymphoma or reactive from inflammation or infection. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.