4 Yr Old Girl Has a Bump in the Pelvic Area. Lymph Node? Hernea?

A friend of mine also had this very same thing with her son and it was Lyme disease. Sounds like its time for a trip to the doctor!

My daughter had that EXACT same thing... on her right side, disproportionate in appearance like your daughter's, and right at/above the pubic bone... and it was an 'Inguinal Hernia."
There are many different types of Hernias.

She had surgery, to correct it.
It can get worse.
The tell-tale symptoms of a Hernia, is that it comes and goes... and can be more pronounced/bulge after exertion/using the bathroom etc., standing for a long time etc., AND it does not necessarily "hurt." When it is bulging it feels like a rolling ball the size of an egg JUST like you described. And yes, when lying down the Hernia can appear to diminish.

But it can get worse... or "strangulate."
Strangulate means, that there is something (usually an internal organ) sticking out of the Hernia (which is a hole in the abdominal wall) and that that internal organ is getting stuck in the opening of the hole...and thus, it can cause gangrene and you can lose that organ etc. It is then a VERY serious thing, when a Hernia strangulates. VERY serious and you have to rush to the ER... within an hour.
Contrary to what some say, a Hernia, does not just disappear.

You need to take her to a Pediatric Specialist/Surgeon who specializes in Hernias in children.
That is what we did.

Hernias, in children, are not uncommon. And it does happen.
Don't worry.
My daughter (who is 7 years old), had her Hernia fixed last year. It was fine. She is much happier now because she does not have to "worry" about her hernia anymore. And it was causing her some pain and discomfort.

It has NOTHING to do with the tick or her Autism or anything else. It is a HERNIA. Anyone can get Hernias.
But, if she is in any discomfort, let her rest and do not lift anything heavy or strain herself... it can make the hernia worse.

I can almost guarantee, with 100% certainty, that your girl has a Hernia... and it sounds like the same kind that my daughter had.

all the best,
Susan

I have done extensive research on Lyme disease, which is the disease caused by a tic bite. In fact my daughter was being treated for it. You need to know that a rash is not THE indicator of Lyme. In fact, only a smaller percentage of those with Lyme ever presented with a rash at all. You need to watch for the other symptoms as well that go along with lyme disease: fevers or flu symptoms within the first weeks after being bit, or low body temp and possible lymph node involvement (signs of it in the blood, early stage), and later stage: sensitivity to light, stomache aches, IBS, memory and concentrartion problems, arthritis, dizzyness, aggitation, chronic fatigue, eventually heart problems, fainting upon rising is a heart syymptom, cold hands and feet, headaches, (signs of it in the central nervous system). There are more symptoms you can look up online.

Truly, I'm not sure that the lump is related, unless it is a swollen lymph.
Has there been any elevation in her temperature or flu like symptoms since being bitten? This could be a sign the tic bite was infected with lyme bacteria.

I will tell you that family/ pediatric doctors and most other doctors have not studied Lyme and really have no idea about the illness.Most have no clue about the extensive symptoms. Since a few of the earliest cases in connecticut involved a rash, that is the " textbook standard" they learned in school by which to make a diagnosis- unfortunate as that is! Those first cases presented with the bullseye rash, but different strains of BB bacteria are showing up around the country and are not presenting with a rash. Since your daughter has been bitten by a tic, it will be up to you to know the symptoms so you can monitor her to watch for the illness. Lyme is one of those things that if it gets antibiotics early after the bite, the healing rate is high (or higher). For those that go years before they are diagnosed- many never get healed. It is very difficult to treat once the bacteria leave the bloodstream and embed themself deep the in tissue and central nervous system. Really, I think it should be standard for everyone who gets a known tic bite to get a low dose ABX imediately. Just as they give tetanus for dog bites and nail wounds.

Unless you go to a LYME literate doctor, your docotr will run THE standard western blot to test for lyme. The standard lyme tests have a high false negative rate.

Those docotrs who have studied Lyme and understand the difficulty of it are called LYME Literate or infectious disease doctors. They will usually use the most acclaimed Lyme lab in the country for proper testing: IGENEX in Palo Alto, CA. LYME has many different strains, which this lab tests for , so it is more sensitive and is more likely to pick up the disease. Also many tics carry coinfections that can be just as bad. Igenex can test for those also.You can go walk-in to Igenex to get blood pulled but you need a doctors order slip to do so.
I guess your first step, if you really think she has lyme, is to find a lyme literate doctor. If you go to Yahoogroups.com you can look on there for lyme doctors or do a gereal lyme search for 'lyme association.'

An herbal approach to lyme treatment is called Samento, an antibacterial found to be effective against lyme, which is found online. If you get nowhere with the doctors or the doctors dont think she has enough symptoms to treat, then you can get samento online and treat her for 2-3 months with that. That will help ensure that you treat the disease early. Type in "samento for lyme disease" to see if you get a protcol to come up. If you don't find anything online, get ahold of me because i have it in my medical notes here somewhere. ( I'm packing to move).

Gail

Hi L.-

I have to agree with Gail, she has given you some very good information on Lyme. I have chronic Lyme and don't know for sure how long I have had, at least 7 years possibly much longer, no rash! There is a a lot of information out there on testing, diagnosis' and treatments and it is NOT CLEAR CUT at all. You really have to do your research. I agree that everyone who is bitten should be on a 2-3 week run of Doxy immediately to prevent further infection. 6 weeks may already be too long ago to get the same benefits from the abx but it is still worthwhile. I did a 3 1/2 month treatment on abx and then switched to herbs which I feel has more answers. You can't afford to ignore the potential problems that Lyme can cause, and yes it does affect our Lymph system. It can really do a lot of damage, physically, cognitively, neurologically . I wish I had a Dr. to recommend but I have had to see many natural practitioners to make the progress I have made in the last 7 months when I realized that it was still affecting me. There are no LLD in Texas so it makes it difficult to get treated and there is so much controversy that surround the disease it again makes the whole process very frustrating. I want to encourage you though because there is hope out there. I can discuss further with you if you need some help, but I would look at the IGenX testing, let them know how long ago she may have been infected to determine if it is not too early to get accurate results.

Best of Luck!

It sounds like hernia. My daughter had one corrected when she was 6 weeks old. Took her to 2 different doctors when I first noticed the bump. Both misdiagnosed it. Decided to to straight to a pediatric surgeon. He scheduled a hernia repair few days later.
We went to Dr. Darrel Hermann ###-###-####
I would not wait because when it becomes serious, she might not be able to have children later on.
Good luck
T.

I agree, take her to the doctor and make sure it's not lyme associated or anything. It's better to be safe than sorry......get it looked at.......

Take care and hang in there......give her a big hug for me.

It sounds like a hernia to me. My daught had the same symptoms abd that is what it was. From my understanding the difference between a hernia and something else is that it will disappear when she lays down. While this is not a "emergency" she will require surgery if it is a hernia as that is the only way to correct it.

Sounds like a small hernia. They can appear and disappear, appearing after straining to lift something or have a BM. It won't go away on its own, and is not related to autism or any other mental challenges. You need to bring it to her Dr.'s attention.

It sounds like a hernia.

If a doctor were to associate Autism with this type of thing I would ask to see his/ her medical degree. It does sound like a hernia to me, but a doc would have to check it out.

I'm sure no one would associate this with Autism as they are totally unrelated systems (as much as anything in the body can be totally unrelated, lol).

Good luck.

i cannot imagine what this could have to do with autism. if your doc does that, i would be thankful that you are finding out now that you need to get a new doc. please get it looked at asap by a good doc. if its a hernia, you need to get it fixed. i had one fixed, so did my son at about the same age as your daughter. if its something else, you need to have it looked at. maybe swollen lymph nodes from the illness and will go away, but either way you need to get it looked at. a hernia can come and go like that, my sons did, his testicle got bigger and smaller a couple of times....not having testicles i guess i didnt take it seriously enough, then one day it was really big and i went right to the doc and he sent me to the er. its not something to be messed with.

Hi,
I'm not too sure about the exact location you are talking about but an inguinal hernia can do that. It will stick out sometimes, then reduce back into the pelvis and disappear. The bulge would be right above where her legs meet her body, but below her belly button. Hope this helps.