I'll try to make this short for everyone.
Several weeks ago, I started getting a sore throat. It came after a long night of fishing with a friend of mine. I think it may have been caused from the exposure to wind for so long. Not to mention that I tend to smoke more when I fish, as a pass-time I guess..
The soreness was mild, and remained that way for about 10 days,then I began having cold symptoms.. Runny nose, conjestion, some coughing. The following day the symptoms got a little worse, and I was feeling "yucky". The cold symptoms lasted for about 2 days. I don't think there was any fever, and if there was, it was mild.
The sore throat stayed for another week after the other symptoms were gone, and then it too faded away.
Approximately a week later, the sore throat seemed to return, although not as noticiable as the first time. Since then, it seems to come and go from day to day. My throat is a little bit red, and feels dry, but there is almost no pain. I also noticed that on one side of my tonsils I have a hole, which i've had as far back as I can remember. It seems there used to be a hole on both sides, but now the other side seems to be closed up. Also, about 2 weeks ago, I noticed a lymph node on the left side of my neck, under the back side of my jaw bone, that seems a little swollen compared to the opposite side. There is no pain or tenderness at all. It seemed to appear over night. It's a little larger than a red bean, and hasn't changed in size. Other than the very mild sore throat, which as I said, comes and goes from one day to the next, there are no other symptoms. The node feels firm, and moves around when I push on it with my fingers. I've searched and searched for an answer for what may be the cause of this, but everything I find has other symptoms which I do not have.
I had problems with swollen lymph nodes several years ago in my early teens. After many examinations from different doctors, I don't think I ever really got an answer as to "why" they would swell. I should mention that I have a slim neck, so the enlarged node would probably go un-noticed by most people.
Can anyone make any sense of this for me? I'd appreciate any input! Thanks for taking the time to read this.