1. Determine the Location of the Lump
Lumps in the throat that you can feel with your fingers from the outside of your neck can mean anything from a swollen lymph node to a thyroid cyst or a tumor. A lump on the inside of the throat that you cannot feel with you fingers could signify a pustule on the tonsils, a vocal cord polyp, or simply a lump-like sensation that has been caused by emotional turmoil. If the lump is well-defined, can be pushed back and forth on the side of the neck and is palpable just under the skin, it is most likely a lymph node and associated with an infectious problem. Viruses like herpes often cause lymph nodes in the neck to swell and become painful. If the cause of type of lump is not obvious, see a physician for evaluation.
2. Lumps in the Thyroid
Lumps or swellings in the center of the throat (on the front of the neck) may represent small cysts or nodules in the thyroid gland. Thyroid lumps are typically painless and are not symmetrical (i.e., not equal on both sides of the throat). All such lumps should be evaluated by a physician to rule out the possibility of hyper-functioning nodules, infectious cysts or thyroid tumors. Most likely, your physician will want to run blood tests to asses your thyroid function, and possibly to perform an ultrasound of the lump to diagnose it.
3. Lumps Inside the Throat
Any lump-like sensation originating from the inside of the throat requires evaluation by a physician. A simple look inside the throat can diagnose a pustule or abcess on the tonsils. In other cases, more invasive diagnostic measures may be necessary to diagnose a lump; an endoscopy, for one, can map out an area farther down the throat. In other cases, an x-ray, ultrasound or MRI is needed to diagnose lump-like sensations that can't be felt or easily observed by looking into the throat. Accompanying symptoms such as hoarseness, a change in the voice or difficulty swallowing or breathing -- or signs of infections such as fever, weight loss and malaise -- are all important clues that a physician will use to determine which tests are appropriate to diagnose a lump in the throat.
