How can you treat scratched gums and swollen lymph nodes?

Monitoring Centers: The lymphatic system absorbs/carries things too big to go into the arteries/veins like bacteria eaten by white cells and digested food. Lymph nodes "taste" the lymph to see if anything bad is there like bacteria/viruses/cancers, etc. When it detects a problem, it alerts the immune system and enlarges in response. They shrink when all is well.