The following information was taken from a kids health website (kidshealth.org)
Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and most often affects kids under age 5. The cause is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with Kawasaki disease can fully recover within a few days. Untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can affect the heart
Kawasaki disease occurs in 19 out of every 100,000 kids in the United States. It is most common among children of Japanese and Korean descent, but can affect all ethnic groups.
Signs and Symptoms
Kawasaki disease can't be prevented, but usually has telltale symptoms and signs that appear in phases.
The first phase, which can last for up to 2 weeks, usually involves a persistent fever higher than 104°F (39°C) and lasts for at least 5 days.
Other symptoms that typically develop include:
- severe redness in the eyes
- a rash on the stomach, chest, and genitals
- red, dry, cracked lips
- swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps
- sore, irritated throat
- swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color
- swollen lymph nodes
During the second phase, which usually begins within 2 weeks of when the fever started, the skin on the hands and feet may begin to peel in large pieces. The child also may experience joint pain, diarrhea vomiting, or abdominal pain. If your child shows any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
Complications
Doctors can manage the symptoms of Kawasaki disease if they catch it early. Symptoms often disappear within just 2 days of the start of treatment. If Kawasaki disease is treated within 10 days of the onset of symptoms, heart problems usually do not develop.
Cases that go untreated can lead to more serious complications, such as
vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels. This can be particularly dangerous because it can affect the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.
In addition to the coronary arteries, the heart muscle, lining, valves, and the outer membrane that surrounds the heart can become inflamed.
Arrhythmias (changes in the normal pattern of the heartbeat) or abnormal functioning of some heart valves also can occur.
Diagnosis
No single test can detect Kawasaki disease, so doctors usually diagnose it by evaluating the symptoms and ruling out other conditions.
Most kids diagnosed with Kawasaki disease will have a fever lasting 5 or more days and at least four of these symptoms:
- redness in both eyes
- changes around the lips, tongue, or mouth
- changes in the fingers and toes, such as swelling, discoloration, or peeling
- a rash in the trunk or genital area
- a large swollen lymph node in the neck
- red, swollen palms of hands and soles of feet
If Kawasaki disease is suspected, the doctor may order tests to monitor heart function (such as an echocardiogram) and might take blood and urine samples to rule out other conditions, such as scarlet fever, measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or an allergic drug reaction.
Treatment
Treatment should begin as soon as possible, ideally within 10 days of when the fever begins. Usually, a child is treated with intravenous doses of gamma globulin (purified antibodies), an ingredient of blood that helps the body fight infection. The child also might be given a high dose of aspirin to reduce the risk of heart problems.
Beau had a fever starting on Thursday. By Friday night he seemed to be doing better. On Sunday the fever came back, with a vengeance. On Monday I noticed this crazy rash on his back. I took a picture to send to Nathan to see what he thought about it.
We both decided to "wait and see" and not go to the doc right away. By lunch time the rash had spread all over his body, fever was high, and his eyes had turned red. I decided that the time for "waiting and seeing" was past and got an appointment that afternoon.
The doc listened to the symptoms and said that it was probably a type of strep throat. She took a throat swab to confirm and it came back negative. She said that she was concerned that it was Kawasaki's Disease. There is no test to confirm Kawasaki's, they just rule out all other possibilities. She took a viral nasal swap and sent us on our way. She was going to call us in the morning with the results.
The morning came (now it's Tuesday) and the viral swab was negative. His fever, rash, and red eyes were still there, with no explanation. The doc was even more concerned about Kawasaki's and got us an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. On Wednesday, the cardiologist confirmed that there was no heart damage, at least not yet, but was recommending that we get admitted into the hospital to get the treatment for Kawasaki's Disease. The treatment is an IV treatment with a high dose of aspirin. We had about 4 hours from then before we were able to get admitted into the hospital. That time was spent with Beau sleeping and me arranging babysitters for my other two kids. By now more symptoms have appeared; dry, cracked lips and painful joints.
The IV treatment ran through the night. By morning (Thursday, a week after the initial fever) Beau was back to himself. His fever, rash and red eyes were mostly gone. He was playing and being silly again. It was amazing the difference the medicine made.
In the morning, they took out his IV and we were discharged that afternoon. He was on a high dose of aspirin for a week and now he is on a low does until mid August. We've been back to see the cardiologist and still no heart damage. We go back at 1 month, 6 months and 1 year. If there is no damage by then, then we are in the clear.
I'm so thankful for all of my friends here, who took care of us. Holly, Melanie, Amanda, Mary, Shalece, A'lynn and many more who were ready to help if we needed to stay longer in the hospital. It was just a matter of me making a few phone calls, and people were willing to do so much. I'm thankful to my Heavenly Father who watched over our little family. I truly feel that we were blessed and that the doctors were guided and prompted to look further into the symptoms.
