Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 607 views
The following are the symptoms and causes of Kawasaki Disease or Kawasaki Syndrome.
Symptoms: First phase
The first phase begins with a fever, which often is higher than 104 F (40 C), spikes and remits, and lasts one to two weeks. Your doctor may suspect Kawasaki disease if the fever lasts for five or more days, and your child has developed four or more of these signs and symptoms:
* Extremely red eyes (conjunctivitis) without thick discharge
* A rash on the main part of the body (trunk) and in the genital area
* Red, dry, cracked lips and an extremely red, swollen tongue (”raspberry” tongue)
* Swollen, red skin on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet
* Sore throat
* Swollen lymph nodes in the neck and perhaps elsewhere
Second phase
In the second phase of the disease, your child may develop:
* Peeling of the skin on the hands and feet, especially the tips of the fingers and toes, often in large sheets
* Joint pain
* Diarrhea
* Vomiting
* Abdominal pain
Third phase
In the third phase of the disease, signs and symptoms slowly go away unless complications develop.
Causes: No one knows what causes Kawasaki disease. A number of theories link the disease to bacteria, viruses, or environmental chemicals or pollutants, but none has been proved. Kawasaki disease doesn’t appear to be hereditary.
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Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 561 views
Kawasaki disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of small- and medium-sized arteries throughout the body, including the coronary arteries. It mostly affects children from ages 2 to 5. Identified by a Japanese doctor, Tomisaku Kawasaki, in 1967, Kawasaki disease is also called mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome because it also affects lymph nodes, skin and the mucous membranes inside the mouth, nose and throat.
Kawasaki disease occurs more often in boys than girls, and most commonly in children of Japanese or Korean descent, although any child can get it. It can cause serious complications of the heart and the blood vessels that supply the heart. Some of the complications of Kawasaki disease may be life-threatening.
The condition is not preventable, but it’s treatable in most cases. Most children recover from Kawasaki disease without serious problems.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 4,000 cases of the disease are diagnosed annually in the United States. It occurs more often in boys of Japanese and Korean descent, but has been identified in children of all ethnicities and races, Alenick said.
While the condition is not preventable, it is treatable with most children recovering from the disease. In fact, less than 1 percent of Kawasaki cases are fatal.
The danger of Kawasaki syndrome is that it can cause large aneurysms in the blood vessels that feed blood to the heart, said Alenick.
“Kawasaki doesn’t come in degrees of severity, but it varies in that it may cause no aneurysms, small aneurysms, moderate aneurysms or giant aneurysms,” he said. “Giant aneurysms are more common in babies. But it’s the aneurysms that form in the vessels and the arteries that feed the heart that have the potential to cause a fatal heart attack.”
The disease was first identified in Japan in 1967 by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, and the cause of the illness is still unknown, Alenick said. There also is no blood test to identify the illness. Instead, patients are given a clinical diagnosis based on whether they display at least five of these six symptoms: a high fever that lasts for more than five days, red lips and tongue, swelling of the hands and feet, bloodshot eyes, rash and swollen glands.
Tags:
Kawasaki Disease,
Kawasaki Syndrome,
Rare Diseases
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