Complete Health Care Guide

Archive for the ‘Kawasaki Syndrome’ Category

Duration

Kawasaki syndrome lasts several weeks and progresses in three stages:

- Acute phase: this is the most intense part of the disease when symptoms are more severe. It usually lasts one to two weeks.

- Subacute stage: This stage begins when the fever, rash, and lymph nodes disappear. However, the child still feels irritable, have poor appetite and mild redness of the eyes, scaly skin and may develop in the fingers and the toes. This stage usually ends three to four weeks after the fever manifested. Read the rest of this entry »

Because Kawasaki syndrome is rare in the United States, doctors may want to monitor you for other common diseases that cause similar symptoms. If your doctor suspects that your child has Kawasaki syndrome, may start the review to find out:

- the medicines you take your child to rule out reaction to a medication
- any recent exposure to someone with strep throat to rule out scarlet fever, caused by a streptococcal infection
- any recent exposure to someone with measles to rule out measles if the child was not vaccinated against chickenpox
- any recent tick bite fever to rule out the Rockies Read the rest of this entry »

Since there is no test available to confirm that a person has Kawasaki syndrome, doctors define this condition as a combination of problems caused by this syndrome. The typical person with this disease have a high fever (usually 104 ° Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) or more) for at least 5 days. This fever is usually accompanied by at least four of the following additional symptoms:

- conjunctivitis in both eyes (bloodshot eyes)
- symptoms that affect the mouth or throat, including redness and swelling of the lips that take the color of the strawberry.
- symptoms affecting the hands or feet, and inflammation, redness of the palms and soles of the feet or scaly skin on the tips of the fingers, toes, palms of the hands or soles of the feet.
- rash, mainly on the torso
- lymph glands in the neck Read the rest of this entry »

Kawasaki syndrome is a rare disease that typically affects children under 5 years. It is also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome. Kawasaki syndrome is a mysterious disease of unknown cause, although some scientists suspect the cause might be a type of bacteria (like staphylococcus or streptococcus).

Kawasaki syndrome was first identified in 1967 in Japanese children, and in the course of nine years in America were reported cases of the disease in children living in Hawaii. Although researchers believe the Kawasaki syndrome could have been caused by an infection carried between Japan and Hawaii, there is no confirmation that Kawasaki syndrome is transmitted by contact between people. Recent evidence suggests that genetic factors may also be important, however, the cause of Kawasaki syndrome remains a mystery. Read the rest of this entry »

Treatment

Kawasaki syndrome is treated with a single dose of gamma globulin, which is injected directly into the vein, along with aspirin taken by mouth. Gamma globulin is a collection of proteins and antibodies purified from donated blood, however is not known why it is effective against the disease. Gamma globulin injections may be repeated for several days if the fever continues.

Generally, parents are cautioned to give aspirin to children because it can trigger Reye’s syndrome, a serious condition that can damage the brain and liver. However, aspirin is the best treatment for Kawasaki syndrome, so the benefits outweigh the risk of contracting Reye’s syndrome, which is rare. The child usually continues to take aspirin for six to eight weeks after the acute symptoms yield of Kawasaki syndrome. Read the rest of this entry »