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About the Disease:

The disease is an action which leads to inflammation in walls of medium-sized arteries within various parts of the body, counting the coronary arteries too, which transmit blood to heart muscle. The disease is also called as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome as, it also equally affects the lymph nodes, skin, and mucous membranes within the mouth, nose and throat.

Signs and symptom of this disease may include, a high fever and peeling skin, can be scary. The satisfactory news is that Kawasaki disease is generally curable with appropriate treatment, and many infants reclaim from this disease without severe issues.

Causes of Disease:

Peculiar causes of the disease are not specifically familiar. Microorganisms and toxins are seen, but none possess to be analyzed to term the disease as it may not felt to be a contagious or spreadable illness. Genetic factors and immune system seem to play a vital role in getting effected by the disease, which may be represented by immune activation in person.

Symptoms:

This disease’s symptoms appear in three phases as follows:

First phase:-

Signs and symptoms in first phase of the disease may include:

  • Fever that generally stays higher than 102.2° F (39° C) and is prolonged for more than five days
  • Acute red eyes which may refer so as to conjunctivitis without any thick or prolonged discharge material
  • A rash over the main part of one’s body which may be referred to as trunk and in genital area too.
  • Red, dry, cracked lips and an awfully red, swollen tongue which may be termed as strawberry tongue
  • Swollen, red skin on the upper side in palms of hands and soles of the feet
  • Swollen lymph nodes in neck and possibly in other places too.
  • Irritability throughout the body

Second phase:-

In second phase of this disease, your child may evolve:

  • Peeling (slight removal)of upper portion of the skin on particular parts of body such as  hands and feet, especially on tips of fingers and toes, generally it is in large sheets
  • Acute and prolonged joint pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting sensations
  • Abdominal ache

Third phase:-

In this last third phase of disease, signs and symptoms gradually vanish unless complications evolve. The period may be as long as eight weeks prior to energy levels seem to be normal again.

Who develops the disease?

The disease originally influences children, infants below 5 years of their age. And it rarely influences children more than 8 years of their age, in which case it is prescribed to as atypical disease.

Tests and diagnosis:

The disease is an uncommon or rarely found illness in children, infants which may be generalized due to signs and symptoms like, by greater and prolonged fever of at least five days' duration along with at least four of the following five symptoms:

  • Irritation or infection along with reddening of whites eyes which may refer to as conjunctivitis without pus.
  • Redness or swelling of hands or feet, or generalized skin peeling mainly in hands, tips of finger or toes.
  • Rashes throughout body
  • Lymph node swelling in neck
  • Cracking, inflamed lips or throat, or red "strawberry" like tongue

The above symptoms are taken help of to perform a diagnosis or testing of presence of Kawasaki's disease in children. The terminology "incomplete disease" is sometimes which may be utilized for patients with less features of classical disease. Most patients with this particular type of disease are found below 5 years of their age.

The doctor may perform a physical examination so as to take other tests to help in the diagnosis of disease present in your child. These particular tests may include:

  • Urine tests – which helps to rule out other diseases present in the body.
  • Blood tests – besides diagnosing to make out other diseases present, blood tests keenly observes and tests towards white blood cell count, which is commonly headed as to be exalted, and presence of anemia and inflammation, indications are judged for concluding the presence of disease in children.
  • Electrocardiogram – this particular test is used through electrodes attached in skin so as to calculate electrical impulses of child's heartbeat. The disease can result in heart rhythm to be further complicated.
  • Echocardiogram – this test utilizes ultrasound images to display how pleasantly heart is working and gives you indirect clue on how the coronary arteries work.

Expected Duration of the Disease:

Without treatment, the disease may last for an average of 12 days, with heart complications may be conspicuous after and be prolonged. Along with getting treated, your child may begin to enhance quickly post first gamma globulin treatment.

Treatments and drugs:

To decrease risk of complications, your child's doctor will suggest you to start treatment for the disease as soon as possible post getting positive outcomes out of signs and symptoms tested for the disease, preferably at time when your child still possess fever. The goals of introductory treatment are to lessen fever and inflammation to restrict heart bruise.

To achieve those goals, your child's doctor may suggest:

  • Gamma globulin – Immersion of an immune protein called gamma globulin through a vein by practicing intravenous method can lessen danger of coronary artery issues.
  • Aspirin – Greater doses of aspirin may treat inflammation positively. Aspirin can also help in reducing pain and joint inflammation, as well as decreases fever in children. The disease treatment is a very uncommonly omission to rule opposite to aspirin utilization children.

Once if the fever in children decreases, your child may have to possess lower-dosage of aspirin for at least six weeks and longer if he or she evolves a coronary artery aneurysm. Aspirin works flawlessly in preventing clotting.

Can the Disease be Prevented?

As the cause of disease has not been determined appropriately, there are no firm measures to known whether it could be prevented.

Prognosis:

  • The disease usually steadfastness automatically posts four to eight weeks and with treatment which may be held as soon as possible along with complete recovery is normal.
  • However, the result is not so approving in every case of the disease. Rarely, this disease can cause severe reactions like death due to blood clots assembling in abnormal areas of widening which may be also called as aneurysms of heart arteries or coronary arteries. Those children with larger aneurysms have a worse prognosis because of this risk.

Early diagnosis and sooner treatment of the disease may suspect beter and possiive outcome soon.