Have you heard about Kawasaki Disease?
Based in American Heart Association, Kawasaki disease (mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) is a children's illness characterized by fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips and throat.
Named after Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, a Japanese pediatrician, the disease has probably been in existence for a long time, but was not recognized as a separate entity until 1967. The incidence is higher in Japan than in any other country. In the United States it is more frequent among children of Asian-American background, but can occur in any racial or ethnic group.
The heart may be affected in as many as one of five children who develop Kawasaki disease. Damage sometimes occurs to the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle (the coronary arteries) and to the heart muscle itself. A weakening of a coronary artery can result in an enlargement or swelling of the blood vessel wall (an aneurysm). Infants less than 1 year old are usually the most seriously ill and are at greatest risk for heart involvement. The acute phase of Kawasaki disease commonly lasts 10 to 14 days or more. Most children recover fully. The likelihood of developing coronary artery disease later in life is not known, and remains the subject of medical investigation.
So here is my story.
A few weeks ago, my second child who will turn five this August 2016 suddenly wake up with a high fever where she was super fine and energetic last night. There was no trace of any sickness in her or whatsoever. I was really alarmed and worried because she couldn't get out of the bed. Therefore before I go to work (though its our daily morning routine to go out together, drop them to nursery then I go to work) I and my husband brought her to the pedia for a quick check up knowing that its just a minor flu.
When we were called, the doc asks few questions about her fever (the usual since when and some other flu symtopms). I told her that my daughter was ok yesterday and no colds and flu. She then was starting to check her eyes, ears, inside of the mouth. She then told me that her lymp nodes on both sides of her neck and the back of her right ear was swollen. She asks me if my daughter was acting weird last night and I answered NO. (Mommies we have to be super observant to our kids in times of fever or if our kid is telling us some body pains that they are having ). The doc lift my daughter's shirt and told me the red spots (it resembles the red spots of kid with measles- but my daughter's red spots is only from chest and stomach area- no other red spots in any part of her body) and swollen lymph nodes plus fever of un known reason is a BIG ALERT sign and symptoms of a heart problem or a kawasaki disease.
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| Taken from American Osteopathic College of Dermatology no copyright intended. |
She then advised me and right there and then gave me a recommendation to big hospital where children can be tested and cure for a heart problem, she hold my hands and told me that it can be or not a Kawasaki disease, but my daughter has to be tested for earlier detection is she is.
As a mother, having normal children is a treasure where we are calm and happy and contented that they are gonna be OK but hearing from someone, especially from a person who have handled probably many cases like this, that your child can have an abnormal life or that your child's life is threatening- well it shakes me to the bone, i never want to go to work that day and all i want is to find out what causing my daughters lymph nodes swell and what is the cause of her red spots.
Well, thanks for reading and finding out my daughter's Mr.Kawasaki is on the next blog post. Have a great day!π Please feel free to message me or comment.ππ
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