In a month, a hospital in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province admitted 6 children with Kawasaki disease.
But for many parents, Kawasaki disease may be unheard of.
About Kawasaki disease, but also from the beginning of 1961.
Mr. Tomisaku Kawasaki at the time was an attending pediatrician.
He treated a 4-year-old boy with a fever for 2 weeks, but the treatment was not satisfactory. Moreover, in addition to fever, this child has some special symptoms:
The child has red eyes, chapped lips, a blood-filled rash in the mouth, a tongue that looks like a strawberry, and swollen lymph nodes.
There are rashes of various shapes on the body, from redness and swelling on the palms and soles to peeling of the fingertips.
The child’s symptoms caught the attention of doctors, who thought it might be an atypical case of scarlet fever.
But Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki believes that the boy’s diagnosis should not be scarlet fever because all treatments have failed.
In the end, the little boy’s condition gradually improved, but Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki could not tell the parents what the disease was.
Since then, Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki has successively treated some children with similar symptoms and began to accumulate cases.
Until 1967, he accumulated 50 cases and published a paper, calling it “acute mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome in children”, which was a milestone in the research on Kawasaki disease.
Due to Mr. Kawasaki’s great contribution to the research of this disease, the disease was named “Kawasaki disease” after him.
Many parents have some fears when they mention Kawasaki disease. Today, we will unveil the mystery of Kawasaki disease.
What exactly is Kawasaki disease?
Kawasaki disease, also known as mucocutaneous lymphatic syndrome, is a pediatric disease characterized by acute fever and rash.
Specific symptoms may include:
Fever for more than 5 days and the cause is unknown;
Bilateral conjunctival hyperemia, which is redness in both eyes;
Intraoral and pharyngeal mucosa, diffuse congestion, red, chapped lips;
The tongue is red and swollen, like bayberry;
Irregular erythema on the chest and back;
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
There are blood vessels scattered throughout our body, so Kawasaki disease generally can see symptoms of multiple organs, from the head and face to the toes, there are some changes in congestion or macules. In fact, it is an inflammatory disease of the blood vessels.
If you have any of the above symptoms, parents need to take their child to the hospital.
What are the complications of Kawasaki disease?
When it comes to Kawasaki disease, parents are both fearful and bewildered.
On the one hand, parents are really worried when they look at their sick children with fever and rashes all over the body.
On the other hand, it is also because Kawasaki disease may have some complications, and these complications occur in various systems:
Nervous system, may be accompanied by restlessness and irritability in children, and a small number of children may develop convulsions, coma and other symptoms of meningitis.
Digestive system, children may have symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, or decreased stools, enlarged liver, and jaundice.
Cardiovascular system, heart diseases such as pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis, arrhythmia, coronary dilatation, coronary aneurysm, coronary thrombosis, and even myocardial infarction may occur.
Others may include cough, joint pain, arthritis, etc.
These diseases may appear within 1 to 6 weeks of the onset of Kawasaki disease, and echocardiography is one of the routine tests for diagnosing Kawasaki disease.
Because the clinical manifestations of many children with Kawasaki disease may not be as typical as mentioned above, but there may be typical lesions on cardiac ultrasound.
Therefore, echocardiography is helpful for the timely detection of heart disease, which is meaningful for the diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki disease.
Frequently asked questions about Kawasaki disease
My child has Kawasaki disease, can it be cured?
Most Kawasaki disease is curable.
After a child is diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, he needs to be hospitalized for about 5 to 7 days. When the body temperature returns to normal and the test results improve, the general doctor will recommend the child to be discharged from the hospital.
Continue oral medication after discharge and require regular review as directed by your doctor.
Can Kawasaki disease recur?
It is possible that 1% to 2% of children with Kawasaki disease will relapse.
What should I pay attention to after discharge from Kawasaki disease treatment?
After Kawasaki disease treatment and discharge, parents need to pay attention to regular review.
If the child does not have coronary artery disease, a comprehensive examination is performed 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after discharge.
If the child has coronary artery disease, it may take longer to review until the coronary artery disease disappears.
What are the dietary considerations for children with Kawasaki disease?
Kawasaki disease treatment requires the use of gamma globulin, which may cause allergic reactions. Therefore, the child’s diet is mainly light, and attention should be paid to avoiding high-protein diets to prevent food allergies from masking drug allergies.
Do not eat greasy food to prevent hyperlipidemia and aggravate blood vessel damage.
Since your child needs aspirin during treatment, it is best to eat soft foods to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding.
When does my child need to go to the hospital while taking oral medication at home?
Parents should pay attention to the child’s oral medication at home, such as nosebleeds, blood in the stool, bleeding spots on the skin, etc.
If your child has bleeding or fever, you need to go to the hospital in time to check your child.
There is no definitive way to prevent Kawasaki disease. But we can enhance the child’s own immune function in our daily life. Good physical fitness and immune function are the “magic weapons” for our children to prevent all diseases.