(2)
It is a leading cause of acquiredheart diseasein the United States.
(1) But with early detection and treatment, long-term heart issues are unlikely to occur.
(2)
The most serious possible consequence is inflammation of the vessels that supply blood to the heart.
A red and swollen tongue with red spots, often referred to as strawberry tongue, is a common symptom in phase 1 of the disease.
Signs and Symptoms of Kawasaki Disease
Kawasaki disease has three distinct phases.
What Happens in Phase 1 of Kawasaki Disease?
Phase 1 symptoms include: (3)
What Happens in Phase 2 of Kawasaki Disease?
In the third phase, symptoms slowly begin to disappear if there are no complications.
The fever usually goes away, but children can take up to a month to totally feel normal again.
Genetics appear to play a role in Kawasaki disease, but scientists are still trying to understand these factors.
Moreover, certain gene variants are associated with an increased risk of developing Kawasaki disease.
That said, its still rare for more than one child in a family to have the disease.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for Kawasaki disease include:
Kawasaki disease is not contagious.
How Is Kawasaki Disease Diagnosed?
There is no specific test to diagnose Kawasaki disease.
Treatment lowers the risk of heart complications to about 1 in 20.
When the child has no fever for four to five days, the dose of aspirin is lowered.
If there are no coronary artery aneurysms and no further signs of inflammation, aspirin may be discontinued.
But children with coronary artery abnormalities need long-term treatment with aspirin.
Children with large coronary aneurysms may be given anticoagulants, which are drugs that prevent the blood from clotting.
Coronary artery aneurysms can rupture or cause a blood clot, leading to a heart attack and sudden death.
Portman adds that some children may have problems with their hearts for the rest of their lives.
Some may need special procedures or surgery to keep the coronary arteries open.
In these cases, they will be monitored by a pediatric cardiologist as they grow up.
Children older than 6 months of age should also get the inactivatedinfluenza (flu) vaccine.
Research and Statistics: Who Has Kawasaki Disease?
Kawasaki disease affects about 9 to 20 per 100,000 children younger than 5 in the United States.
(1)
More than half of children with MIS-C are Black, according to a small 2020 study.
She has spent much of the past two decades researching and reporting on health for various magazines.
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