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Kawasaki Disease Symptoms Causes Precaution

Kawasaki's disease is an uncommon illness in children that is characterized by high fever of at least five days' duration together with at least four of the following five findings:Inflammation with reddening of the whites of the eyes (conjunctivitis) without pusRedness or swelling of the hands or feet, or generalized skin peeling, Rash, Lymph node swelling in the neck.Cracking inflamed lips or throat, or red "strawberry" tongue.

The above criteria are used to make a diagnosis of Kawasaki's disease. The terminology "incomplete Kawasaki's disease" is sometimes used for patients with only some features of classical Kawasaki's disease.

Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome is the original name for Kawasaki's disease. The original name was quite descriptive because the disease is characterized by the typical changes in the mucous membranes that line the lips and mouth and by the enlarged and tender lymph nodes.

The usual symptoms and signs of Kawasaki's disease include

fever,

reddening of the eyes,

cracked and inflamed lips and mucous membranes of the mouth with an inflamed "strawberry" tongue,

ulcerative gum disease (gingivitis),

swollen lymph nodes in the neck (cervical lymphadenopathy),

and a rash that is raised and bright red.

The rash appears in a glove-and-sock fashion over the skin of the hands and feet. The rash becomes hard, swollen (edematous), and then peels off.

Most of the common symptoms described above will resolve without complications, even if untreated. Less common findings include inflammation of the lining of the heart (pericarditis), joints (arthritis), or covering of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), and the other heart complications listed below in the section on serious complications. The outlook (prognosis) for an individual affected is primarily determined by the seriousness of any heart complications.