Do you know any one who has had Kawasaki disease?

Our little boy had it when he was 16 months old, he is fine now but i am trying to do a bit of research on the subject.

What is it?
Kawasaki disease causes a prolonged fever that's associated with damage to the heart and blood vessels. The cause is unknown but it's thought that a virus or bacterial infection may be responsible.

What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of Kawasaki disease appear in phases. The first symptom is a fever that lasts at least five days. In the early stages it's difficult to distinguish the illness from a heavy cold.

Within a couple of days of the fever arising, conjunctivitis of both eyes and painful swollen neck glands appear.

After a few more days, a blotchy pink rash may appear on the trunk and genital area, the lips may become dry, red, cracked and swollen, the tongue becomes red and swollen like a strawberry, and the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet become swollen and purple-red in colour.

During the recovery period the skin of the fingers and toes peels. Some children experience abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. Complications of Kawasaki disease include:

Inflammation of the blood vessels (vasculitis)
Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
Aneurysms in arteries that increase the risk of blood clots and heart attacks
Arrhythmias or abnormal functioning of heart valves


Who's affected?
Kawasaki disease affects fewer than one in every 25,000 children in the UK. It's most common in children under five years old and it's rare for those over eight to be affected.

Asian and Afro-Caribbean people are more likely to develop Kawasaki disease, and boys are affected more often than girls. About one in five children affected will suffer heart damage as a result of the disease.

What treatment's available?
It's not currently possible to prevent Kawasaki disease, which is fatal for about one in 50 children affected.

Prompt treatment reduces the risk of potentially life-threatening heart-related complications. Treatment is usually with intravenous gammaglobulin (purified antibodies). High-dose aspirin is also given to reduce the risk of coronary artery aneurysms.

Advice and support
Kawasaki Support Group
Tel: 02476 612178

Wow... It's a disease... I thought it was just a motor sports company...

no sorry

No, but I know a bit about it. What do you want to know exactly?

You sure you spelt this right? Kawasaki is a make of motorbike..