It seems that it wasn't enough to be fighting against the new coronavirus, but now a new disease has appeared, this one was at the beginning taken for the Kawasaki Disease and unlike the Covid-19, this one has been seen as only affecting kids younger than 5 years old.
Kawasaki disease is an illness that causes inflammation (swelling and redness) in blood vessels throughout the body. It happens in three phases, and a lasting fever usually is the first sign.
Kawasaki disease has telltale symptoms and signs that appear in phases. The first phase, which can last for up to 2 weeks, usually involves a fever that lasts for at least 5 days.
Other symptoms include: red ("bloodshot") eyes, a pink rash on the back, belly, arms, legs, and genital area, red, dry, cracked lips, a "strawberry" tongue (white coating with red bumps on the tongue), a sore throat, swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color andswollen lymph glands in the neck.
The second phase usually begins 2 weeks after the fever started. Symptoms can include: peeling skin on the hands and feet, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and belly pain.
Doctors don't know what causes Kawasaki disease. They believe it doesn't spread from person to person. It's most common among children of Japanese and Korean descent, but can affect any child. Around 8 in every 100,000 children develop Kawasaki disease in the UK each year.
Research carried out in England from 1998 to 2003 found 72% of children with Kawasaki disease were under the age of 5. The condition was also shown to be 1.5 times more common in boys than girls.
Most kids with Kawasaki disease recover completely, especially when they are diagnosed and treated early. Some, especially those who develop heart problems from Kawasaki disease, might need more testing and to see a cardiologist.
While everyone is being told to stay at home, it can be hard to know what to do if your child is unwell.
In later weeks, researchers found that this was not exactly the Kawasaki Disease, but a now so called Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome or Disease, in children
and adolescents temporally related to COVID-19.
There are reports from Europe and North America which have described clusters of children and adolescents requiring admission to intensive care units with a multi-system inflammatory condition with some features similar to those of Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome. Case reports and small series have described a presentation of acute illness accompanied by a hyperinflammatory syndrome, leading to multiorgan failure and shock. Initial hypotheses are that this syndrome may be related to COVID-19 based on initial laboratory testing showing positive serology in a majority of patients. Children have been treated with anti-inflammatory treatment, including parenteral immunoglobulin and steroids. (https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children-and-adolescents-with-covid-19)
Remember, stay home, stay safe and trust your instincts and get medical help if you need it.
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Andrés Argel & Susana Rengifo, Step 10
