Danger level: High

What is it?

Kawasaki is a disease that causes inflammation of blood vessels.

Who gets it?

Kawasaki is mostly a children’s disease, and occurs mostly between the ages 1 and 8. 80% of cases occur before age 4.

Kawasaki is most common in children of Japanese descent, but can happen to others as well. It’s more common in boys than girls.

What causes it?

In Kawasaki there’s an inflammation of blood vessels. Since in medicine an inflammation’s name usually contains “is” in the end, inflammation of blood vessels is called a vasculitis.

Our arteries, much like shirts, come in 3 sizes: Large, medium and small. There are many types of vasculitis, with each affecting different artery sizes. Kawasaki is an inflammation of medium sized arteries. Our coronary arteries (the arteries that run on our heart and supply it with oxygen) are also involved here, putting the heart in danger.

Our heart and the coronary arteries that run on it. They’re in danger in Kawasaki disease.

No one knows why, but in Kawasaki the body attacks the blood vessels by the immune system, which is usually responsible for attacking infections (a process which is called auto-immune. We covered other auto-immune diseases here in the past, such as Hashimoto, Myasthenia Gravis, Vitiligo and Graves disease).

How does it feel?

There are a few things that happen in this disease:

1. Fever – This is the most characteristic sign. There’s a fever here that persists for 5 days or more.
2. Red eyes – This usually starts within 1-2 days after the fever begins.
3. A body rash
4. Swollen, red lips and tongue – The tongue here looks like a strawberry, and so is called a “strawberry tongue”.
5. Swollen, red feet and hands – Which later undergo desquamation (peeling of the skin, like in a snake).
6. Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Other things that might occur are joint pain, a rapid heart beat and other things.

Since the heart can be involved in the disease, about 1-4 weeks after it begins, symptoms related to the heart can occur. Examples of these include failure of the heart to function properly, heart rhythm problems, inflammation of the heart and more.

The most feared complication in the heart is an aneurysm in the coronary arteries, which means a widening of the artery. This can leas to serious complications.

Recently Kawasaki disease was brought to the headlines after the death of John Travolta’s son, Jett, but it was later claimed that his death did not have anything to do with the disease.

This video shows the story of Nicky O’Donnell, a kid who was diagnosed with Kawasaki, a diagnosis which saved his life:

How is it discovered?

There is no lab test that can confirm the presence of Kawasaki disease, and the diagnosis is made by recognizing the above symptoms.

Also, an EKG and a heart imaging (echocardiogram) will be done to see the state of the heart and rule out any complications as a result of the disease.

How is it treated?

The treatment of Kawasaki can includes two things:

1. IVIG – These are immunoglobulins, or molecules that are given through the veins, which help to reduce the inflammation of the blood vessels.
2. Aspirin – It lowers the risk of blood clots, which can form here. (Please note: Aspirin is usually not recommended for children since it can cause a condition called Reye’s Syndrome. Kawasaki is about the only disease when it is given to them).

Blood thinners may also be required.

What happens after treatment?

Most children get better and have no long-term effects. About 20% of people who are not treated will have problems with their coronary arteries, which in rare cases can even lead to a heart attack.

The bottom line – How do I avoid it?

There is no known way to prevent Kawasaki disease from occurring.

What next?

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