Kawasaki disease, diagnosed on Facebook, saves young boy's life

By wasif chudhary

Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and most often affects kids under age 5. The cause is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with Kawasaki disease can fully recover within a few days. Untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can affect the heart.
Kawasaki disease occurs in 19 out of every 100,000 kids in the United States. It is most common among children of Japanese and Korean descent, but can affect all ethnic groups.
Signs and Symptoms
Kawasaki disease can't be prevented, but usually has telltale symptoms and signs that appear in phases.
he first phase, which can last for up to 2 weeks, usually involves a persistent fever higher than 104° Fahrenheit (39° Celsius) and lasts for at least 5 days.
Other symptoms that typically develop include:

* severe redness in the eyes
* a rash on the stomach, chest, and genitals
* red, dry, cracked lips
* swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps
* sore, irritated throat
* swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color
* swollen lymph nodes

During the second phase, which usually begins within 2 weeks of when the fever started, the skin on the hands and feet may begin to peel in large pieces. The child also may experience joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain. If your child shows any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
Complications
Doctors can manage the symptoms of Kawasaki disease if they catch it early. Symptoms often disappear within just 2 days of the start of treatment
Social network saves a children life:"Nothing says Happy Mother's Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician's
social network saves a child life:
That's the caption Deborah Copaken Kogan included with a picture she posted on Facebook of her 4-year-old son Leo, who had woken up with a rash on Mother's Day. Little did she know at the time, the social networking service would save her son's life because he was suffering from a rare illness - Kawasaki disease.