Comment Reply

Thank you for letting us know; this is very helpful information. You are right--the sites do say that Kawasaki is rare, but if the ER technicians are seeing this disease, it does make you question how "rare" it truly is.

I did some research, and here is what I found to be the biggest differences between Kawasaki and Roseola (as both include a high fever lasting over a few days, and a rash):
Kawasaki Disease:
- peeling skin
- rash on mid-section
- redness on bottom of hands and feet (why the mis-diagnosis of HFM disease above)
- bloodshot, red eyes
- edema (swelling) of hands and feet
- hands and feet are tender-to-the-touch
- "inflammation of blood vessels, possibly including coronary artery"

Roseola:
- rash in mid-section of body
- rash quickly spreads to arms, legs, neck
- rash is not on hands or sole of feet (unlike Kawasaki disease)
- rash is not uncomfortable or itchy or tender-to-the-touch (unlike Kawasaki disease)

Kawasaki disease does sound like a mixture of many other possible condition, and is easy to see why it was misdiagnosed (red eyes=allergies; edema and rash on hands and feet=Hand, Foot, Mouth disease). I am so glad that you were able to see health care providers who could put all of these symptoms together and find out what was going on with your son. Plus, it sounds like the "red eyes" started out as looking like common eye irritation from allergens, but your description of "quickly looked worse and very scary" makes me realize that this was a big factor in diagnosing Kawasaki disease. I am so sorry you went through this with your son, but am very happy he is doing well!