6 days of symptoms, living in a 3rd world country

[lynn]

My 18 month old, Jake, has been sick for 6/7 days, Sunday, he had a fever, irritable, runny nose, vomiting, what I thought were flu/cold symptoms, he is also teething, so The next day, Monday, 4 or 5 red blotches on his back the size of dime or a quarter appeared, his nose was very congested, but the fluid was clear.He vomited during the night. His genitalia were red and tender so I applied a diaper rash cream that I have used in the past and it works well. I noticed upon subsequent diaper changes what I thought was the residue diaper cream I now realize was peeling skin. He was lethargic, crying, not eating, he is bottle fed and only drank a couple of bottles.
Tuesday he had a rash on his back that progressed to his front, it appeared redder under his arms,and lightly on his legs. His hands and feet were red and hot to touch with slight swelling. We took him to the doctor, in the small village that we live in in Guatemala. The doctor thought he had a viral infection, took his temp, 101.4, did an oral exam and said his throat was red. He prescribed ibuprofen and an expectorant. We started him the meds, sometimes the fever decreased slightly, but he would spike temp he was feverish off and on. His nose was really congested, and he was producing LARGE amounts of mucus that was changing to a green in color, around his eyes mostly on the lids became a reddish purple color.
Wednesday he just looked awful, his feet were very red to the ankles, is hands red and swollen, he kept touching his wrists, rash still present, he appeared to have a headache and was hitting the sides of his head with his hands, his lips were very red, his tongue was red with white. The eyelids and skin around the eyes looking worse than the day before. No change Thursday, not eating, not much urine output, decrease in bowel movement, but he wasn't eating anything. I also noticed that he didn't want to stand, always reaching to be picked up.
Friday his fever seemed to be almost gone and his feet, hands, lips, eyelids, genitalia less red, but still crying, listless, irritable. He would try to eat a little but spit most of it out, and still copious amounts of nasal discharge. His rash had faded and was barely visible.
I had been searching as much of the sites as i could and passed over looking at KD because it was rare, it was not until last night that i started reading about KD.
We returned to the doctor this morning Sunday and I shared my concerns about KD, and gave him the updated symptoms that he had not seen on our first visit, he listened and is keeping an open mind, but wanted to try and antibiotic because of the nasal discharge. Jake started amoxicillin this morning and within a couple of hours he was playing, drinking, eating, energetic, vastly improved.
I really dont know what to think now. I read that of the many things that may trigger KD, a bacterial infection could be one, I am scared to dismiss the other symptoms, they seems so unusual.
Living in Guatemala I do not have access to much in the way of medical facilities, and would have to fly back to the US for treatment and I would have to do it within the next couple of days. I any help would be appreciated.

[IsaiahsMom]

Hi Lynn,

I am so sorry you and your son are going through this.

Many of the symptoms you described are those of children with Kawasaki disease, but are also similar to some other childhood illnesses. Is there any way you can get your son to a medical facility that will be able to run some blood tests and/or do an echocardiogram? These would certainly be helpful in making a diagnosis with regards to Kawasaki disease.

Carin

[lynn]

thanks for the response, I want to continue with my sons progress, as it may help others, Jake is much better today, playing like a he did before he got sick, eating, hydrating, and seems to be on the mend, of course I will be watching him closely, lynn

[lynn]

I never thought I would be back posting on this site again, but my son is now 6 and has had an other bout with still undiagnosed KD.

5 weeks ago he had a fever that would not respond to tylenol, a couple of days later a rash appeared, red glassy looking eyes, red tongue, huge amounts of green nasal discharge, what looked like a diaper rash on his genitalia that was causing him pain, and he had skin peeling in that area within a few days. He had all the usual sick kid symptoms, irritable, no appetite, lethargic.

It took me a few of days before I realized he was exhibiting the same signs and symptoms of the first episode 4 and a half years ago. The fever only lasted 3 days, the rash 2, and he improved rapidly except for the large amounts of mucus. The palm of his hands and the soles of his feet got slightly red and swollen, he was sick but not nearly as sick as the first episode Then within the week he developed a red swollen finger with crusty yellow discharge around the nail bed, painful to touch. I applied a triple antibiotic cream for a few days with no improvement.

Last week I decided to return to the doctor we went to with the first episode because the finger and nasal discharge were not improving and I believed that the ongoing problems were associated with his being ill. I also know that the doctor I see here in the small Mayan village we live in will have to treat him for as we live in Guatemala. Before I went to see the doc, I sent him an outline of what had occurred the first time he treated my son, and described the latest episode, but I think when we went to see him he was still looking for something less exotic/rare than KD. He suspected a staph or strep infection, he prescribed a week of amoxicilin and some stronger antibiotic cream for the finger. We started the oral meds and my son nasal discharge improved, 10 days of using the topical cream has improved his finger but it is still not healed, still red and slightly swollen, no crusty yellow discharge around the nail bed, but better that it was. He also did a blood test.

Last night at bed time my son said his big toe hurt, when I looked I could see that his toe nail was slightly discolored, grayish and the pad of the two was red and inflamed. I was able to get into the doctor this morning and he does not believe it is an infection having just completed a week of antibiotics. Today for the first time the doctor used the word vasculitis without defining further and is referring us to a pediatrician in the capital city. He also said there was possible strep in the results of the test.

Has anyone else had complications after the initial signs and symptoms have disappeared, such as I have described involving fingers or toes?

I am returning to the US in a couple of weeks and would like to know if there is any health care providers that I should contact that are specialists regarding KD in the Seattle area. I want to write to them in advance to see if they can see my son.
Thanks.