One of the most distinguishing symptoms of Kawasaki disease is the redness and swelling of palms and soles within a few days of onset. After a couple of weeks, the skin of the hands and feet begins to peel. Diagnosis Critical Early and accurate diagnosis is critical to successful treatment, as the disease can start to damage the heart after just one week of illness. But diagnosis is difficult. One problem is that the symptoms don't always appear together.
Some patients experience all of the symptoms, and some have only a few.
Infants are less likely than toddlers to have all symptoms. The acute phase of Kawasaki syndrome is followed by a convalescent stage, which can be misleading. Often patients' families see improvement, even without treatment. Heart inflammation is a warning sign indicating the possibility of damage to the cardiovascular system. Although heart inflammation may subside over time, aneurysms, permanent and sometimes life-threatening dilations of blood vessels, may occur.