Patient's question:
A friend's young daughter suffers from rheumatic fever, a disease she contracted at a very young age. She has been diagnosed with it for two years now, and her condition has been unstable throughout. She frequently experiences various symptoms again and again, making it unclear whether these are symptoms of the disease itself or symptoms of other subsequent relapses. What are the symptoms of rheumatic fever in children?Doctor's answer:
Rheumatic fever is an autoimmune disease caused by an infection with a certain bacterium, leading to dysfunction of the autoimmune mechanism. It primarily affects the heart, joints, and central nervous system, resulting in conditions such as heart disease, recurrent inflammatory lesions in bones and joints, and the appearance of erythema migrans on the skin. Children and young adults over the age of 5 are more susceptible. However, there is a certain familial reverse hereditary tendency, and one can further confirm the cause by integrating their family history.