COVID-19 complications in children: Mother tells story of 5-year-old's severe inflammation

A severe multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare condition mostly seen in kids after battling with the novel coronavirus, and a mother just had a heartbreaking experience seeing her 5-year-old son suffer from it.

Amber Allen, whose five-year-old son Matthew was diagnosed with MIS-C, was torn to pieces when her little one was treated for it. Matthew was hospitalised at the Monroe Carrel Junior Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennesse.

The mom narrated to WKRN that Matthew's fever was spiking every four hours. They gave him medicine and then he started developing a rash on his arm. She also described how the feet, knees, and hands, of her child were all swollen.

According to Allen, Matthew spent six days and five nights at the Monroe Carrel Junior Children's Hospital. At the time, she felt so scared, not knowing what to do. "I felt helpless, I couldn't do anything to help him," recounted the mother.

The doctors in Middle Tennessee are starting to see an increase in the number of children diagnosed with MIS-C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described the disease as a condition where various body parts become inflamed. Some of the parts include internal organs like the lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, and gastrointestinal organs. The skin and the eyes can also get inflamed due to MIS-C.

The severe inflammatory condition is still considered by doctors as rare, but cases are on the rise. Usually, children exhibit the condition after dealing with COVID-19. For doctors, the alarming aspect is that the symptoms of MIS-C may already be there, but parents will not be on the lookout for them.

Dr. Sophie Katz, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, said that doctors are already investigating 18 MIS-C cases and that eight of these cases occurred within the last month. Katz noted that earlier in the pandemic most MIS-C cases were seen in New Jersey or New York, two of the most hard-hit locations at the pandemic's outset. At present, however, it seems that the cases are spreading throughout the country as cases are increasing in different areas.

The CDC also previously reported that the condition also occurred in adults, which was called a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A). It cited that around 27 adults had the inflammation post-COVID.

MIS-C