A Closer Look at What Ailed Jett Travolta

[proud2BlibKansan]

Kelly Preston has said that she believes toxic cleaning products in her family's home caused her son's health problems early in life.

Jett, her 16-year-old son with husband John Travolta, died suddenly Friday morning after suffering a seizure while on vacation with his familiy in the Bahamas. He was hospitalized when he was 15 months old with Kawasaki disease, a rare illness that mainly affects young children. It's treatable but can have unforeseen complications, including lasting damage to the heart.

The boy's body will remain at Rand Memorial Hospital in the Bahamas pending an autopsy.

The direct cause of Kawasaki disease remains unknown, but some studies have shown a possible link between the disease and exposure to carpet-cleaning chemicals or living in an area close to a stagnant body of water, according to research gathered by Children's Hospital Boston's Kawasaki Disease Program.

more . . . http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b77270_closer_look_what_ailed_jett_travolta.html

Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and most often affects kids under age 5. The cause is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with Kawasaki disease can fully recover within a few days. Untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can affect the heart.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/kawasaki.html

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. But didn't he hit his head on the bathtub?

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I read that too

But I wonder if he hit his head during his seizure?

[mzmolly]

4. Yes, as a result of a seizure.

:( Apparently he had seizures on a fairly regular basis?

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. I see. so the K. disease could have caused the seizure which led to him falling and hitting head.

He wasn't found to the next morning. Possibly needed more supervision.

[mzmolly]

8. It seems that way?

Perhaps he got up in the evening because he wasn't feeling well or?

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/23825.html

He was also 16, so I imagine he wasn't supervised as much as a younger child would be. :(

[Pastiche423]

34. If you meant to supervise in case of a seizure

then he would have had to been watched every second of every day. Seizures do not announce themselves. Not even auras give anyone time to do jack.

[mzmolly]

7. Incredibly sad.

This is interesting ~ "And lo and behold, they don't know how you acquire it, and lo and behold, there were tons of kids in the ICU with Kawasaki's," Preston said. "I'd never even heard of it. And they give you a questionnaire with about 50 questions on it. I went and talked to everybody— every single parent—and everyone had cleaned their carpets in the last couple of weeks. That was one of the questions. So I don't know what the correlation is...I'm just saying we need to know more."

My goodness.

And get this ~

"There is something about the act of shampooing that indirectly caused the outbreak," Dr. David Morens, an epidemiologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., told the Austin American-Statesman in 2006.

"It had nothing to do with the chemicals in the shampoo or rug fibers, but more likely with bacteria released into the air. There are whole ecosystems in a carpet...bacteria, spores and fungi that live and grow there."

Who would think that something as simple as cleaning carpets may be responsible for such serious health issues?

[stillcool]

12. I remember that...

they were all over the tv at the time, trying to bring the issue about rug cleaners, and the danger to children to the attention of others.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. 5 votes but no kicks

LOL

[Fleshdancer]

6. I remember her talking about this on Oprah years ago

My daughter was brand spankin' new when I saw the episode. Needless to say, I'm still very careful about what cleaning products I use. I have no idea if the chemicals are linked to Kawasaki disease or other health problems, but I do think our society goes way overboard on all the germ killing products.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. I love a freshly shampooed carpet. I mean, what are we supposed to do, they get so dirty.

:shrug:

[Fleshdancer]

10. just put water in the carpet cleaner

no need for the chemicals.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Rip out that carpet

I love having wood floors. I will never have carpet again.

For Christmas, my husband put a wood floor in the kitchen. It is gorgeous.

[Jane Austin]

13. "For Christmas, my husband put a wood floor in the kitchen. It is gorgeous."

We have that. Hope your dishwasher doesn't leak like ours did. :(

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Ours had a melt down once

That was pretty scary. Since then, I don't use it. I wash dishes in the sink.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. My floor:

[Jane Austin]

24. That's beautiful. . . . . . . . . . n/t

[mzmolly]

14. I agree. We finished a wood floor

at the same time we carpeted and the floor still looks great, while the carpet is in need of being replaced again.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. My mom had the linoleum pulled out of her kitchen and the wood under it restored

That was back in the 70s and many people thought she was nuts. But she said it was the best kitchen floor she had ever had. And it was so easy to take care of.

[mzmolly]

27. Smart move.

:hi:

[OhioChick]

17. My condolences go out to the Travolta family.

It sounds like the poor child had a seizure which caused his fall in the bathroom.

I've noticed over the years companies are going overboard with these "germ-killing" products and have always wondered what long-term effects they'd have on children.

16 years old....too sad. :(

[CoffeeCat]

19. I love Febreeze...

...and it is one of P&G's best-selling products.

I'm wondering if this is the substance that will do us all in!

[OhioChick]

20. I used that on my furniture for a short time....

Shortly thereafter, my Siberian Husky (who lounges on the love seat) came down with these awful allergies, discharge from eyes, etc. Ran all sorts of tests and couldn't find out what was causing it. I came across an article regarding Febreeze/pets and discontinued spraying the couch and voila.....her allergy problems all disappeared.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. My friend's dog had the same reaction when she used a Swiffer to clean her floors

[OhioChick]

28. Wow....

The odd thing is, I read so many sites that stated that Febreeze/ailments affecting pets was a "myth." :shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Maybe it's only certain breeds?

:shrug:

[deaniac21]

21. Maybe it had something to do with his father's carbon footprint.

[OneBlueSky]

22. I've read elsewhere that some doctors think the diagnosis was incorrect . . .

and that what Jett suffered from was actually autism . . . I don't have an opinion one way or the other, but there are some who seem pretty adamant about it . . .

[LostinVA]

23. I grew up with people who had family members with KD

I don't think it was KD.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. That's pretty far fetched

Does autism cause seizures?

[WolverineDG]

31. My cousin's daughter has Aspergers

She didn't have seizures, nor have any other autistic children of my friends...not exactly proof, but if autism caused seizures, then someone would have heard about it by now.

Nice floor, btw! :hi:

dg

[LisaL]

32. Seizures are more common in those with autism.

"Seizures are more common in people with autism and mental retardation, perhaps because all three conditions stem from the same underlying problem, she says."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-04-seizures-qna_N.htm

[katray]

30. cause

The autopsy was today, correct? Have they announced a cause of death?

[LisaL]

33. The expert in this article says

Q. Jett Travolta apparently had Kawasaki disease. Could this have caused the seizure?

A. Probably not, Wright says. Kawasaki disease is an inflammation of the blood vessels that can damage the heart but doesn't affect the brain.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-04-seizures-qna_N.htm