Cystic Fibrosis - Cystic Fibrosis Symptom, picture, Causes, Treatment

Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disorder that affects the secretion of certain glands with varying degrees of severity. The most common effects of cystic fibrosis (CF) result from excessive production of thick. sticky mucus in the lungs and pancreas, and excessive secretion of salt by the sweat and salivary glands.

Cystic fibrosis affects about 1 in 2500 children. It occurs when a child inherits a recessive gene for . CF from each parent. The parents are not affected, but have a 1 in 4 chance of having an affected child. In Australia the blood of most new-born babies is screened to see whether they are affected. Otherwise CF is usually detected soon : after birth because of signs of steatorrhoea or of bowel obstruction by thick, sticky meconium (the contentsof the baby's intestine) such as vomiting, and a lack of faeces.

Symptom of Cystic Fibrosis

The symptoms and severity of CF vary from person to person. Some people with CF have serious lung and digestive problems. Other people have more mild disease that doesn't show up until they are adolescents or young adults.

Signs and symptoms in children and young adults

The signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis in children and young adults may include:

• Salty taste to the skin. People with cystic fibrosis tend to have higher than normal amounts of salt (sodium chloride) in their sweat. This may be one of the first signs parents notice because they taste the salt when they kiss their child.
• Blockage in the bowels.
• Foul-smelling, greasy stools.
• Delayed growth.
• Thick sputum. It's easy for parents to overlook this sign because young children tend to swallow their sputum rather than cough it up.
• Coughing or wheezing.
• Frequent chest and sinus infections with recurring pneumonia or bronchitis.
• Protrusion of part of the rectum through the anus (rectal prolapse). This is often caused by stools that are difficult to pass or by frequent coughing.
• Enlargement or rounding (clubbing) of the fingertips and toes. Although clubbing eventually occurs in most people with cystic fibrosis, it also occurs in some people born with heart disease and other types of lung problems.

Cystic fibrosis also may be accompanied by:

• Growths (polyps) in the nasal passages
• Cirrhosis of the liver due to inflammation or obstruction of the bile ducts
• Displacement of one part of the intestine into another part of the intestine (intussusception) in children older than age 4

Treatment of Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease of your mucus and sweat glands. It affects mostly your lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and sex organs. Teatment includes digestive enzymes taken as tablets or powder, antibiotics for chest infections, regular physiotherapy, and the use of a mist tent to loosen mucus in the air passages. Also important for most patients is performing daily chest percussion to drain mucus from your child's lungs. Your doctor or respiratory therapist can show you the best way to perform this lifesaving procedure.

Most CF sufferers used to die in childhood, but with improvements in treatment over the last 40 years. many now survive to adulthood. Treatments for cystic fibrosis are aimed at relieving symptoms and complications.

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