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What is Cystic Fibrosis?


Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited genetic disorder characterised by the accumulation of thick and sticky mucus in various organs, notably the lungs and pancreas. In individuals without CF, the mucus in organs like the lungs and nose is slippery and thin. However, those with CF experience difficulty breathing due to the obstruction of airways by the thick mucus.


Moreover, the pancreas' ducts are also affected by the mucus, leading to challenges in digesting food. Infants and children with CF may struggle to absorb sufficient nutrients from their diet. CF, being a chronic and progressive condition, impacts not only the lungs but also the liver, sinuses, intestines, and reproductive organs.

There is a variant of the disease known as "atypical cystic fibrosis," which differs from classic CF as it presents as a milder form affecting potentially only one organ. Additionally, atypical CF tends to manifest later in life, in contrast to classic CF, which typically appears in the first few years of a child's life.


symptoms
  • Persistent cough with phlegm

  • Postnasal drip

  • Salty tasting skin

  • Wheezing

  • Shortness of breath

  • Sinusitis

  • Inability to exercise

  • Male infertility

  • Repeated lung infections

  • Foul-smelling, bulky greasy stools

  • Poor growth and low body weight despite a good appetite

  • Blockage in the intestinal especially in new-borns

  • Diarrhoea/constipation


treatment

There’s currently no cure for cystic fibrosis, but a number of treatments are available to help control the symptoms. Antibiotics to prevent and treat chest infections medicines to make the mucus in the lungs thinner and easier to cough up medicines to widen the airways and reduce inflammation special techniques and devices to help clear mucus from the lungs medicines that help the person absorb food better following a special diet and taking supplements to prevent malnutrition a lung transplant may eventually be needed if the lungs become greatly damaged.



sources

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