Symptoms
In this section
Recognizing the symptoms of cystic fibrosis
Recognizing the symptoms of cystic fibrosis is important because this life threatening disease must (and can!) be controlled and treated from an early age to ensure better health outcomes and a higher life expectancy.
Underneath you find a list of typical symptoms of CF.
Some children with CF have all of these symptoms, others may show only one or a couple of those problems.
CF can be detected in adults as well, if you have a milder form it is possible that the symptoms are only diagnosed at a later age. You may have long term airway problems (in the lungs and or sinuses) and/or digestive problems and may have been diagnosed with a number of diffrent diseases (such as asthma or crohn disease) before anyone thought of CF.
Talk to your doctor and ask for a sweat test if you notice one or more of the following symptoms:
- Salty sweat: people with Cystic fibrosis have high salt content in their sweat. You may notice that your child's sweat is very salty, e.g. when you kiss or hug your baby.
- Chronic airway problems: frequent coughing, excessive or thick mucus, frequent or long term infections, blocked nose or nasal polyps...
- Chronic digestive problems: any of the following problems may be an indication of CF.
- Failure to thrive
- Poor weight gain and/or growth (even if the appetite is good or very good)
- Foul-smelling greasy stool and/or frequent, loose and/or large bowel movements;
- Stomach pain; excessive gas; distention or bloating
Although any of these problems may be caused by a number of reasons, they may be an indication of CF and may require further investigation. If you see airway problems combined with poor weight gain and other digestive problems, you should certainly think of the possibility of CF.
