Cystic fibrosis, or CF is a congenital disease that affects the secretions produced by the body’s epithelial cells. They include sweat, saliva, digestive juices and tears. The disease makes these secretions viscous when they should be thin. Instead of lubricating the organs of the body, the secretions now clog them. The disease is caused by a defective gene. A person can be a carrier of the gene but not have the disease. However, if they have a child with another carrier, the child has a 25 percent chance of contracting CF. The following are symptoms of cystic fibrosis:
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1. Chronic cough
This is a cough that does not go away or lasts for at least eight weeks in an adult and at least a month in children. With cystic fibrosis, the cough is the result of the secretions clogging the lungs. This type of cough can be so persistent that it can rob the patient of sleep. The exhaustion caused by this makes the cough even more painful. Sometimes the cough is violent enough to lead to vomiting, headache, urinary incontinence or faintness. Some children have even cracked ribs from the force of their chronic cough or suffered rectal prolapse. This happens when part of the rectum, the lower part of the large intestine, is forced out of the anus.Next