What is Cystic Fibrosis?
A. Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, mainly in the lungs and pancreas. When mucus clogs the lungs, it can make breathing difficult. The thick mucus can cause bacteria (or germs) to get stuck in the airways, which causes inflammation (or swelling) and infections that can leads to lung damage.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease that causes the glands that make mucous, saliva and sweat to not work properly. The mucous is sticky instead of thin and slippery and chokes the lungs and can block openings in other major organs, which makes it difficult to break down and absorb food. CF can cause permanent liver damage.
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that causes mucus to build up and clog some of the organs in the body, particularly the lungs and pancreas. When mucus clogs the lungs, it can make breathing very difficult. The thick mucus also causes bacteria (or germs) to get stuck in the airways, which causes inflammation (or swelling) and infections that lead to lung damage. Mucus also can block the digestive tract and pancreas. The mucus stops digestive enzymes from getting to the intestines. The body needs these enzymes to break down food, which provides important nutrients to help people grow and stay healthy. People with cystic fibrosis often need to replace these enzymes with medicine they take with their meals and snacks, which helps them digest food and get proper nutrition.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease in which excessive amounts of unusually thick mucus are produced throughout the body. Because this mucus production also occurs in the lungs, people with cystic fibrosis are extraordinarily prone to bacterial infections which result in progressive lung damage. Cystic fibrosis can be diagnosed by a “sweat test” as people with cystic fibrosis have elevated chloride levels in their perspiration. This condition often resembles asthma in children.
