Early Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms in Young Patients

Cystic fibrosis or CF is a serious genetic disorder that targets the mucus-secreting glands of the body, such as the lungs and digestive organs. Symptoms can be identified at the age of one or two. However, some symptoms may be delayed and do not appear until puberty or even adulthood. The severity of the disease varies for every person. Some people with CF may be sickly at a young age while others live for many years with manageable symptoms.

Being aware of common cystic fibrosis symptoms can enable parents to give proper management and care for their affected children. The following are early symptoms and the different body systems that are affected with the condition:

1. The Digestive Organs
Seen in infants, Meconium ileus or serious intestinal obstruction usually becomes the first symptom of the disease.
Poor weight gain and lack of energy are also common cystic fibrosis symptoms. This is due to pancreatic and intestinal blockages which eventually lead to chronic malabsorption. CF patients also experience persistent diarrhea, or bulky, foul-smelling and greasy stools. Since they have an inadequately functioning pancreas, fats and proteins are excreted in the bowels instead of being absorbed in the body. Stomach pains and intestinal discomfort caused by too much gas is also a common symptom.

2. The Lungs
Major cystic fibrosis symptoms include coughing, breathing difficulties and repeated pulmonary infections. This is due to the thick mucus build-up in the lung area which clogs the airways. The body tries to cough out the phlegm or mucus but to no avail. The consistency of the mucus is just too thick for the body to be able to expel all of it. After some time, it leads to respiratory irritations and narrowing of the air passages. Mucus is then trapped and becomes a favorable environment for bacteria to thrive. With this condition, pulmonary infections, like bronchitis and pneumonia, become frequent.

3. Salty-tasting skin
Salty-tasting skin is among the common symptoms present in early age. Because of a defective CFTR gene that hinders the movement of salt in and out of the body cells, salt is not absorbed but excreted through the sweat glands. There are even times when salt deposits become visible on the skin. That is why a common test that is used to help diagnose cystic fibrosis is the sweat test.

These are the cystic fibrosis symptoms mostly evident in young patients. Once a diagnosis has been made, appropriate medical treatment and management of these symptoms can be established.

By: Didier De Coster

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