Cystic Fibrosis is a disease inherited by a group of faulty genes.
In the UK and Ireland 1 in 25 people carry the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) gene
When both parents are carriers of the faulty gene, there is a 1 in 4 chance of having a baby affected with CF.
The faulty genes vary in every person with CF, so some treatments that work for one may not work at all for another. It alters the salt/water balance in the body, making all the mucus in the body extra sticky. This means it is really hard to get rid of colds/flus/chest infections. One common way to alleviate symptoms is to perform percussive physiotherapy on the chest area to encourage infected sputum to be coughed up.
CF also affects the pancreas so little or no enzymes reach the stomach to digest food. People with CF usually need to swallow a substitute enzyme (called CREON) in the form of capsules to help the food digest.
The lungs slowly get more and more infected and they start to scar. Gradually, the lung function is reduced and that's when people need to get on the lung transplant list.
To date there is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
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