cystic fibrosis

This is Cystic fibrosis symptoms Cystic fibrosis is a "multi-system" disease, meaning that it affects many body organs. However, most of the symptoms are to do with the lungs and the digestive system. Lungs In a healthy person, there is a constant flow of mucus over the surfaces of the air passages in the lungs. This removes debris and bacteria. If you have cystic fibrosis, this mucus is excessively thick and sticky and cannot perform this role properly. The sticky mucus also provides an ideal environment for bacterial growth. This can put a person with cystic fibrosis at risk of getting bacterial chest infections and pneumonia. If these infections are not treated early and properly, they can be very difficult to treat. Digestive system Cystic fibrosis also affects the digestive system. In a healthy person, the pancreas produces chemicals (enzymes) which pass into the gut as food leaves the stomach. These enzymes break down the fat. If you have cystic fibrosis, the pancreas does not produce enzymes. Without these enzymes, the fat in food is not properly digested and it is difficult to gain weight. The faeces contain an excess of fat and are oily and very smelly.