Cystic Fibrosis Information

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common recessive genetic disease. CF affects approximately 30,000 children and young adults. It occurs in approximately one of every 3,300 live births. The median age of survival is 31 years. The most common symptoms of CF are salty-tasting skin; persistent coughing, wheezing or pneumonia; excessive appetite but poor weight gain; and bulky, foul-smelling stools. CF causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus. This abnormal mucus clogs the lungs and leads to lung infections. The thick CF mucus also obstructs the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to digest food.

A child must inherit a defective copy of the CF gene (one from each parent) to have cystic fibrosis. Each time two carriers conceive a child, there is a 25 percent chance that the child will have CF; a 50 percent chance that the child will be a carrier; and a 25 percent chance that the child will be a non-carrier.

Cystic Fibrosis is not contagious, and therefore cannot be transmitted from person to person.

The treatment of CF can include postural drainage (also called chest physical therapy [CPT]), requires vigorous percussion (by using cupped hands) on the back and chest to dislodge the thick mucus from the lungs. Antibiotics are also used to treat lung infections. CF also can affect the digestive system, the body does not absorb enough nutrients, therefore the need to eat an enriched diet and take both replacement vitamins and pancreatic enzymes.

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Many thanks to Celine Dion for her committment to Cystic Fibrosis

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