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Cystic Fibrosis

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Submitted By latisha1216
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Cystic Fibrosis
Latisha Long
HCS/245
March 26, 2012
Cathy Coyle

Cystic Fibrosis In today’s society there are many diseases out there. It is to contract these diseases by coming in contact with a carrier. People who are into sharing dirty needles, having unprotected sex, or not being able to maintain a healthy and clean environment, can become infected with these transferable diseases. There are some diseases out there that you can inherit; one in particular that stands out is Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF is a life threating disease; there are 1,000 new cases each year. With the new treatments and studies, people are living longer with CF. Before people with CF were only living into the early years of their childhood, and now they are living well past their 30s.

CF is an inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. A defective gene and its protein cause the body to produce an abundance of thick sticky mucus in the lungs. The production of this mucus causes the lungs to clog and can lead to life threating infections. CF can also cause the pancreas to obstruct and stop enzymes, which allows the body to absorb and breakdown food. This can cause slow growth and malnutrition in the body, and the sticky mucus can block the airway which makes it difficult to breath causing this disease to be life threatening. People with CF have shorter life expectancy, because of the way CF controls the body. The treatment for CF is improving every day which are allowing people to live into their 30s and beyond, unlike 50 years ago when CF patients were dying in their childhood. “CF is the one of the most common life threatening genetic diseases in the United States. It affects all racial and ethnic groups; however it is most common among Caucasians” (March of Dimes, 2012).

Babies that are born with CF are about 1 in 3,500. This means CF will affect about 30,000 children and adult in the United States. There are about 1,000 new cases each year. By the age of two there are 70% of patients diagnosed with CF. In the CF population 45% of the patients are of the age of 18 and older. It has been predicted that a person with CF will live only into their late 30s. The way that a person becomes infected with CF is through inheritance. A person has to inherit two defective genes, one from each of their parents. “Each time two carriers of a defective gene conceive there is a 25 percent chance that the child will end up with CF. There is a 50 percent chance that the child will inherit one defective gene and be a carrier, but not have the disease. Then there is a 25 percent chance that the child will not have the gene at all” (American Lung Association, 2012). Like any other diseases there are different symptoms that come along with CF. People with CF can have a variety of symptoms that can range from mild to severe. Symptoms that come with CF are coughing, wheezing, salty skin, frequent lung infections, poor growth, and excessive mucus in the lungs. However these are not all of the symptoms that come along with CF, these are the few that really stand out.

In modern day society we do have testing for CF. If parents want to conceive there is a test that can be administered, this test is called the sweat test. There is also another option for testing, and this is called the newborn screening test. The sweat test shows if a person has symptoms of CF. You conduct this test by measuring the concentration of salt in a person’s sweat. High levels of salt indicate a person being infected with CF. It is very beneficial to have the newborn screening test, with this test people will be able to diagnose and start treatment if the test comes back positive. With early diagnosis and treatment of newborns, they can be afforded the opportunity to start early treatments. Being able to start these treatments newborns will be able to have growth improvement, keeping lungs healthier, shorter hospital stays, and adding years to their lives. There are treatments that are now allowing people who are living with CF to live longer and more comfortable lives. With all of the research and testing for CF it has allowed the door to open for many different types of treatments. There are three main treatments for CF patients. There is airway clearance, inhaled medications, and antibiotics. Airway clearing techniques allows the mucus to loosen up in the lungs; this technique if done right can also decrease lung infections. A person simply has to sit or stand in a position that will free up the mucus, as the chest and back are being pounded on. Inhaled medications are commonly used. The medications can go into a nebulizer that is attached to an air compressor. The air compressor will blow the medications through the nebulizer creating a mist. CF patients will then breathe this medicated mist through a mask for several minutes. The antibiotic treatments are used to stop infections which cause bacteria. People with CF can choose to take the antibiotics orally, intravenous, or inhaled. It does not matter which way the patient chooses to take their medication, as long as it is getting into the system it is fine.

CF is not an easy disease to live with. There is an everyday battle that comes along with this disease, just like other diseases. A person with CF has to constantly watch there nutrition and what they are putting into their bodies. The children really have to play it safe because CF can cause slow growth and malnutrition. Cases like these children have to take on the extra calories to offset the growth and malnutrition problem. The elderly and middle age patients with CF have to worry about other disease that comes along with it. There is CF related diabetes or they can end up with brittle bones. People with CF always run the risk of having lung infections; however there are ways to lessen this risk. People with CF should frequently wash their hands with soap and water, stay away from smoking and second have smoke, and get their flu shot once a year. There are 1,000 new cases of CF diagnosed each year.

References
America Lung Association. (March 2012). Cystic Fibrosis. Retrieved from http://www.lung.org
March of Dimes. (March 2011). Birth Defects. Retrieved from http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/birthdefects

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