How CF affects the lungs
CF affects so much more than just the lungs - although this is definitely what it is most well known for.
I have said before that CF affects people very differently - no two people with CF will experience it in the same way, even if they have identical mutations. No one is really sure why the experience varies so much but it means that a person with CF may experience all of the below - or they may be lucky and only experience one or two of the below.
Here we look at how it impacts the lungs.
In healthy lungs, there is a thin layer of mucus that helps your body move dirt and bacteria out of the lungs. In people with CF, this mucus is much thicker and clogs the lungs, creating the perfect environment for harmful bacteria.
This means that people with CF are prone to frequent and sometimes very serious chest infections - which cause the production of even more mucus and results in inflammation and in some cases permanent damage/scarring that can never be repaired.
The symptoms of a lung infection are increased coughing (usually a very wet, productive, chesty cough that is persistent) and wheezing, breathlessness and production of more sputum. Someone with CF can have a lung infection and yet can still seem very ‘healthy’ and won’t necessarily have a temperature or other symptoms you might expect if your child was ill. Although very serious lung infections will result in increased lethargy and spiked temperature and other common symptoms etc. But this does mean that CF mamas take any cough very seriously even if our child otherwise seems perfectly well.
Over time it is very common for those with CF to have restricted lung function due to the thickening of the walls of the airways, narrowing of the lumens (the space inside the airways), damage to the airways and obstruction of the airways with mucus.