Cystic Fibrosis

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease of the mucus and sweat glands. It affects mostly your lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and sex organs. CF causes your mucus to be thick and sticky. The mucus clogs the lungs, causing breathing problems and making it easy for bacteria to grow. This can lead to repeated lung infections and lung damage.

The symptoms and severity of CF can vary. Some people have serious problems from birth. Others have a milder version of the disease that doesn't show up until they are teens or young adults. Sometimes you will have few symptoms, but later you may have more symptoms.

CF is diagnosed through various tests, such as gene, blood, and sweat tests. There is no cure for CF, but treatments have improved greatly in recent years. In the past, most deaths from CF were in children and teenagers. Today, with improved treatments, some people who have CF are living into their forties, fifties, or older. Treatments may include chest physical therapy, nutritional and respiratory therapies, medicines, and exercise.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• About Cystic Fibrosis (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Cystic Fibrosis (American Lung Association)
• What Is Cystic Fibrosis? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Chymotrypsin in Stool (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Respiratory Screen: Sputum (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Stool Elastase (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Sweat Test for Cystic Fibrosis (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Testing for CF (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Cystic Fibrosis and Pregnancy (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Drug Development Pipeline (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Managing Cystic Fibrosis (CF) (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)

Living With

• Airway Clearance Techniques (ACTs) (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Chest Physical Therapy (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Consider Tube Feeding (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Day-to-Day Exercise and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) - PDF
• Dietary Tips for Kids With Cystic Fibrosis (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• A Teacher's Guide to Cystic Fibrosis (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Accommodations for College (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Aspergillus and Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• COVID-19 Community Questions and Answers (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Infections and Cystic Fibrosis (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)
• Marvels of Mucus and Phlegm: The Slime That Keeps You Healthy (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)

Genetics

• Cystic fibrosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Learning about Cystic Fibrosis (National Human Genome Research Institute)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cystic Fibrosis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Blood mRNA biomarkers distinguish variable systemic and sputum inflammation at treatment...
• Article: A pilot study of disease related education and psychotherapeutic support for...
• Article: Intestinal Absorption of Lipids Using a Pancreatic Enzyme-Free Nutritional Supplement in...
• Cystic Fibrosis -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Teenagers

• Dietary Tips for Teens with Cystic Fibrosis (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Cystic fibrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cystic fibrosis - nutritional considerations (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• How to breathe when you are short of breath (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Neonatal cystic fibrosis screening test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Postural drainage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Sweat electrolytes test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish