Understanding Cystic Fibrosis - Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis?

The symptoms of cystic fibrosis vary. While some children may exhibit symptoms at birth, others may not develop symptoms for weeks, months, or even years. The severity of symptoms also varies, with some children showing only mild digestive and respiratory problems and others displaying severe food-absorption problems and life-threatening respiratory complications.

The most common symptoms of cystic fibrosis are:

• Salty-tasting skin, which parents note when they kiss an affected infant, for example
• Persistent coughing, wheezing, or bouts of pneumonia or sinusitis.
• Progressive difficulty breathing
• Excessive appetite but poor weight gain
• Bulky, smelly, greasy bowel movements

Call Your Doctor If:

• You are pregnant or planning to become pregnant and you (or the other future biological parent) have a family history of cystic fibrosis.
• Your child tastes very salty when you kiss him or her.
• Your child has had frequent lung or sinus infections and has difficulty gaining or maintaining weight.