diagnosis

Question

I have a question concerning my son, almost six years old. To me he looks healthy, he grows well and he has normal and regulars stool without noticing anything abnormal. During the winter months however, he has often been ill, although at present he is fine. Whenever he gets sick or tired he coughs a lot and we have been advised to treat him with salbutamol puffs. We have just been told that a niece was born with CF; the father of this niece is the nephew of my husband. (both sons of two sisters). My question is therefore: should I worry about my son having CF? Thanks for answering my question.

Answer

Dear questioner,

The purpose of this forum is not to confirm or exclude specific diagnoses. For individual medical advise you have to make an appointment with your pediatrician or doctor. We can however give you some general information. The decision to test for CF depends on the the type and severity of the disease symptoms and signs. The first test to be done when CF is suspected is a sweat test (see other questions about the diagnosis of CF in ecorn).

Classic CF is associated with repeated and prolonged moist or productive cough often in combination with digestive problems and poor weight gain. Additionally there may be nasal and sinus complaints. Coughing is obviously a common problem in young children and of course not all these children must be sent for a sweat test. Because CF is a heritable disease, the presence of CF in the family will also be considered.
We recommend talking about these concerns with your doctor and ask him if a sweat test is indicated.

Hopefully this short answer is responding to your question.

Kind regards,

Dr M Proesmans

15.11.2012