Treatment Overview
After your child is diagnosed, a team of health professionals will work with you to build a treatment plan. The plan is based on your child's specific health problems. It may include respiratory therapy, medicines, a fitness plan, and nutritional therapies. Following this plan, along with getting regular medical care and taking steps to reduce infection, can help your child lead a longer, healthier life.
Some treatments are still being tested and developed. Talk to your doctor about clinical trials and new treatments.
The best treatment available is often found at CF care centers. These centers address medical, nutritional, and emotional needs. Contact the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org to find one.
Doctor visits and vaccines
Regular visits with the team involved in your child's care are important. Your doctor will want to make sure that your child eats well and gains weight and grows at a normal rate. The doctor will record your child's weight, height, and head size. This lets the doctor keep track of how your child develops over time.
Lab tests can help your doctor know how serious the disease is and how it is affecting your child's body.
Your doctor will ask you about your child's immunizations. The doctor will schedule any shots that are needed. Children with CF should have all the recommended shots, plus pneumococcal shots.
Respiratory therapy
Respiratory therapy is any treatment that slows down lung damage and improves breathing.
People with CF have thick and sticky mucus that traps bacteria. This causes lots of lung infections and often causes permanent lung damage. The focus is to reduce infection and get rid of mucus to keep the lungs healthy. Medicines may be used to control the amount and thickness of mucus.
Other ways to help remove mucus from the lungs involve airway clearance techniques (ACT). These include coughing and breathing exercises, wearing a percussive vest, and using positive expiratory pressure (PEP) devices.
Digestive therapy
This treatment works to replace certain digestive enzymes. It helps to make sure the body absorbs all the vitamins and minerals it needs. This treatment also can prevent or treat intestinal blockages. It involves:
- Digestive enzyme replacement therapy. This therapy helps the intestines absorb nutrients from food.
- Nutritional therapy to help replace lost nutrients. This may include taking vitamins; eating high-calorie, high-fat foods; drinking nutritional drinks; getting fed through a tube in the stomach; and, in some cases, receiving intravenous nutrient supplementation.
- Preventing intestinal blockages with stool softeners (to avoid constipation) and enemas.
Learn more
- Cystic Fibrosis: Helping Your Child Cough Up Mucus