DarEMT

Yes, chbare, sorry, I do agree....the only thing I disagreed with was the age thing...0-18 not seeing psuemonas (sp)....my girls have grown that for years.....LoL...thanks for asking for clarification. And yes, I also agree that Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the most common "bugs" that cause problems in CF's, while the healthy population can get those bugs and they only cause mild infections that we usually don't even know about or go to the doctor with because our bodies fight them off.... Thank you and thanks for your knowledge....and interest. ~Deb

"Delta F508" is the most common mutation of the defective gene. Cystic Fibrosis is often misdiagnosed as asthma, failure to thrive, and even Chrone's Disease. One in 20 of us is a symptomless carrier of the defective gene. It takes BOTH parents being carriers to produce a child with CF. When both parents are carriers, they have a 25% chance of EACH PREGNANCY of producing a carrier and a 50% chance of producing a child with CF. Thusfore, a female child with CF will find it difficult to conceive and the male with CF will almost certainly be sterile, because of the thick secretions of course. These thick secretions are present THROUGHOUT the body wherever mucus is found. Cystic Fibrosis affects caucasions predominantely, much like Sicle Cell affects african americans. I disagree with the thought that 0-18 year olds staphylococcus aureus and haemophilus influenzae are the most common infections and, after age eighteen pseudomonas aeruginosa becomes the dominant infectious agent in respiratory infections. I see MRSA, as well as pseudomonas, in teenagers as well as adults and have seen it for years.....also, I believe Bieber is correct on the "median" age for life expectancy of someone with CF, however, please take into consideration that I believe that life expectancy isn't what's on paper....life expectancy is how you handle your body...treatments, medications, excercise, and a healthy mind will allow one to live just as long or longer than anyone else that is healthy otherwise. Reference: Encyclopedia of "Mom of 2 CF girls" ***Please excuse any misspellings or non use of proper terminology, as it's late and I'm very tired***