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For a very long time, doctors didn't understand that CF affected so many people. In the 1930s, health experts began to wonder if they were discovering a new disease. They had long since recognized that some infants couldn't digest their food well. Those babies didn't grow as fast as others. Other doctors saw that some children coughed a lot or got a lot of lung infections. Many of these patients died at an early age.
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For centuries, doctors didn't realize that all these symptoms all pointed to the same disease. That's because all these symptoms also pointed to other diseases. |
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Dr. Dorothy Andersen first reported Cystic Fibrosis as a seperate disease in 1938. She and her team of doctors studied the medical history of children with unusual lung and digestive. The doctors found that the lungs, pancreas, and other body organs of these children were infected and damaged. Dr. Anderson named the new disease Cystic Fibrosis of the Pancreas. Dorothy continued to study CF. In 1946, she became the first doctor to recommend a special diet for people with the disease. |
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In 1952, a heat wave in New York City helped doctors find another clue to the mystery of CF. It was known that some kids had very salty skin. Doctors didn't realize that this was another common symptom of CF. During that heat wave, lots of children with Cystic Fibrosis were taken to hospitals. The children were deheydrated, and very weak. They needed lots of extra fluids. Doctors then realized that people with CF usually have high salt levels in their sweat. |
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