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Diagnosing CF
It is sometimes quite difficult to diagnose CF. It takes several steps. Firstly doctors look at the patients medical history. They look for symptoms of CF that the patient had before, and to see whether any of the other family members have serious illnesses. Next they look at the person's health in general. They check temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. Doctors also listen to breathing, and breathing muscles. They examine eyes, ears, nose, and throat to see if they are infected. They also do laboratory tests. |
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Sweat Test
One way to diagnose Cystic Fibrosis is the "sweat test." It measures the amount of salt in a person's sweat. If a person has too much salt in their sweat, then they probably have Cystic Fibrosis. It is the most common and most successful test. The way a Sweat Test is performed is pretty complicated. First you place electrodes on the patients forearm. Next you put a thin pad over the electrodes to absorb sweat. The pad is soaked with pilocarpine, a harmles drug that promotes sweating. Then you wrap the whole area in plastic. You then send a small amount of electricity through the electrodes, and the electric current drives the pilocarpine into the patients skin. The drugs make the patients sweat glands produce sweat. The patient feels no pain. You then remove everything and cover the area with a piece of filter paper. Then the patient has to sit completely still for thirty minutes whil the filter paper collects sweat. The filter paper is then sent to the lab and is checked for the amount of chloride in the sweat.
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