Staying Healthy

Make a Plan to Stay Healthy

Most people with cystic fibrosis can lead active lives—depending upon the severity of their disease—with routine therapies and regular visits to a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited care center.

Staff at CF Foundation-accredited care centers partner with people with CF to develop individual treatment plans. These plans typically include high-calorie, high-fat diets, therapies to loosen the clogged mucus from their airways, and mucus-thinning drugs and antibiotics when needed.

By following a treatment plan developed with their CF care center team, many people with CF can slow down the progression of their disease. A healthier body is better able to deal with bacteria and chronic lung infection.

Diet — Watch What You Eat

An important factor for staying healthy is good nutrition. Thick mucus often gets in the way of proper digestion, causing malabsorption. This problem is treated with pancreatic enzyme supplements, vitamins and a high-calorie, high-fat diet.

• CF Diet — In CF, a high-calorie, high-fat diet is vital for normal growth and development in children, and offers adults a way to maintain optimal health. The dietitians at CF Foundation-accredited care centers work with patients and their families to map out the best diet for each person.
  Nutrition and general lung health are closely linked. People with cystic fibrosis may need extra calories to compensate for the malabsorption of nutrients. These extra calories also help to meet the greater energy needed for breathing. In fact, for children with CF, extra fat calories are good for fueling normal growth and development.
• Pancreatic Enzyme Supplements — Almost everyone with cystic fibrosis needs to take pancreatic enzyme supplements with meals and snacks. Taken by mouth, the enzymes go to work in the intestines to help digest food so it can be absorbed by the body. Patients should always check with their doctor or dietitian to know the exact amount of enzymes to take.
• Vitamins — Most people with cystic fibrosis do not absorb fats properly, so certain vitamins, or "fat-soluble" vitamins, are not absorbed. These vitamins are Vitamins A, D, E and K. People with CF usually take these vitamins daily.

Cystic Fibrosis-related Diabetes — Keeping Sugar in Check

As people with cystic fibrosis get older, their risk of getting diabetes increases. With CF, scarring often occurs in the pancreas, which produces insulin for the body. This scarring sometimes prevents insulin from getting into the blood and could lead to diabetes. CF Foundation-accredited care centers regularly check each patient for diabetes, usually once a year.

Avoid the Spread of Germs

Cystic fibrosis puts the airways at risk for lung infections. There are, however, effective ways to lessen the risk. One way is to limit contact with known germ sources.

Although germs are everywhere and cannot be avoided, one of the best ways to keep from catching or spreading germs is through effective hand-washing, whether with soap and water or hand gel. Everyone with CF should avoid unnecessary contact with people who have a cold or any other contagious illness, and should cough and sneeze into a tissue.

Lung Health — Thank You for Not Smoking

Some environmental factors in daily life can damage lung health. For instance, second-hand smoke is particularly harmful to people with cystic fibrosis. Keeping airways healthier means not smoking and keeping the environment smoke-free.

Nebulizers — Clearing the Airways

Since inhaled drugs more easily reach the airways, they are common in cystic fibrosis care. Inhaled treatments can be given by aerosol, a mist treatment made from liquid medicines. In this case, the drug goes into a cup (nebulizer) and is attached to a small air compressor. The compressor blows air through the cup and makes a mist. Cystic fibrosis patients inhale the small particles in the mist through a mask or mouthpiece for several minutes to help clear the mucus.

Medicines can also be given as metered dose inhalers, which deliver one dose of medicine at a time.