Probable Signs of CF:
Salty tasting skin
Rapid finger wrinkling in water
Infantile asthma
Failure to thrive without obvious steatorrhoea
Prolonged obstructive jaundice
Pseudo-Bartter syndrome (combination of hyponatraemia/hypokalaemia and metabolic alkalosis) hyponatraemia mean low blood sodium levels and hypokalaemia- low blood potassium
Hemolytic anemia due to vitamin E deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency causing a bulging fontanelle and facial palsy
Petechiae and prolonged Interntional Normalised Ratio (a measure of blood clotting) due to vitamin K deficiency
Asthma
Nasal polyposis
Recurrent sinusitis
Heat prostration and dehydration in hot weather
Rectal prolapse
Distal intestinal obstruction syndrome
Glucose intolerance and weight loss
Hepatic (liver) enlargement
Portal hypertension with splenomegaly, ascites and esophageal varices
Delayed puberty/short stature
The first symptom of cystic fibrosis in an infant who does not have meconium ileus is often a delay in regaining birth weight or poor weight gain at 4 to 6 weeks of age. Inadequate amounts of pancreatic enzymes, which are essential for proper digestion of fats and proteins, lead to poor digestion in most infants with cystic fibrosis. the infant has frequent, bulky, foul-smelling, oily stools and may have a distended abdomen and small muscles. Weight gain is slow despite a normal or large appetite.