Salty bae 💙 Why do we give Arlo extra salt? 🧂

I’ve been meaning to post about this for ages - since that time the weather got really hot (if you can think back that far 😂!) but then it cooled down again and the relevance of this post seemed questionable. 😅 But the sun symbols are back on my weather app, so here it is. ☀️🌡🔥

CF is caused by a defect in the protein responsible for the correct movement of chloride and water between cells.

One of the many implications of this defect is that people with CF have much higher levels of chloride in their sweat.

This is why the Sweat Test is used to diagnose CF by measuring the levels of chloride in the sweat. A result over 60 is a confirmed CF diagnosis.

The extra chloride that is lost through sweat becomes especially significant when the weather is warmer or when a person with CF is exercising a lot.

Interestingly, as the loss of salt and water increases, the sodium levels in the bloodstream do not increase in people who have CF, meaning that thirst is not triggered and the risk of dehydration increases.

Dehydration is not good for anyone but can also lead to thicker mucus in the lungs and intestines for those with CF – thus increasing difficulty expelling secretions and potential gastrointestinal blockages.

Chloride is one of the components that makes up salt (sodium chloride) and so the best way to replace this lost chloride is to add salt to the diet.

There’s many ways that this can be done and it varies between teams and depending on what works for each individual.

For Arlo, as he is nearly 1, we’ve been told to give him one sachet of diorhalyte a day or to add salt to his lunch and dinner.

For babies with CF who are not yet on solids, sodium chloride is prescribed as a solution that can be given in a syringe or in a bottle of babies usual milk.

And for adults with CF, they will often take salt tablets.

And in the meantime I’m gonna enjoy my salty kisses 😘