4 ms·

Phlegm is mucus produced by lung tissue. And your lungs (or vagina) being filled with pus would be a very different thing.

by Fomite 8y ago

DoreenMichele 8y ago
My point is that phlegm is akin to pus in that it is drainage due to infection. It is not "normal" mucus. Women routinely have vaginal discharge of various sorts that is not normal, healthy mucus. The fact that women with CF have both substantial vaginal discharge and vaginal dryness severe enough in some cases to "ruin" their sex life strongly suggests that there is a difference between what is produced in quantity by the mucus membranes of people with CF and normal, healthy mucus. I'm saying that difference is that it's a form of discharge due to infection, not an overproduction of mucus per se. If it were the same thing as mucus, women with CF should not be simultaneously reporting vaginal dryness that interferes with sex and vaginal discharge.
- Fomite 8y ago
  You're saying then that women with CF have a persistent, chronic, but undiagnosable infection. Note that if, as a medical researcher, one managed to identify an underlying causal agent for CF, that would be career changing. Also, your vaginal dryness theory is only true if CF-related discharge works as a responsive lubricant. That could be, as you suggest, due to a difference in kind, but it could also be a change in composition, differential overproduction, or a complex interplay of several other factors.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    Medicine agrees that all people with CF are chronically infected. That part is not some novel theory on my part. I don't have a vaginal dryness theory. My point is that CF is genetic and impacts all cells of the body. The way it works vaginally and in the lungs ought to be consistent. Women with CF consistently report vaginal dryness. They also report vaginal discharge. This discharge appears to not be mucus, given the rest of their testimony. The reports of women with CF concerning their reproductive tract should cast some light on lung function and is not consistent with prevailing theories that people with CF are "drowning in their own mucus."
    - Fomite 8y ago
      There's a difference between chronically infected (which is true) and that the source of CF is an infection, which is the part of your theory that's unsupported. "the way it works vaginally and in the lungs ought to be consistent." - not necessarily, and especially not when you're describing symptoms (vaginal dryness resulting in uncomfortable sex), because the mucous of your lungs and sexual lubrication serve very different purposes. And other symptoms of CF in women, such as more difficulties conceiving, are consistent with mucus overproduction. The discharge might not be mucus, but that doesn't mean that's not the root of what CF is doing.
      - DoreenMichele 8y ago
        and that the source of CF is an infection, which is the part of your theory that's unsupported. I don't think I've said that anywhere and that's not what I'm trying to say. CF is a genetic disorder. It's root cause is a malfunctioning cell channel, the CFTR, that is defective due to a genetic defect. But I do think a lot of what we think of as CF is really a consequence of being sick and malnourished your entire life. If those issues can be addressed, outcomes can change.
      - toast0 8y ago
        Having more difficulties conceiving is also consistent with uncomfortable sex. I found this article [1] that seems pretty consistent with the dehydrated mucus hypothesis. I don't know if it's reputable, and I only read the summary, because it quickly got over my head. [1] https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/89752 https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/89752
        Fomite 8y ago
        "Having more difficulties conceiving is also consistent with uncomfortable sex." - Difficulties exist in women with CF who don't report pain during sex.
        DoreenMichele 8y ago

Phlegm is mucus produced by lung tissue. And your lungs (or vagina) being filled with pus would be a very different thing.

by Fomite 8y ago

Phlegm is mucus produced by lung tissue. And your lungs (or vagina) being filled with pus would be a very different thing.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

My point is that phlegm is akin to pus in that it is drainage due to infection. It is not "normal" mucus. Women routinely have vaginal discharge of various sorts that is not normal, healthy mucus. The fact that women with CF have both substantial vaginal discharge and vaginal dryness severe enough in some cases to "ruin" their sex life strongly suggests that there is a difference between what is produced in quantity by the mucus membranes of people with CF and normal, healthy mucus. I'm saying that difference is that it's a form of discharge due to infection, not an overproduction of mucus per se. If it were the same thing as mucus, women with CF should not be simultaneously reporting vaginal dryness that interferes with sex and vaginal discharge.

Fomite 8y ago
You're saying then that women with CF have a persistent, chronic, but undiagnosable infection. Note that if, as a medical researcher, one managed to identify an underlying causal agent for CF, that would be career changing. Also, your vaginal dryness theory is only true if CF-related discharge works as a responsive lubricant. That could be, as you suggest, due to a difference in kind, but it could also be a change in composition, differential overproduction, or a complex interplay of several other factors.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Medicine agrees that all people with CF are chronically infected. That part is not some novel theory on my part. I don't have a vaginal dryness theory. My point is that CF is genetic and impacts all cells of the body. The way it works vaginally and in the lungs ought to be consistent. Women with CF consistently report vaginal dryness. They also report vaginal discharge. This discharge appears to not be mucus, given the rest of their testimony. The reports of women with CF concerning their reproductive tract should cast some light on lung function and is not consistent with prevailing theories that people with CF are "drowning in their own mucus."
  - Fomite 8y ago
    There's a difference between chronically infected (which is true) and that the source of CF is an infection, which is the part of your theory that's unsupported. "the way it works vaginally and in the lungs ought to be consistent." - not necessarily, and especially not when you're describing symptoms (vaginal dryness resulting in uncomfortable sex), because the mucous of your lungs and sexual lubrication serve very different purposes. And other symptoms of CF in women, such as more difficulties conceiving, are consistent with mucus overproduction. The discharge might not be mucus, but that doesn't mean that's not the root of what CF is doing.
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      and that the source of CF is an infection, which is the part of your theory that's unsupported. I don't think I've said that anywhere and that's not what I'm trying to say. CF is a genetic disorder. It's root cause is a malfunctioning cell channel, the CFTR, that is defective due to a genetic defect. But I do think a lot of what we think of as CF is really a consequence of being sick and malnourished your entire life. If those issues can be addressed, outcomes can change.
    - toast0 8y ago
      Having more difficulties conceiving is also consistent with uncomfortable sex. I found this article [1] that seems pretty consistent with the dehydrated mucus hypothesis. I don't know if it's reputable, and I only read the summary, because it quickly got over my head. [1] https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/89752 https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/89752
      - Fomite 8y ago
        "Having more difficulties conceiving is also consistent with uncomfortable sex." - Difficulties exist in women with CF who don't report pain during sex.
        DoreenMichele 8y ago