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gedoena
Flutterer
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA |
| need to determine allergy/irritant for conure |
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Our half-moon conure, Dewey, started sneezing a lot over month ago. We brought him to the avian vet, and he said he had a slightly elevated white blood-cell count, so he put him on antibiotics. After the dose ran through he started sneezing again so the vet said we could continue the antibiotics again. Finally, we brought him back to the vet today. The vet said he "cleaned his nostrils" (I'm not sure exactly what this meant, and it was a drop-off appointment, so we weren't there), but that otherwise he looks completely healthy. Therefore, he believes the problem is either an allergy or some irritant - he suggested hairspray, hair gel, cleaning products, other things with scents and fragrances.
We don't really use many things with fragrances, and nothing that we have changed in the last few months. Also, he was sneezing at my mom's house, and she is allergic to all fragrances and doesn't use anything that isn't un-scented.
We use pinesal to clean the floors and the birds' houses (carefully rinsed off again of course). I use orange cleaner for pretty much everything else. If I do use anything harsher in the bathroom or kitchen the birds are kept well away from there. I use a very lightly scented shampoo which is the same one I've been using since Dewey's been with us. Nothing else we use has any scent. The budgies don't seem to be sneezing any more then usual (after they've stuck their head in the bath or gotten into a dusty corner).
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Marisa |
Monday July 24, 2006 11:06 pm |
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Luella_Cantu
Bappie
Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 77
Location: Texas |
Hi there! Sorry to hear about all this sneezing! God Bless you! Have you considered the environment outside? Maybe the trees in the front yard are going to seed and they are making him sneeze? Maybe your air conditioner vent filters need to be changed? Maybe the whole vents need cleaned? Carpet cleaner places will do that-basically vaccum out the whole air vent system in your home! Its so hard to determine! Try another shampoo! Could it be a toothpaste or mouthwash? Laundry detergent on your clothes? Try Dreft! Fabric softener? LOL! So many variables! Hope something I've suggested will give you an idea! Good luck!
Luella and Chiquita |
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Monday July 24, 2006 11:23 pm |
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gedoena
Flutterer
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA |
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quote:
Originally posted by Luella_Cantu
Hi there! Sorry to hear about all this sneezing! God Bless you! Have you considered the environment outside? Maybe the trees in the front yard are going to seed and they are making him sneeze? Maybe your air conditioner vent filters need to be changed? Maybe the whole vents need cleaned? Carpet cleaner places will do that-basically vaccum out the whole air vent system in your home! Its so hard to determine! Try another shampoo! Could it be a toothpaste or mouthwash? Laundry detergent on your clothes? Try Dreft! Fabric softener? LOL! So many variables! Hope something I've suggested will give you an idea! Good luck!
Luella and Chiquita
Thanks for all the suggestions, Luella!
I didn't even think about out-door things making him sneeze...that makes sense, people have out-door allergies, and we have only had him since October, so we wouldn't know if he was sneezing last summer. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what we can do if that is the source...except wait.
We don't have central air conditioning, just two window units (none in the birds' room... though they get cold air from there via the door... and of course are in the other rooms plenty too.) The landlord changed the filters at the beginning of the summer, but I'm not sure that means they are clean inside... hmm...
I didn't even think of toothpaste and mouthwash!! It is true that he is always kissing us.
Wow, now we've gone from no ideas to too many!
How to narrow it down!?
marisa |
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Tuesday July 25, 2006 12:55 am |
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Luella_Cantu
Bappie
Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 77
Location: Texas |
hey girl! I would wait till winter maybe? to see if this stops when allergy season stops? hmm... how else.... I guess you could change the filters to see if it helps? they're cheap enough that it wouldn't hurt even if it doesn't solve the problem! I'll keep thinking! hehe!
Luella and Chiquita |
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Tuesday July 25, 2006 1:35 am |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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A few more ideas--
Is Indiana humid this time of year? Maybe you have mold growing somewhere, indoors or out. Even freshly laid garden mulch is a source of molds. Also, auto exhaust and other pollutants could be worse this time of year becase of thermal inversions.
If the sneezing started after the landlord replaced the fliters, maybe the filters are cheap ones that aren't doing the job.
Are you in an apartment building with other tenants? Maybe someone is smoking or using fragrances and they are getting into your apartment because the building is closed up this time of year. (I've not lived in my apartment since February because of this, but that's another story)
As for your shampoo, if it says "fragrance" on the bottle, it contains synthetic fragrance. These substances are not tested by the FDA before they go into our cosmetics. Instead, they are regulated after people have suffered bad effects from them. I think it is 95% of the complaints the FDA gets about cosmetics are problems from the fragrance. So, two ideas here: 1. Your shampoo (or laundry detergent, or lipstick, or whatever) manufacturer may have changed the formula recently to something that bothers the bird. 2. The fragrance may be the same, but the bird may be getting sensitized to it - he would be less and less able to tolerate it as he continues to be exposed to it. (This is what happened to me--again, the other story.) Be aware that some unscented products contain fragrances that mask the product's fragrance so that it smells like it doesn't have fragrance! So there's a slight possibility that he could be reacting to an unscented product! |
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Monday July 31, 2006 4:06 am |
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gedoena
Flutterer
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA |
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Thanks so much, Meg, for the ideas.
It is indeed very humid (and hot) in Indiana at this time of year. Luckily we don't have any carpeting but this is an older house so it is possible there is some mold problem... certainly if the house is all closed up for some time (eg when we go away) it smells musty. We try to keep fresh air coming through the house most of the time.
Shampoo is just about the only scented thing we use at all, which is why I brought it up... the last ingredient is "botanical fragrance" and there are a number of other ingredients that I assume contribute to the fragrence, all various plant extracts. (This is "Trader Joe's" brand shampoo). Is it safe to use "orange oil" based cleaners around the birds? That is what we mostly use for cleaning.
Dewey's sneezing seems to have nearly disappeared now (he sneezed twice in the last couple of days), so I wonder if Luella's suggestion that it might be a seasonal allergy could be correct... I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it stays away (and if it returns next summer). Fortunately he has maintained his weight and appears healthy in every other way to us and to our vet, so I am not feeling totally frantic about it. |
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Monday July 31, 2006 4:25 pm |
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gedoena
Flutterer
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA |
Meg,
Is there any way to tell if an "unscented" product has a scent mask in it?
Marisa |
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Monday July 31, 2006 9:15 pm |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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Good question. I thought they had to have it on the label, but when I checked a product which has a fragrance that bothers me, it did not list it. Instead, the label said, "Ingredients include...." obviously leaving out the fragrance! Most labels have an 800 number for questions and comments, though. I believe you can get the answer by asking about petroleum based fragrances or maybe about volitile organic compounds. If enough of us call and complain about fragrance, perhaps we can make a difference.
"Botanical fragrance" probably means synthetic fragrance made to smell like flowers and/or herbs. If it were not synthetic, it would say "100% pure essential oils" or "rosemary essential oil" or whatever. Trader Joe's is big on organic products, however, so maybe we can influence them to change.
Dewey's sniffles make an interesting puzzle. If the house smells musty, there is some sort of a mold or rot causing the smell. Is his a seasonal allergy, because the house is open and pollens or molds are coming in, or because the house is humid and still so the molds don't get out? (There is an article by Carolyn Swicegood " Sick House Syndrome - Is Your Home Safe for Parrots?" available at www.yourparrotplace.com.)
Or, because the other birds have not suffered, is it because Dewey is the only one eating conure food? Could his food be dusty with vitamin powders or something or could it old and musty? At any rate, I am glad to hear that he is better.
I don't know if orange cleaners are safe, but companies who sell them say they are. Carolyn Swicegood wrote an article called "Cleaning Safely" you may want to read. I think it would be at the same address as above. In glancing through it, I did not see a recommendation for orange cleaners. |
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Tuesday August 1, 2006 3:27 am |
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gedoena
Flutterer
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA |
Meg,
Thanks so much for the links! There is a lot of information to go through there! A little scary...
Thanks again!
Marisa |
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Tuesday August 1, 2006 5:11 pm |
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