JAMES HARRIS, DVM
Allergies can lead to
chronic sinus infections
 My 13-year-old umbrella cockatoo has had an upper respiratory problem from the time I inherited her. She has been to the vet many, many times and we have finally decided that she suffers from allergies when the golf course we live on blooms in the spring. However, recently the congestion seems to have moved deep into the chest area and there is no more exudate from the nare. Also, one of her eyes is swollen and seems to have a second "lid" of blood underneath. She is on clindomyacin and vitamins and we have stopped the Benedryl for the time..
--D. Budinger, Raygirl162@aol.com
We have an African grey who is about nine years old. He eats well but in the last month appears to have a periodic film over one nostril. This seems to not bother Egor as much as it does us. He is not coughing, sneezing or exhibiting any other type of symptom. Do you have any idea what could be causing the problem?
--Jeanne Marie Rearick, suprpol@netnitco.net
I have had my double yellow-head Amazon for 23 of his 26 years. He is quite a sturdy and extremely healthy guy. Last year he developed a sinus problem which cannot be diagnosed nor cleared up. One day I came home to find his left nostril bleeding and raw. I took him to an avian doctor the next day for tests, which came back negative. I put him on Ornacyn Plus, but he was extremely stressed and had difficulty breathing. I rushed him to the vet again (a 160-mile drive). The vet flushed his sinus cavity and did more tests and this time an e-coli virus turned up.
I've made lots of changes, including throwing out a wooden toy covered with a dusty mold. I sterilized the entire cage and perches and dishes, changed his cage cloth cover, removed walnut shells on bottom of cage and now only use newspaper. I change it twice daily and bought a new cage with a bottom design so he is kept out of bird droppings. I moved the cage to a sunnier, dryer room; I take him in the bathroom for warm steam and bathe him with misty warm water. There's no smoke around him at all. I even moved him and me to another location for three weeks, where he also developed a nose close.
Buddy has now had over 14 sinus flushes, which are painful and stressful for him, with usually only two to five days of relief. The nearest bird vet is at loss and suggested that he might always need a weekly sinus flush. I find this unacceptable. I want to find the cause and a cure, but I am at my wit's end.
 Birds can and do have chronic allergic reactions to a variety of antigens, including molds and grasses, with sneezing and nasal discharges as common symptoms. As in humans, allergic reactions can be serious - and they certainly can cause a lot of misery - but death is rare. Permanently removing either the allergens or the bird away from their source may be the only to clear up some problems.
However, allergies aren't the only causes in birds with these symptoms. Other possible culprits are bacterial infections, foreign objects in the nasal passages and even tumors.
Cultures can determine whether an infection is present. E. coli is commonly found in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. When E. coli bacteria are found in birds, it suggests an infection from exposure to mammals - one way this can come about is biting off pieces of food for your bird to eat.
If you haven't already, discuss with your veterinarian having further diagnostic procedures such as x-rays and CAT scans performed to determine if any of these problems are present. This will be expensive, but may be the only way to get to the bottom of a chronic upper respiratory problem.
James Harris, DVM is owner and medical director of the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia. He founded Montclair Veterinary Hospital in Oakland, Calif., and has served as medical director and chairman of the board for the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Berkeley. Dr. Harris' numerous professional honors include California and National Bustad Companion Animal DVM Awards.
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