# Cleaning discharge from cere and eyes



## buggles001 (Aug 24, 2012)

Hello,

I have a cockatiel with chronic cere and eye discharge. I have been cleaning him with saline solution (sterile). This has been a problem for several years. He seems very uncomfortable when I clean him. I have tried distilled water and lactated ringers solution. Nothing seems comfortable for him. The latated ringers has more chemicals than the saline. I can only imagine distilled water is uncomfortable. These all were vet suggestions. I use q-tips and very soft cotton (as non-fraying as I can find). I am not scrubbing but using a very light touch. He gets some crusting around the eye which builds up if I leave it. I do this cleaning every 2 days. He is on metacam to reduce the inflammation. 

He scunches down in the towel and obviously dislikes it. The vet saw him and cleaned him. She thinks he is not in pain. 

Does anyone have experience with this? What is the best solution to clean 
with?

Any help will be very much appreciated. 

Thank you,
Lisa


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Lisa...If you can post some pix's of your bird that would help. And also a little more history on what the vet diagnosed the initial cause to be, and what treatments such as antibiotics, nasal flushes, supplements etc.


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Yes..more info because chronics eye/nasal discharge is not normal.


----------



## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

Poor baby! Hopefully someone will have some advice that can reduce his discomfort


----------



## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

One of my birds also has chronic nasal discharge due to allergies, and when I need to help her get clean, I just mist her or let her in the shower for a bit so she can clean it off herself. It's much less traumatic than me trying to wipe it off. Of course, I don't know how much discharge your bird has or how thick it is....as others have said, it's important to know the cause of the discharge to rule out the possibility of infection.


----------



## buggles001 (Aug 24, 2012)

I dont have a picture of him but this is due to chronic inflammation and scarring/blockage of the ducts between eye and nostrils. The eye did not show infection but the nostril showed staph. He has had several flushes over the past few years to no avail. The vet has tried all the applicable antibiotics (gentamycin, maxitrol, even polysporin). After awhile, I stopped this as it is hard on him and nothing was a cure. The metacam and surgery has helped one side is significantly better. My main inquiry is what to use to clean him. I much appreciate the suggestion of misting but it stresses him (tried before) and is not enough to clean him. Is lactated ringers or saline or something else best to clean with?

Thank you for the kind responses. This is a worry because he stresses easily. 
Lisa


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I think normal saline/contact cleanser is good if you can hold it on there for a bit to loosen the gunk before removing it.


----------



## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Have you talked to your vet about the possibility of nebulized antibiotics? It might be worth a try.


----------



## buggles001 (Aug 24, 2012)

Thank you for the support! I use sterile saline (looks like the bags you see in the hospital) as the pharmacist suggested this would have less possibly irritating preservatives than any other saline. I do agree with the saline suggestion though. I tried it in my own eye and it isn't irritating. That is not to say it is not irritating for him however. I don't really know what Lactated Ringer's is. The bag is also sterile but lists more chemicals than the saline.

The suggestion that I wet the area then give it time to absorb is great as this works well. My question would then be how to produce as little stress as possible while I am waiting for this to happen? He dislikes the whole process intensely. I have to catch him at night to do this as he won't come willingly (I do not blame him!). 

I already get him up 2 times a night (every other night) because I have to split the Medicam and cleaning as he gets really stressed quickly. He will now take his Medicam sitting on my arm and finally will accept a treat afterward. Any ideas about keeping him calmer during the cleaning would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
Lisa


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

You can towel him.. put a towel over every part of him but his head. That calms some birds down. But really, this "procedure" is something that can't be made any less stressful because it requires a lot of hands-on contact. Maybe use q-tips to wipe the gunk after soaking? I don't think if that would do any good to not have a cloth over his face.


----------



## buggles001 (Aug 24, 2012)

Thank you kindly for all the great suggestions. This is such a helpful group!

Sincerely,
Lisa


----------

