# Am I allergic to my tiel? : (



## dimplez

I just got my tiel less than 2 months ago, but I’ve been having parakeets for the past 2 years.

About 3 weeks ago I started to have pretty bad cough, along with a common cold. I went to see the Dr., she said I had bronchitis & gave me some meds. It got better but the cough still lingers until today. Besides that, I start to have shortness of breath again (SOB), sometimes quite bad. Last year I also had really bad SOB, the Dr. couldn’t find anything & she believed that it’s from my stress/anxiety. That got better eventually & now the SOB is back even though I’m not as stressed out as before.

My question is, how do I know whether if I’m allergic to my tiel or this is just a coincidence that happens shortly I got my tiel? Is there any test to diagnose the possible allergic reaction? Which kind of specialist should I go to see? What can I do besides daily cleaning to reduce the dust/dander? Should I get an air purifier, if yes, which one would you recommend? 

Even though I’ve had my tiel for over a month, I’m very bonded with him & love him dearly. I can’t imagine giving him up to anyone, even the thought of it just kills me  Looking forward to hearing your suggestions! Thank you.


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## Clairey331

I have had EXACTLY the same thing going on! It started when my boy got ill though, that was around 3 weeks ago! Ive had cockatiels for 7.5 years, with no problems, however, when Derek became ill i was under alot of stress. I went to the doctor, and she wouldnt give me antibiotics, i had SOB and a cough that i couldnt shift, i had a bad cold 6 weeks earlier. She listened to my chest and back and said there was nothing wrong with me! I still have the cough and SOB althought it has slowed down, but im getting it at least once a day still. It could be stress and anxiety, however i just dont know! Super strange!


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## Bea

It's quite possible that your tiels dander is causing you to have breathing problems. I know the dander causes problems for me. I confirmed it by buying an air purifier for my bed room (where the tiels were formerly kept). The night i bought it i had a great night sleep, woke up feeling refreshed and without a stuffy nose and cough. Every night prior to that i would sleep restlessly, cough all night and wake up with a completely blocked nose. During the day i would have a bit of a cough and SOB, sometimes even a wheeze. I definitely recommend buying an air purifier. The main thing to watch for when choosing a brand/type is to get one either without an ionizer, or with an ionizer that can be turned off.


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## srtiels

Yes...your lungs can have a reaction to bird dander, and cause the symptoms you have described.

I wound up in the hospital a few years ago from a clolapsed lung due to breathing in the bird dander.

What you can ask your Dr. to do is to do an X-ray of your lungs. Dander will show up, and can cause inflamation. 

An air purifier will help. Also keeping the bird in a room that does not have a rug or cloth drapes on the windows helps to cut down of surfaces that the dander can cling to. If you live in a humid climate a dehumidifier will help with the breathing. When you have problems related to dander it can irratate the lungs and they can retain fluids, and the fluids can cause a shortness of breath....thus while you are having problems watch your own weight and be suspicious of small gradual weight gains.


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## Clairey331

Interesting Info, how can i go all these years having birds and only start with this problem now? Im sure mine must be down to anxiety. Obviously im not 100%. I do get shortness of breath outside the house or wherever i am, not always in the house with the birds. I have lost nearly a stone through stress in the last 3 weeks, ive also had a breast augumentation, so i suppose if im small framed anyway and some weight has dropped off then it might feel heavier up top. Who knows.


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## atvchick95

when a person is highly stressed their immune system is not up to par. This could be why now the birds are irritating your breathing and didn't before. 

With me its different I've always had a Immune disorder and i've been under a lot of stress non stop for the last 8 yrs or so Way before I ever got birds - So the birds don't seem to bother me any. but I have 2 air purifiers in the bird room where all the tiels are, and one in the other rooms with birds in them.


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## srtiels

Take care with the shorness of breath. I just last weekend in the hospital from congestive heart failure and fuid accumulation.

The dander problem is gradual, and it took 5 years for me to have serious symptoms...which I went into the hospital with pneumonia (sp) At the time it was the dander, but most hospitals don't look into the dander as a problem. If you mention you have birds they assume pssitcocsis and will bring in an infectious disease Dr. They put me on antibiotics which eleviated the problem. But after changes and a reduction of the amount of birds I wound up back in the hospital in 2006, and on a breathing machine for a couple months, which was a result of the misdiagnosed previous hospital stay. The problem with the dander is that it can cause pulmonary hypertension, which in turn can affect and damage heart valves. 

Whether you breed birds or not, and have breathing problems ask the Dr. to research Bird Breeders Lung. Most info pertains to pigeons, which has a high degree of dander, but symptoms and treatments are the same. It IS treatable and manageable.

Most times the Dr will tell you to get rid of all your birds. Or have them housed outside, or use lots of air purifiers, or find another species that does not give off dander. I started breeding mousbirds because they have crest like tiels, and long tails...BUT...they just are not cockatiels which are my first love.


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## Birdlette

Hey Susanne, hope you are feeling better! Sorry to hear you were in the hospital. Are you breathing all right now? I thought I'd missed seeing you post in awhile. Take care of yourself!!


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## tielfan

Cockatiels, cockatoos, and African greys produce powder down. The other parrots (including budgies) do not. Powder down creates a lot of "dust" so the species that have it are more likely to aggravate breathing problems than those that don't. When a cockatiel fluffs its feathers while it's illuminated by a ray of sunshine, you can actually see a small dust cloud rise up off the bird.

A true-HEPA air filter is VERY helpful. Some models are very high-priced (hundreds of dollars) but you can find some excellent brands at a much more reasonable price at places like Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears. Whirlpool, Honeywell, Hunter, and Kenmore are good brands, and there may be others. Go for one that says it has noise-reduction technology - the first one I bought didn't, and I returned it because the noise was annoying. They all make some noise, but that one was like living close to an airport.


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## Clairey331

Thats a horrible story Suzanne, im glad your out of the woods! I read somewhere else about you suffering from this (but cant remember where now) and i had forgotten until you mentioned it here. I will go to the doctors then. Thanks for the info. Dont know if this makes a difference, but im still in my 20's, so could this still affect me? Oh and i do smoke (hides) but i have drastically cut down since i have had this problem, although still wanting to smoke 20 per day with the stress of Derek being ill, however ive cut back to just 8 per day. I do plan to quit, but now hasnt felt the right time with everything going on. I hope you stay well. x


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## srtiels

Clairrey...It can occur at any age. Beleive it or not as long as you smoke it PROTECTS your lungs. it was when I cut down, and was down to 2-3 ciggs a day that my breathing became so bad, then a lung collapsed. My pulmonologist said that was on of the few instances when smoking was benefical to the lungs because the smike caused the lungs to react to foreign objects (the dust) and worked to expell them, and kept the immune sysytem up. IF it is the bird dander, and if you totally quit your symptoms will get worse within days.

I have on damaged mitral valve which is suspected as a result of rhumatic fever as a chicld, but since the last hosptial stay another valve is showing damge from the pulmonary hypertension. Summer time in Florida is the worst for me because of the high humidity which makes it harder to breathe. I am back 
sneak' smoking and it does help.


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## Clairey331

ha ha @ sneak smoking! My grandmother and others i know have gotten so many more health problems since stopping smoking, its crazy isnt it. What treatment are you on? Can your condition be sorted? It sounds awful. hugss.


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## srtiels

White in the hospital they had me on Revato. I took myself off it after a few months because of the side effect...lossing hair, and affecting vision. Since then I have been using Advair and Spiriva. I use either of these as needed. Initially within a month my breathing was back to normal. When I have bouts the Spiriva helps with hours.


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## Clairey331

Good, im glad to hear its managable for you now, you must be worried constantly though. I have a condition called Dysfunctional uterine bleeding, i used to loose 2.5 pints of blood in the space of half an hour, no idea what caused it, everything was normal before, i had 3 blood transfusions, and spent 7 weeks in hospital on various treatments. I was discharged in August just gone. that scared me to death, now this with Derek, ive been Stressed since June.


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## srtiels

OH boy...you will have to watch what you eat and eat plenty of foods that contain Vitamin K to help keep your blood coagulated. Something similar happened like that with my kidneys and I was gushing blood. 

You might want to ask your Dr about Spiriva or Advair...ususally Dr. will have sample sizes (10 days worth no charge) to see if it will help. If it helps you will feel reloef within minutes of inhaling them.


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## Clairey331

I will ask about them, not sure if they actually do the same drugs in the UK though, but no harm in asking. I was recommended by a friend to use something call Floradix, have you heard of it? its a good booster, especially if your a woman.


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## srtiels

No...I've not heard of Florasix...I'll have to check it out online. Your Dr. may have samples of something similar to Spiriva or Advair for you to try. Most drug companies give Dr offices generous sample boxes of various meds to give out to patients. Whenever my Dr is going to prescribe a new drug I always ask for a sample pack to see how I do with it.


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## dimplez

I'll definitely go to see the Dr. again & tell her about the birdies to see if there's any relationship between it. I really hope this problem, especially shortness of breath is not from the birdies as I recall I first had it almost 10 years ago. At the time I didn't have any birds, the Dr. couldn't find anything & it just eventually went away. I've noticed it started again, quite worse since I started college again last year. I'm extremely stressed out constantly & at times it feels like I'm having an anxiety attack...ugh...It's just now I have this weird cough that won't go away so I thought about the tiels dander. I didn't know it could be seen on a chest x-ray though. Back in Feb. of this year my x-ray results came back normal, but at the time I just had 4 parakeets & no tiel yet. I’m thinking to put on a mask whenever I play with my tiel…but that just takes away part of the fun : )


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## srtiels

I would suggest to get a full exam from the DR. Quite possibly it also could be heart problems.


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