• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Acute bronchitis caused by my birds?

mochiballs

Sprinting down the street
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/18/15
Messages
454
Location
Vancouver Island
Real Name
Jessica
For the past couple of years I’ve been constantly getting ill with acute bronchitis for long periods of time. My doctor believes that I’ve somehow developed an allergy/respitory issues because of the birds- mainly started after getting Sulley. Currently Sulley and Stitch live in my bedroom. I clean daily and have an air purifier. A simple solution would be to move them into another room but unfortunately I’m not allowed to have him in another room as I only rent the room from my mom and she does not want them in another room, and also the dogs would also be a problem. My doctor and mother are trying to convince me to rehome the birds, but I love them and can’t bear to be apart. Do you have any suggestions on ways to make us all coexist without impeding my health?
Thanks
 

Sodapop&Co.

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/4/18
Messages
2,013
Location
CA, North America, Planet Earth
Real Name
Sarah
Oh man, I'm so sorry. I "developed" asthma and allergies, and while we can only assume that it was related to my birds, bird dust is still one of my worst triggers. It sucks; I really hope you can figure out a way to keep them in a separate room.
 

QB1rd

Jogging around the block
Joined
6/7/21
Messages
889
I have the same problem. The best thing you can do is put them in another room, BUT for me I also vacuum and dust like a maniac. An air purifier is a must and you have to stay on top of changing its pads if it has pads. Check how often the air filters in your house are changed - offer to change them yourself if it comes down to it. Do you change your birds’ papers everyday? That can help too. You can also spray them with a mist of water to help keep dust down as well.
Good luck!
 

April

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
3/21/10
Messages
23,894
I'm so sorry that's happening. That's something that was always in the back of my mind over the past 15 years of having birds and them only being able to live in my room. Thankfully I never had issues but I obsessively dusted,cleaned the cage(s)and had an air purifier most of the time. A big thing that I've heard can help is changing the cage papers every day especially before bed so your not breathing in the fecal particles or feather dust as you sleep. And also misting the papers down before you change them so more dust and particles aren't released into the air then.
 

mochiballs

Sprinting down the street
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/18/15
Messages
454
Location
Vancouver Island
Real Name
Jessica
What air purifier do you have and what birds?
I use a Honeywell 300C and I have a caique and pearly conure in my room.
Oh man, I'm so sorry. I "developed" asthma and allergies, and while we can only assume that it was related to my birds, bird dust is still one of my worst triggers. It sucks; I really hope you can figure out a way to keep them in a separate room.
It really sucks. I'm sorry you're also dealing with this. Thank you. I'm trying to convince my mom to let me use the spare bedroom. I honestly think that my doctor is just trying to find some reason I'm getting sick and the easy answer is the birds because there's no answer so far.
I have the same problem. The best thing you can do is put them in another room, BUT for me I also vacuum and dust like a maniac. An air purifier is a must and you have to stay on top of changing its pads if it has pads. Check how often the air filters in your house are changed - offer to change them yourself if it comes down to it. Do you change your birds’ papers everyday? That can help too. You can also spray them with a mist of water to help keep dust down as well.
Good luck!
Thank you! I'm cleaning them daily, along with their play areas. I'm also often changing the air purifier and they're both getting bathed daily.
I'm so sorry that's happening. That's something that was always in the back of my mind over the past 15 years of having birds and them only being able to live in my room. Thankfully I never had issues but I obsessively dusted,cleaned the cage(s)and had an air purifier most of the time. A big thing that I've heard can help is changing the cage papers every day especially before bed so your not breathing in the fecal particles or feather dust as you sleep. And also misting the papers down before you change them so more dust and particles aren't released into the air then.
Thank you for the suggestions! I'm trying to see if it would be better if I get the carpet in my room removed.
 

flyzipper

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/28/20
Messages
2,591
Location
Canada
Real Name
Steve
Three thoughts from me, in addition to the already good suggestions you've received...

First, I'm a fan of measuring, because without that it's mostly guesswork. You could have a company do a point-in-time measurement, or you could get a device like this... Airthings View Plus | Complete air quality monitor. A device like that monitors numerous aspects of indoor air quality, and they've added particulate matter (PM) to this new unit. Continuous measurements would allow you to determine what fan speed you should run the air filter, whether you have enough filtration, when you cook or vacuum what particulates are raised to, and how long it takes the air filtration and ventilation to return from elevated levels to baseline, etc.

Second, speaking of ventilation, since you're already running an air purifier, the next step if you still suspect poor indoor air quality (or it's revealed through measurement), is adding ventilation. If you don't open your window for fresh air, and or if you often have your door closed, it's possible there isn't much fresh air being introduced into your room. This combination will not only lead to higher particulate levels, but also higher CO2.

Third is to be diligent about the use of the kitchen range hood to ventilate when cooking (which must be vented to the outside in order to be effective). If you don't have a proper make-up air setup (most homes don't), you should crack a window when cooking so the bad air that's expelled by the exhaust fan is replaced and balanced by fresh air. This is especially crucial if your kitchen range is gas, but all cooking releases air contaminants that should be managed.

I suppose lastly, most vacuums will elevate particulate matter levels in the air because they do a bad job filtering what they're aggressively picking up off of surfaces, so vacuuming dried bird poop and dander is almost guaranteed to fill your room with ultra fine nasty things in the air, therefore run your air purifier on high and open a window every time you vacuum, and stay out of the room while the filtration and ventilation have a chance to do their thing.
 
Top