Cockatoo dust allergies?

[Sulphy Too]

Hello to everyone on this wonderful forum:

I am a ten year owner of a sulphur crested cockatoo I have had since he was a baby bird .He is one of the best things that ever happened to me and is my best friend . He does not see much of his cage other than when he sleeps in it or if I go away for the day to do some shopping . I take him to work with me on the farm and he sits on a ladder watching me work all day .At night I take him home , feed him and take him into the shower with me .If I don't he gets very angry .

Last year around this time I have developed an itch overnight that absolutely drove me nuts to the point I could only sleep two to three hours a night . At first I thought it was because I took hot showers, but over time it was clear it was something else. If I had to describe what it felt like it would be the feeling you get when you take two or three showers in a day and you get an itch from dry skin . The itch has calmed down somewhat especially now that I bathe in bath oil (Pinetarsol) and use special anti itch cream .But the itch has changed a bit to a tingling pin prickly itch , or sometimes it feels as if there are a few tiny mites crawling on my skin now and then, but almost always at nightime . The one thing that helps the most is that I change my bed linen almost every second day and the bird cage is in my bedroom .I also vacuum the carpets a lot .I 'm wondering if the reason I get the evening itch is because the bird dust gets blown into the air by my fan heater in the winter or my fan in the summer and lands on my bed . After a couple of evenings I can feel tiny tiny white or black specks on my bedsheets in addition to what appears very fine feather dust and pieces of feather down which I also see on my laptop computer next to my bed .

I have pretty much tried everything from going to a bird vet to check my bird for bird lice , to spraying my bed and all sheets with eucalyptus oil spray to kill bed bugs or other insects .I went to a dermatologist who gave me a ton of antihistamines that did not work. On rare occasions in the mornings I cough till I throw up .From what I read about allergies from bird dust most symptoms show up as respiratory problems .

My bird loves his rope hoop so I increasingly put him into it and hang him up in the living room and shut the doors when its his bedtime .

Has anyone out there in the 'too or bird community experiences bird dust allergies or symptoms like mine? Regardless what happens I'm keeping my bird but wil take whatever measures needed to alleviate the suffering I have from the nightime itch.


With kind regards to all in the community


Attila (Sulphy Too)

 

[metalstitcher]

@JLcribber this might be something you have heard of possbly?

 

[JLcribber]

Hello Attila. It is quite possible to be allergic to a cockatoo. My wife is so we have some experience dealing with that. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that you are sleeping in the same room as Sulphy. That is very bad because you are not giving your body a break and constantly breathing in that dust all night long. That has to change or you will end up with "birders lung". Anyone who owns a cockatoo should have a commercial quality Hepa air filter in their home to scrub that air of particles.

The kind of symptoms you have are not typical of an allergy to Sulphy. Since you work on a farm I would be far more worried about what else you are handling or are exposed to. You are allergic to something but I think you need to widen your investigation.

You can go to a doctor and have yourself tested for any "specific" thing to rule that out (like cockatoo dust).

 

[Hankmacaw]

As John said, the very first thing you need is a very good air filter, maybe even two. Bird dust can be damaging to your respiratory system even if you aren't allergic to it. Some people develop bird keeper's lung (Pulmonary Hypertensive Syndrome) without ever being allergic to the bird dust. Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis - NHLBI, NIH This is a well known illness of macaws and conures exposed to cockatoo dust.

I would say that your cockatoo needs to sleep somewhere other than your bedroom, whether you are "allergic" to him or not. Yes, there was one member on AA who became very ill with bird keeper's lung and had to rehome all of her birds. It was very sad. You could have an allergy to almost anything that you are exposed to, but you should start taking care of the known dangers from cockatoo dust right away.

Welcome to you and Sulphy.

 

[JLcribber]

Your symptoms are very typical of a food allergy that "you" have. There is a test called the "Elisa" test that will test your blood against hundreds of compounds at once.