Fadedmmries
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 2/13/19
- Messages
- 2
- Real Name
- Angie
Is it safe to use a human saline nasal spray on my cockatiel?
He has had a recurrent "stuffy nose" which the vet flushed, then gave him antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications for. He took the course of them and was doing well until about 2 months later he started with same "Pfft pfft pfft" sounds and I can see the white crusty boogies stuck inside.
I've been giving him small doses of the anti-inflammatory, giving him his spray baths (to hopefully moisten the crud), I have an humidifier going just about 24 hrs a day, I've taken him in the shower with me to sit in the steam like she suggested. The only other thing I can do is give him more antibiotics (which I wouldn't give to myself bc they're really bad for the gut) or spend another $200 (which we just literally do not have so we'd have to borrow from relatives if they even could) just so they can flush his nostrils again (which was only $22 but there's the automatic $100 fee just to be seen, plus whatever other stuff they use). I feel so awful. I just want to help my baby bird (he's 15 yrs old, not really a baby but always will be to me). It just must be so uncomfortable having this stuffy nose for so long and listening to his breathing with it just breaks my heart.
Is there anything else I can try at home? What about saline in like an eyedropper so it's just "moistening his nares" to break it up without using force or too much water? Would the saline be enough since misting plain warm water doesn't seem to be doing much.
He has had a recurrent "stuffy nose" which the vet flushed, then gave him antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications for. He took the course of them and was doing well until about 2 months later he started with same "Pfft pfft pfft" sounds and I can see the white crusty boogies stuck inside.
I've been giving him small doses of the anti-inflammatory, giving him his spray baths (to hopefully moisten the crud), I have an humidifier going just about 24 hrs a day, I've taken him in the shower with me to sit in the steam like she suggested. The only other thing I can do is give him more antibiotics (which I wouldn't give to myself bc they're really bad for the gut) or spend another $200 (which we just literally do not have so we'd have to borrow from relatives if they even could) just so they can flush his nostrils again (which was only $22 but there's the automatic $100 fee just to be seen, plus whatever other stuff they use). I feel so awful. I just want to help my baby bird (he's 15 yrs old, not really a baby but always will be to me). It just must be so uncomfortable having this stuffy nose for so long and listening to his breathing with it just breaks my heart.
Is there anything else I can try at home? What about saline in like an eyedropper so it's just "moistening his nares" to break it up without using force or too much water? Would the saline be enough since misting plain warm water doesn't seem to be doing much.
Angie! I wouldn't use a nasal spray on your cockatiel. I have been told that nasel flushes are painful for the bird, so I avoid them if possible. I have an Orange-winged Amazon with a mostly blocked nostril. I find showering (spraying) him helps to unblock it. You could also try nebulizing with F10 maybe at 1 part F10 to 250 distilled water. I nebulize Ollie nightly (1 part F10 to 125 distilled water) as he also has Aspergillosis. I would choose not to use antibiotics if possible since they wipe out the good bacteria as well as the bad. If the nasal discharge is clear it usually means there is no infection. If he has just finished a course of antibiotics, I would add probiotics to his food for a few weeks (at least as long as he had the antibiotics for) to rebuild the colony of good bacteria.
