my dr told me to get rid of my macaw....help

akap

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Mar 1, 2011
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my wife and i moved in together 6 years ago about 1 year after we moved in together her alergies started to worsen she had already had a mild case of asthma but it started to get worst she also started to break out on her hands and lips and blowing her nose constently. she went and saw an alergist that perscribed some creams and what not and they didnt really help she did many allergy tests none of which came back posotive for bird alergies. the allergist suggested we get rid of our birds because of lung diseases caused to humans by birds. thats easier said than done. we then went and saw a lung spe******t that told us basically the same thing we had to get rid of the birds along with throw away all our fabrics in our home and have our ducts proffesionally cleaned and the house cleaned numerous consecutive times to help rid it of the dander........and if that didnt help we should consider moving. well im ok with doing all those thing except for getting rid of the birds. I NEED ADVICE, GUIDANCE AND ANY RECOMENDATIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE. i love my bird dearly bu i love my wife more if i have to finf buddy a new home i will but neither my wife nor i want that to happen.
akap:red:"buddy"
 

Boo

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Feb 21, 2011
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Oh no!! :( I'm so sorry! I don't have any advice, I just hope that if you need to rehome your birds, they find a good home. Good luck!
 

jew1187

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Jan 1, 2011
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Currently in Rocky Mount VA, Phoenix in May.
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3 Parakeets, Jaiden, Topaz and Peridot. Baby boy, Skyler, Eclectus.
The only thing I can say is that my sister was incredibly allergic to just about everything the family loved. It didn't matter what it was, she would always break out and we rarely enjoyed things we wanted or liked because of it. When she got married her allergy problem worsened because she moved in to the back woods with her husband. Her mother-in-law, being a nurse suggested a set of shots that consists of the number of things she is allergic to which helped her immune system fight against it. She can now enjoy everything she once was unable to. Talk to your Dr. and see if there is something to the effect your wife would be able to do. It has done wonders for my sister.
 

suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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there is alternative therapy out there that works, but its iky, your withs immune system seems to be in over drive, so you could get rid of the birds and her allergies continue??

they didnt really help she did many allergy tests none of which came back posotive for bird alergies.




basically the treatment is your wife ingests eggs of a worm that live in the gut, its not tape worm? i can't remember name of worm, she will pass them, she will not know there there! but she needs to keep the worm levels topped up, she gives them a free meal and the worms basically inhibits the immune system, they have done it for alot of severe hayfever sufferers in the UK with dramatic results!

she had already had a mild case of asthma but it started to get worst she also started to break out on her hands and lips and blowing her nose constently.

is she coming into contact with something from work?? i ask this as our hands come into contact with our mouths, asthma aside, is she handling cleaning products, latex etc as breaking out on our hands normally suggest contact allergie
 
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JawzX

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Aug 22, 2010
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there is alternative therapy out there that works, but its iky, your withs immune system seems to be in over drive, so you could get rid of the birds and her allergies continue??

basically the treatment is your wife ingests eggs of a worm that live in the gut, its not tape worm? i can't remember name of worm, she will pass them, she will not know there there! but she needs to keep the worm levels topped up, she gives them a free meal and the worms basically inhibits the immune system, they have done it for alot of severe hayfever sufferers in the UK with dramatic results!

I have heard of this treatment as well, I beleve they are porcine hookworms... The worms arre not able to survive in the human digestive system for their entire life-cycle as they are evolved to live in pigs, but while there the worms release enzymes that function as highly targeted immuno suppressives that effect allergic reactions, but leave regular immune response to dissease in tact. It's believed that they evolved this system to pevent upsetting the host animal's digestive tract while keeping them a healthy viable host for the worm... Last I knew this treatment was still expeimental, but had shown great success in both severe chronic allergic cases and hyper-immune disseases like lupus...
 

suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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could be jawzX but i heard about it some time back (yrs) and thought it was basically put in with alternative therapys, same as maggots to clean wounds, but with saying that if its the best treatment i'd go for it, i am a firm believer of nature knows best! though i am sure she has a sense of humour or i won't have PMT lol
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Have you tried to have the birds in a specific room with doors shut and filtration system running 24/7? My ex was highly allergic to poultry, including my birds as well... I kept them in a separate room with filtration system running. Vacuum I use is for in there only and I take the system outside to clean off bird dust....never had a problem....
 

Chaos_1.0

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If you can have the birds in another room, I would highly suggest a rabbit air system. I had a cheaper hepa filter that was ok. It didn't do that good of a job so I bought a rabbit air. That was probably one of the best purchases I have ever made. It drastically improved the air quality in my room and reduced the dandruff to nothing. It is also really quiet too.
 
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akap

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a love bird...my macaw could be a twin to the 1 in your profile pic.
 
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akap

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thanks...and we will start keeping him in another room, the rabbit air purifier is it a free standing portable system? and do i put it in the birds room? thanks again
ak
 

Spiritbird

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I agree completely with Rabbit air. I have one also. They are expensive but far better to run the cleaner than have to place you bird elsewhere.
 

triordan

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i wasnt aware that macaws had a lot of dander...hmmmm
i thought it was more with the african greys and cockatoos
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
All birds make dander. But not as bad as the powder dust makers which are Cockatiels, Cockatoos, and African Greys. You would place the filtration system in the bird room yes! Vacuum often, buy a vacuum cleaner just for that room. My ex never got sick from them unless they're in the same room( someone who rarely visited my bird room). Living room was right beside the bird room, never an issue. Good luck!
 

wildheart

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Welcome to the forum and I am really sorry to hear about your situation. :( Thankfully you are prepared to try everything possible before going over to drastic measures. My heart really goes out to you.
 

EvieWg

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Feb 17, 2011
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If the tests came back and she's not allergic to birds, then it's not allergies! I would get a 2nd opinion as far as doctors go. They are, only human.
 

EvieWg

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PS: I use to live in a house with forced air (ducts). No matter how clean you get them, it'll aggravate allergies. We now have radiator heat in our apartment (we sold the house). Also, a humidifier helps too.

Has she tried stuff like Zyrtec or Claritin? I use to be allergic to cats, I took one a day Claritin for 2 weeks and my immune system got use to the cat I adopted. Now, I'm no longer allergic.
 

MikeyTN

New member
Feb 1, 2011
13,296
17
Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
PS: I use to live in a house with forced air (ducts). No matter how clean you get them, it'll aggravate allergies. We now have radiator heat in our apartment (we sold the house). Also, a humidifier helps too.

Has she tried stuff like Zyrtec or Claritin? I use to be allergic to cats, I took one a day Claritin for 2 weeks and my immune system got use to the cat I adopted. Now, I'm no longer allergic.

I used to be allergic to cats too. I rescued my cats from outside. After a month being sick on a daily basis, I got over it and never been allergic to my cats since. But I was taking benedryl on a daily basis too.
 

Ozzy

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Sep 28, 2010
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Ozzy- 5 year old Dna'd male Blue Front Amazon
Sorry- but introducing hookworms into your gut... GROSS!! I'm sure there is proof it works but thats not something I could ever do!

I also have a rabbit air purifier (had it before the bird) and it works fantastic for everything (smells/dander/pollen). I would consider it :)
 

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