Is there anything topical that can help with leg pain

[zypria]

It's weekend, no vets around and parrot is unwell - very common situation. I'm trying to help him until we get professional help
My red rumped parrot fell yesterday afternoon I think, because I found him on the floor. Since then he's avoiding stepping with one foot, doesn't grip as hard, but can do so if desired (gripped my finger with both feet while he was laying on his back for inspection) so I don't think it's broken. The leg is warm and his feathers are a bit ruffled, look like he's in pain. Obviously prefers laying and sitting, thankfully he does eat and chirps occasionally

My question is - what can we put on his leg to ease his pain a little? I think human pain killing creams and plasters are out of question, or is concentration of medicine similar for pets? When we searched for antibiotic local vet gave us cream intended for human consumption. What about essential oils like eucalyptus? Since the plant is edible the oil maybe isn't toxic as well, in small amounts? I also have a plant based cream that contains mostly chamomile extract and tormentil tincture, with small amounts of peppermint essential oil (6mg per 1g), would that be alright? It does wonders for gum pain
Or something else that is safe to munch on because I'm sure he will lick it

 

[LaManuka]

Hi zypria, I'm very sorry your red-rump appears to be in pain!

I am not an avian vet, nobody here is, but would have to recommend against using any essential oil, certainly not eucalyptus. Yes it's from a plant, parts of which are edible, but essential oils are SO highly concentrated that I think it would be dangerous to a bird's exquisitely sensitive respiratory system. I also would not be able to recommend the chamomile extract and tormentil tincture you mention, as tinctures are often suspended in alcohol, and the peppermint essential oil sounds problematic as well. I just don't know what impact such a product might have if ingested by a parrot.

I very much feel for you and understand that you want to do something to alleviate your bird's pain until you can get him some professional help. They will most likely prescribe Metacam or one of it's derivatives for pain and/or inflammation, provided of course that nothing is broken. I wish there was something that I could recommend to you with 100% confidence - I would be extremely anxious about it too. In the meantime, try to keep him calm, perhaps pop a towel or something soft to rest on at the bottom of his cage if he cannot perch. Feed him lots of his favourite foods to try to keep him eating and try to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. I am hoping for the best for you!

 

[Scott]

Perfect advice above, wishing your bird a swift and comfortable recovery. If he can grip reasonably well, might move a perch to lower level of cage in case of another fall. Hopefully you can score avian vet appointment on Monday.

 

[SailBoat]

As stated above, truly great advise. Although the strong want here is to reduce pain. Unless you know what caused the fall you could be treating the result of the fall not the cause.

 

[Emeral]

It's weekend, no vets around and parrot is unwell - very common situation. I'm trying to help him until we get professional help
My red rumped parrot fell yesterday afternoon I think, because I found him on the floor. Since then he's avoiding stepping with one foot, doesn't grip as hard, but can do so if desired (gripped my finger with both feet while he was laying on his back for inspection) so I don't think it's broken. The leg is warm and his feathers are a bit ruffled, look like he's in pain. Obviously prefers laying and sitting, thankfully he does eat and chirps occasionally

My question is - what can we put on his leg to ease his pain a little? I think human pain killing creams and plasters are out of question, or is concentration of medicine similar for pets? When we searched for antibiotic local vet gave us cream intended for human consumption. What about essential oils like eucalyptus? Since the plant is edible the oil maybe isn't toxic as well, in small amounts? I also have a plant based cream that contains mostly chamomile extract and tormentil tincture, with small amounts of peppermint essential oil (6mg per 1g), would that be alright? It does wonders for gum pain
Or something else that is safe to munch on because I'm sure he will lick it

The thought of finding him on the floor is heart breaking. You are probably already..... keeping a close monitoring and keeping him warm, give easy to digest food, favorite food, time, confined movement to a small enclosed space, safe from predators, remove all perch, limit his jumping as much as possible. This link may provide useful information.

Natural Pain Relief For Birds (A Guide+ FAQ’s)

No one wants to see their pet bird in pain, we as humans know how uncomfortable pain is and seeing your little pet bird in pain can be hard to watch. If you aren’t keen to feed your pet bird man-ma…

crittercleanout.com

My avian vet prescribed meloxicam in syrup. For travel, our family had asked for separate items, one bottle of syrup and one bottle of powdered meloxicam, to mix of needed. This separation extended the shelf life. You might find this link interesting, it mentioned many pain killers for birds.

Do birds need pain relief?

Do birds require pain relief? Read our blog to see what we have to say.

www.learnbirdcare.org

Perhaps, as a short term solution, any emergency vet can prescribe pain killer for bird. After this emergency, let's get to the bottom of what can be done to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Best of luck

 

[Emeral]

I came across an interesting read....

Dog Conditions - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, and Cost

Dog condition information to check symptoms, discover causes, diagnose conditions, price check treatment and seek recovery.

wagwalking.com

 

[Littleredbeak]

I have gone through something similar. I believe (both vets told me) that atypical cream is not recomended as it can be licked off by the bird. One of the therapy we did was putting DMSO (sold at tractor supply for horses) on Anne's foot and ankle and to watch her to make sure she didn't lick it off. I was also giving her foot Epson salt baths so I'm not sure if we did this after or before the DSMO solution. This was done about a month after her injury and we were trying to relieve pain and function to her foot.

I personally would not mess with your birds foot to not make it worse or to potentially break her bone further int
incase of a hairline fracture.

I'd keep things quiet give her all her favorite foods and see if you can give anything that has natural anti inflammatory properties. Let her rest is really important because that is when your body repairs itself. Hope your bird feels better soon!

 

[zypria]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply
He's doing absolutely fine, day of rest and full night of sleep did the trick most likely. Grips perches and fingers as usual, walks as usual
He's jumping to the floor willingly ,enthusiastically looks for crumbs, perhaps he made a lapse of judgment the other day and landed badly. Vocal discouragement doesn't work, I have to chase him around like a chicken because kitchen floor is more interesting than any bird safe set up we can provide. I can only hope he has some survival instinct left and won't catapult himself full speed onto floors anymore

 

[Kentuckienne]

Sounds like he’s out of the hurt woods. Our avian vet ordered up a pain cream for Gus, a mix of lidocaine, voltaren gel, other topicals in a white carrier cream. Turns out, like many humans, Gus was allergic to the propylene glycol cream base! The vet suggested topical lidocaine gel from the drugstore. The risk if if something is broken, the bird might hurt it worse by not feeling it.