Over the past couple of weeks Ro has had several bouts of excessive sneezing. This is not completely unusual for her this time of year. Last week however her sneezing bouts were coupled with some clear discharge late at night - she woke me up by ringing her bell so I could come help her. This happened on 3 occassions each instance occurring 1 or 2 nights a part. She had a vet appointment last Thursday but I needed to cancel: she had not had any further sneezing or discharge so I thought it was just allergies and I would reschedule. On Monday late morning my BF called me at work to say Ro was sneezing having discharge and this time the discharge appeared to have a yellowish tinge to it and be of a thicker mucous consistency he also said she was shaking. I left work to bring her to see Dr. Clubb in Loxahatchee. By the time I got to the house she was behaving normal -

Dr. Clubb examined her, took blood for CBC and a culture. I'm still waiting for test results - I believe she suspects allergies. She prescribed Atarax for her to start on. I've been giving this to her orally since Monday 1 x a day and she has not had any sneezing or discharge.

Some additional info:

Droppings had been normal except for last Saturday: they were very watery -note she was not sneezing or having any discharge since Wednesday night. Droppings began to firm up again on Sunday

Weight has been fine - she's gained weight since February

Acitivity has been good as well as appetite and drinking water - all have been the same.

It has been warm here so the heat has not been on but when the sneezing started I started running her humidifier at night to see if that would help her(humidity has been lower than usual for South Florida).

Have any of you used or heard of the use of Atarax before? I looked it up and can't find much info on it regarding allergies in birds - I do know it is an antihistamine but it appears to be used more for itching and feather picking than for nasal discharge. Also, any thoughts on her symptoms or questions I should make sure to ask.

Thanks so much for reading and for any thoughts you may have to share.

I thought Atarax was a sort of tranquilizer thing. I tried Atarax when my Guillain-Barre started to treat the nerve endings, maybe it can treat allergies by de-sensitising nerves. Have you maybe changed the substrate on the cage bottom? Allergies can sometimes take quite a while to come. Is it pollen season yet? Dusty seed or old nuts?

Yes, I'm somewhat confused why she is prescribing Atarax that's why I'm posting here to see if I could find any additional info - I did see inforamtion stating it is also a antihistamine but I could not find any inforamation where it was used for treating sneezing and discharge.

Cage bottom is newspaper, always has been newspaper for 4 years I've had her - so no change there. Here cage is cleaned 2x a day. First thing in the morning when she gets up and agian in the evening before she goes back in for the night. It is spring time here and like I said it is not unusual for her have more sneezing this time of year but the continued discharge, waking up in the middle night - that is unusual - I wonder if maybe the drought is making the pollen season worse this year?

Ro gets dehydrated veggies and a cage mix from Avian Naturals (kept in fridge) and another dish with a mixture of several types of pellets in it - her nuts are shelled - she only gets about 4 or 5 max a day and they are always very fresh I buy small bags of shelled walnuts, almonds, cashews and pine nuts at the grocery store. There is no food in her cage at night and I give her fresh bowls of food everyday.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the info on Atarax.

My GW Ru has had upper respiratory issues off and on for about 2 years now. When he starts to sneeze a lot I give him children's liquid Benadryl. After many vet visits, and batteries of tests we, vet & us, decided it is seasonal allergies. It always starts around the same time each year. My B&G Max had some issues but these were resolved after we rehomed our U2 Sophie. I learned the hard way that TOO dust can be very detrimental to macaws respiratory systems. Ru also seemed to improve.

Ru also starts to get "itchy" around this time of year and so I spray him with a mixture of "Buddy Rinse" and warm water twice a day. This was the mixture that "cured" his plucking issue around 2 years ago.
It has all natural ingredients and acts like a body lotion does for us humans.

I used to use Atarax for my allergies. It is an excellent decongestant.

Thanks Cathy, Jim & Maryann for the input. Jim & Maryann (not sure which one of you replied) where do you get the "Buddy Rinse"? I'd be interested in trying it for Ro. She was an avid plucker before she came to live with me but has pretty much stopped since we cleared up her infections, changed her diet and living conditions but she still pulls one out occassionally so I would be interested in looking into it. That is so great that Ru has stopped plucking! Also, depending on Ro's test results I will definetly inquire with Dr. Clubb about the Children's Benadryl: how much and how often do you give it?


Thanks again for your help!

Lori,
Sorry i didn't see this as fast as i should have. I'll get Mar to give you the info.

Lori
They calculate the Benadryl according to mg/KG. Ru is pretty heavy 1600GM so he can have 1.25cc twice a day. It is important to use the children's as there is no alcohol added to the Benadryl The only drawback is the cherry flavor. It sometimes makes him regurg a little.

As far as the buddy rinse...You can get it online from cloudstar.com. I recently started to use it again because he is going through a molt and is pretty itchy again. I also use it on my Hahns as she is a plucker too. Casey has regrown her feathers too.

I will look around for my pics of Ru's progress and if ya want I will post them.

Good luck. BTW I feel so confident about the results I bought the Buddy Rinse by the case.

Wow, now that's what I call an endoresment Thanks for info: I'll let you know how it works for Ro. I would love to see pictures of Ru's transformation.

Ro's test results came back and in addition to her allergies she has an infection, Baytril/Diflucan 2x per day for 21 days At least she is in good spirits. I asked Dr. Clubb about the Childrens Benadryl and she said she was good with it - I gave Ro some on Saturday and she didn't seem to mind the Cherry flavor at all - Propably because she hated the taste of the Atarax so much anything was better than that -

Thanks again!

I hope Ro is feeling better soon. How is she about taking Meds?