Archive for May 5th, 2010

by Debbie

If you’ve just adopted a beautiful bird only to find that your are allergies rev up when you come into close contact with the bird for prolonged periods of time, you may be allergic to your bird.

Don’t despair because as scary as this discovery can be, here are 7 things you can do as well as changes you can make to enjoy your bird while keeping your allergies under control.

Keep the Bird’s Room and Cage Clean-This cannot be stressed enough. Keep the cage clear of dropping and feathers, vacuum regularly, mop the floor daily, and change its drinking water as often as needed to keep it fresh. This is of course healthy for your bird, and it also prevents mold growth.

If you feed your bird fresh foods (and it will love you for this), be sure to throw them away after several hours to avoid mold growth.

Shower with Your Bird-This is convenient way to give your bird a bath, and spend time with it in an environment where the dander is low.

Bird perches are relatively inexpensive and are easily installed. Make sure they are placed away from direct spray, and turn the nozzle to a super gentle spray setting.

You’ll know immediately whether your bird likes the water. And if it does, it will do the rest for you. Always check with your vet about what products to use and how often to use them.

Wear a Mask-If you are the one doing the daily cleaning, be sure to wear a mask when you are performing task that are likely stir up dander and feathers. Your local hardware store is sure to carry a variety.

Experiment until you find one that allows you to be most comfortable when cleaning up after your bird.

Keep Your Hands Clean–Wearing gloves is best, but if you choose not to, wash your hands immediately after you finish to minimize contact with skin and eyes. This will greatly reduce the number of allergens that have direct contact.

Remove Fabrics and Upholstery-This process may have to be a gradual one, but it is well worth the time, money, and effort in terms of the significant improvement you will see in your allergies.

Draperies, carpet, upholstered furniture make great place for dander to hide, and sitting, dusting, and even vacuuming can send a ton of dander airborne. This makes it easy for it to invade your eyes, nose, and throat triggering the symptoms that can make you so miserable

Change Your House Filters Often-Get the smallest particulate size filter that they make for your central system. Start by changing them once a month. Take note of whether you find less dust on the furniture and floor. If this does decrease the dust, go to 2 months.

Gradually lengthen the frequency of filter changes until you have found the least number of changes that produce the desired result. Mark the dates on you calendar, and stay regular with replacing them.

Use a HEPA Air Purifier-Cleaning the air with a high efficiency particle arresting (abbreviated as HEPA) air purifier assures you that for every 10,000 particulates greater than .3 microns, it will remove 99,997 of them leaving only 3 out of 10,000.

Allowing your air to be filtered 24 hours a day is good for both you and your bird. Increase the rate of air exchange when cleaning the room and cage to keep the dander count low and the air quality high. And remember, clean air also cuts down on the spread of airborne disease and infections for both you and your bird.

About the Author

Feel better by taking the bird and household allergens out of your air with the air purifier at http://purerair.com/bird_dust_air_purifier.html
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com

By: Debbie

Pet birds that live in our homes create bird dander and dust that can become trapped in our well insulated homes. Here are 5 reasons what using an air purifier is the best way to keep you and your bird healthy.

Small Air Passages–One of the reasons they have small air passages is because their bodies are small. But their airways are also designed differently and as such are far more efficient at supplying oxygen to their little bodies than humans.

Small air passages are a prime target for dust and/or mites if your bird’s air is unfiltered. Clogged air passages can lead to grave health problems for your bird very quickly. Filtering the air of particulates such as their own dander, and powder (from powder down birds such as African Greys, Cockatoos, and Cockatiels) will very quickly determine whether your bird is able to breathe or not.

Efficient Delivery of Oxygen–Though small, the tubes that transport the air from outside to the air sacs at the back of the bird’s body do so with great speed. So once the bird’s breast bone forces air in through the air passages, the air sacs then push that air into the blood stream pushing carbon dioxide out.

Using a cleaner that can constantly insure that your bird is breathing clean air gives you feathered friend a huge advantage towards good health and a long life. If the air contains harmful airborne gases, chemicals, or smoke, this same marvelous system that makes oxygenation so swift and efficient is then used against them.

The harmful gases are delivered just as swiftly and often cause death immediately. Constant filtration by an air purifier with a filter that can absorb these invisible pollutants will improve your bird’s chances of a long and healthy life.

Clogged Air Passages Lead to Infection–The tubes (respiratory tract) that carry the air to your bird’s air sacs should remain clear all the time. Air that is clogged with pollutants puts your bird at a higher risk for respiratory infection and disease. Aspergillosis is one such fungal infection that can start in air passages and if not caught in time can spread to other parts of the body and cause death.

Infection and Diseases are Hard to Detect–Birds are programmed to disguise weakness caused by illness. This is to prevent them from becoming prey to stronger birds. In captivity, this makes it extremely difficult to detect problems early. Many times once you see symptoms your friend is gravely ill.

Taking proactive steps daily, such as air filtration, cleaning the cage, clearing away feces promptly, providing fresh water and food and removing them before they become moldy and can be ingested by your bird are just a few of the offensive measures you can take that will keep your bird healthy.

Bird Dander Affects People–How it affects you differs from one person to another. If you have allergies, asthma, respiratory problems or a compromised immune system you stand a greater chance of having adverse reactions to the bird dander, feathers, and dust that come with owning a bird.

If you are healthy, and you maintain a space that is clean and well filtrated, and you have one or 2 birds in reasonably sized space, you will probably be just fine.

However, there are some diseases that are able to be transferred from birds to humans by attaching to, among other particles, bird dander. The most well known of these diseases is called Psittacosis, or Chlamydiosis, and is sometimes more commonly referred to as Parrots Fever.

The name Parrots Fever probably stuck because parrots are generally more susceptible to the disease than other birds. One of the ways that this disease travels is by attaching to minute particulates such as dander, feathers, bird dust or dried feces and being inhaled or ingested by other birds and humans.

Many believe that the chances are slim for developing Chlamydiosis from your bird. But it is of little consolation if you are one of the few. Filtering your air does nothing but increase the chances of good health for you and your bird.

And besides, a caretaker who is healthy and feels good around their bird is able to provide the best care possible, which is the care that every pet bird deserves.

About the Author
The Bird Dander Air Purifier can help insure a long and healthy life of clean fresh air for your bird. See it now at http://purerair.com/bird_dander_air_purifier.html
Source: http://www.articlealley.com