Pigeon lung disease

This is a respiratory condition, which is known as extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA). This condition can often be caused by breathing in the fine dust that accumulates on a birdcage or aviary and it can affect people that work with caged birds etc. There are three main ways extrinsic allergic alveolitis forms, acute, subacute, and chronic. People that are in contact with birds a lot whether it is through their work or pet owners usually develop the chronic form. The foremost symptoms are continual difficulty in breathing during physical exercise, dry and chronic cough, and lung malfunction. Even if a person does not have constant exposure to birds, low doses over long periods of time can still cause chronic extrinsic allergic alveolitis.

There isn't any association between the severity of extrinsic allergic alveolitis and the number of birds one family owns. Studies have been made that indicate that one bird alone can cause the same amount of damage as one hundred can when a person that is hypersensitive to them comes into contact with them. The birds that are more commonly known for causing these problems are: pigeons, lories, budgerigars, lovebirds, mynas, macaws, parakeets and even more so the powder down birds.

If you and your family own birds, be on the look out for any breathing problems that may arise in the house. Untreated, extrinsic allergic alveolitis can cause severe damage to the lungs, which will linger even after you have gotten rid of the bird. In cases where a person is just starting up with this sort of problem the solution may lie in simply getting rid of the birds and that may be all the necessary treatment needed. However, if it is a more serious case you will want to get medical treatment. Be on the look out for anyone in the house who may suddenly be having respiratory problems.