Infant Allergies & Birds

Many infants suffer from common yet hidden allergies that are caused from birds, whether they are family pets or wild birds in the outdoors. These allergies can cause minor to serious health issues, from mild rashes to severe lung damage. However, there are preventive measures that parents can take to protect their infants and prevent unnecessary health risks.

Infant Allergies

• Innocent birds carry allergens.

  It is a fairly common reaction for babies and infants to develop allergies because their immune systems are still developing and are often too weak to defend their body. Almost any loose dust particles or airborne fragments could cause a reaction such as runny eyes, stuffy nose, congestion or skin rash.

  Allergies are generally categorized into groups of causes and severity. An allergy to birds, for example, is placed into the group referred to as Allergy Type 1 or a contact allergy. This means that the allergy is caused when the person comes into contact with something that causes their immune system to react.

Bird Allergy

• Innocent spreaders of bird allergens

  When an infant has an allergy to birds, it's the allergens that are in the bird's skin that cause the reaction.This is because these microscopic allergens are airborne and the dander, which are the tiny fragments of combined saliva, urine and feces of the birds, circulates into the air every time the birds ruffle their feathers or when they preen themselves.

  When infants are outside, bird dander--which is loose in the air--can fall onto the babies' skin causing a rash or irritation, but they also can inhale it. Dander also gets into the home from outside through open windows or it comes in on the bodies of people or pets who are coming in from the outside.

Dangers

• Bird allergies are stressful for infants.

  The effect of the allergy and the dangers it presents varies depending on the infant and the exposure, and the type of bird. Some smaller free birds outside can cause skin rash, runny eyes, stuffy nose and congestion if the infant is outdoors for long periods of time.

  However, a baby's reaction to pet birds such as parrots and parakeets can be much more serious, causing what is known as bird-fancier's lung or hypersensitivity pneumonitis, according to OccupationalAsthma.com. The symptoms for this type of reaction are more obvious and include shortness of breath, fatigue and a loss of energy, so the infant will just want to sleep. As exposure to this more serious reaction continues, scar tissues can form in the lungs and, in time, this disease can be fatal.

Prevention and Solution

• A happy infant

  Because bird allergens can get on people's skin when they're handling a bird or cleaning its cage, and can spread to an infant from remnants of the dander that remain on their own hands or clothing, some bird owners opt to remove the bird from their homes for the sake of their infants.

  However, some bird pet owners might want to find ways to prevent the allergens from spreading to the infants without having to give up their pet. Preventive measures include isolating the bird into a separate room inside the home and away from the infant, keeping the room and bird cage cleaned regularly and free of loose feathers or cage droppings, washing hands and clothes thoroughly after handling the bird or cleaning its cage or room and putting all cage refuse in tied bags inside closed garbage containers away from any area where the infant might be.

  Whether the home has a pet bird or not, airborne allergens from outside can still find their way inside to the infant. The best way to protect a child from outside allergens is to install an electronic air filtering system onto the furnace. The air filters trap the microscopic allergens and keep the air that's circulating in the home clean and free of bird allergens. A secondary backup system includes having individual air purifier systems set up in various rooms of the house where the infant spends the most time, such as in the baby's bedroom or in the living room.

Remedies and Medicinal Care

• Creams can soothe your infant's skin.

  There are both over-the-counter and prescription creams that have antibiotic and healing aspects in them that can be used on infants for allergic rash. Aloe vera and Quercitin are two such creams that work well on children and adults. However, before using them on an infant you should contact your child's doctor just to be sure your baby won't have a reaction to these creams, as well.