Health guide
Respiratory infections
Respiratory signs are a syndrome, not one disease. Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, other bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and throat disease can all be involved.
How to recognise it
- Sneezing, nasal discharge, dirty cere, watery or swollen eyes and repeated head scratching.
- Noisy, open-mouth or effortful breathing, tail bobbing and poor exercise tolerance.
- Quiet behaviour, reduced appetite, weight loss or green droppings in systemic disease.
Usual treatment approach
- Open-mouth breathing or marked effort is an emergency. Minimise handling and avoid compressing the chest.
- Examination may include mouth/choanal inspection, swabs, microscopy, PCR, culture and imaging to identify the cause.
- El tratamiento de urgencia por defecto suele ser antibiotico, ya que los virus no los podemos tratar y la aspergilosis u otras infecciones de hongos en los pulmones son poco frecuentes (nunca totalmente descartables).
- La doxiciclina suele ser la elegida por veterinarios debido a ser rapida y eficaz con la mayoria de infecciones respiratorias. Tambien hay muchos productos especificos de palomas, que suelen contenerla.
- The course of antibiotics is usually started before we even know what we're dealing with because time is precious. It can be readjusted when the tests are back.
Sources and further reading