Psittacosis
Psittacosis = The one disease carried by birds which can be transmitted to humans, also known as Chlamidiosis, but NOT at all related to the venereal disease Chlamydia.
Remember my post a few weeks back when I'd been cleaning in the back porch, without wearing a mask because I didn't think one was necessary, and then I very suddenly got sick?
Symptoms are>>>
Fever (can get as high as 40 degees)
Headaches
Chest pains
Dry cough
Lethargy
Nausea
Well, I had five of those, (no nausea) and still have the cough and some chest pains, headaches and lethargy. The fever passed fairly quickly.
Anyway, today I went to my doctor on a different matter, a painful muscle spasm in my back over the weekend which saw me unable to move.
I wanted a certificate to stay off work for the week as I don't think I should be lifting heavy groceries just yet although I'm walking just fine now.
While I was there, I kept coughing and he asked how long this had been going on. So I told him about the previous tenant keeping birds and how I'd cleaned up a lot of the residue.
The first thing he said was let's get a blood test....birds can transmit Chlamidiosis to humans.
I'd just assumed my asthma had been greatly aggravated by the dusty clean up.
So he printed the form for the pathologist, with "exposed to bird droppings and feather dust" in big letters on it, and off I went to the shiny new pathology part of the clinic. Where the lovely assistant took four tubes of blood from me. FOUR!! Three fat tubes and one skinny one.
Then we sat back and discussed our back problems. She gets the same painful muscle spasms that I do and we both wished that someone would research and find a cure for this. Both of us restrict ourselves in the things we do because the pain is unforgettable, no matter how long it's been since the last time and we don't want to risk another episode. Trouble is....any little thing can set it off. Such as sleeping in the wrong position when napping on the couch, bending too suddenly etc.
I won't have the results of the blood test until next Monday, I'll drop in after work for them.
Then if I do have this Chlamidiosis, he'll know what type of antibiotics to prescribe for me.
I'll let you know....
Remember my post a few weeks back when I'd been cleaning in the back porch, without wearing a mask because I didn't think one was necessary, and then I very suddenly got sick?
Symptoms are>>>
Fever (can get as high as 40 degees)
Headaches
Chest pains
Dry cough
Lethargy
Nausea
Well, I had five of those, (no nausea) and still have the cough and some chest pains, headaches and lethargy. The fever passed fairly quickly.
Anyway, today I went to my doctor on a different matter, a painful muscle spasm in my back over the weekend which saw me unable to move.
I wanted a certificate to stay off work for the week as I don't think I should be lifting heavy groceries just yet although I'm walking just fine now.
While I was there, I kept coughing and he asked how long this had been going on. So I told him about the previous tenant keeping birds and how I'd cleaned up a lot of the residue.
The first thing he said was let's get a blood test....birds can transmit Chlamidiosis to humans.
I'd just assumed my asthma had been greatly aggravated by the dusty clean up.
So he printed the form for the pathologist, with "exposed to bird droppings and feather dust" in big letters on it, and off I went to the shiny new pathology part of the clinic. Where the lovely assistant took four tubes of blood from me. FOUR!! Three fat tubes and one skinny one.
Then we sat back and discussed our back problems. She gets the same painful muscle spasms that I do and we both wished that someone would research and find a cure for this. Both of us restrict ourselves in the things we do because the pain is unforgettable, no matter how long it's been since the last time and we don't want to risk another episode. Trouble is....any little thing can set it off. Such as sleeping in the wrong position when napping on the couch, bending too suddenly etc.
I won't have the results of the blood test until next Monday, I'll drop in after work for them.
Then if I do have this Chlamidiosis, he'll know what type of antibiotics to prescribe for me.
I'll let you know....
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good grief...we aren't even safe cleaning in our own homes. Here's hoping for a quick diagnosis and the correct cure.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. Whatever is wrong I hope it gets fixed soon. I never realised there was so much dangers from cleaning bird residue. Scary!
ReplyDeleteHope that cough clears up soon, whatever the reason. Your muscle issues sound frustrating too! :(
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth?? That is scary stuff! The landlord should be responsible for exposing you!!
ReplyDeleteThe world on your sidebar says I'm from Independence. That's not too far off. :)
Poor River. Poor, poor River. I hope that your back eases off quickly (those muscle spasms are awful) and that the blood tests are clear.
ReplyDeleteDelores; the cure is a course of antibiotics, so that won't be a problem.
ReplyDeleteSarah; normally it wouldn't be a problem, this only happens if one (or more)of the birds had the disease. Not all birds have it.
Happy Elf Mom; Ha Ha, the landlord is the SA Government...all they needed to do was hand over a reasonably clean acceptable residence. Which they did. They just didn't bother checking inside the cupboards and I didn't either until I started putting stuff in them. Before that I hadn't known about the birds and certainly didn't know about any possible disease factor.
EC; My back is mostly okay now, I'm taking it easy for a week before going back to work, then I'll be careful with lifting the grocery bags. I hope the blood test DOES show psittacosis, because if it doesn't I'll probably face much more testing to find out the cause of this endless coughing. I'd much rather face just one week of antibiotics.
Fingers and toes crossed your blood tests come back negative :-).
ReplyDeleteWindsmoke; a negative test would mean even more testing to find out why I'm still coughing so much so often. A positive test means a quick antibiotic fix.
ReplyDeleteCrikey! I'm not sure what I'm wishing for when I automatically want to say 'good luck' on your blood test results - a defined reason for your ailments but also a specific way to get rid of them for you.
ReplyDeleteKath; I'm hoping for a positive result so I can get a quick cure. I'm also wondering if the previous tenant knows he had a sick bird or two in his flock, as symptoms aren't always apparent until the bird is very ill.
ReplyDelete