eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Hi,

Well, I guess we need to discuss this... The media is crawling with stories of bird flu, and all sorts of other nasty medical conditions. Here's the skinny, short and sweet.

• Before all else, visit your doctor. Tell her of your concerns regarding issues like bird flu, staph, Lyme Disease, colds, and only you know what else. (Besides... Be honest... You're late getting your prostate, breast, or cholesterol test done aren't you?) Also be sure to take a copy of this to let your physician give it a review.
• After you talk with your doctor... Act! Follow her directions as well as the directions on all medications and treatments.
• That out of the way, let's talk details about problems you might encounter in the backyard.
  • Bird flu: Thankfully, exposure to local birds and feeders in America poses virtually no threat. Still, for the sake of clarification... There are 16 variants of this virus, (the "H5N1" seems to be the strain that's currently posing the greatest risk to humans, (Center for Disease Control). Due to possible feeder contact, after feeding the birds simply wash your hands for 30 seconds using warm water and soap.
  • Staph infections: This is a more realistic threat, though not from your birds. The spread of staph infections is typically due to exposure to the bacteria via other humans. To greatly reduce the threat, simply wash your hands for 30 seconds using warm water and soap after any possible exposure.
  • Lyme disease: Lyme disease is a heavy hitter, and is spread by ticks. If you step out to fill the feeders and later notice that a tick has decided to call your person "home"... Relax... Take a good look at the little bugger. If you can see its head and all 8 legs, simply use tweezers to remove it by grasping its head and pulling gently. What you don't want to do is squeeze its body and in doing so empty the parasites that are in its gut into your bloodstream. But whether you remove the tick or not, save the wee beastie and stop by the local emergency room, fire department, or give your doctor a call promptly... Those folks will put the issue to rest pronto.
  • The common cold: Obviously, this has nothing to do with birds, but while I'm here... Wanna know the cure to the common cold? Here it is in 5 easy steps...
    1. Never sniffle. There's a reason why your body is trying to expel the mucous that it skimmed off the cilia in your lungs and out of your sinuses. And that reason has nothing to do with you sniffling and dragging all that junk back down into your throat.
    2. Any time you use the bathroom, wash your hands for 30 seconds using warm water and soap. (Do you note a theme here?)
    3. Prior to eating or snacking, wash your hands for 30 seconds using warm water and soap. (There's that theme again.)
    4. When you go shopping, (or go to the gym, visit the mall, etc...) Keep an antiseptic mist (below) or towelette at the ready. (Your doctor or pharmacist can help you here.)
       
       
       
       Obviously, common sense goes a long way.
    5. Try to keep your hands away from your face... Just because you pay attention to hygiene doesn't mean that others do.

As I said at the beginning of this... Here's the skinny, short and sweet... Using common sense and cleanliness, feeding the birds is about as safe as safe can get.

See you by those harmless feeders,

CapeCodAlan