#Middlebury
DEAR DR. ROACH: I was a very active, healthy 68-year-old until March, when I was hospitalized for two weeks for bilateral pneumonia. I was told by doctors at the hospital that it would take four to six weeks to get my health back.
However, I experienced shortness of breath and bouts of coughing for months and insisted on seeing a specialist three weeks ago. A CT scan and bronchoscopy showed symptoms typical of bird lung. We had a cockatiel for 17 years!
I am now taking prednisone and ibuprofen, which are helping to clear up the inflammation. I hope to be able to return to work soon. My family doctor and several other doctors I know said that they’d studied this at med school but had never seen it in their practices. I hope this serves as a warning to other people who might be tempted to buy a pet bird or to breed them. I was lucky, but someone in poor health might not have survived the deadly combination of pneumonia and bird lung.
ANSWER: “Bird lung” is a term that might refer to either of two possibilities. The first condition is “bird-fanciers lung” – essentially an allergic reaction to bird droppings, feathers and the proteins of various birds. It can look very much like pneumonia, with abnormal chest X-ray findings that can be indistinguishable. The only cure is to get away from the source of the allergens, but prednisone might be necessary in severe cases. It is not an infection.
The second possibility is an infection called psittacosis (sit-a-CO-sis), caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci. Cockatiels are commonly infected by this organism, and the birds do not always appear ill. Psittacosis can be a very severe illness, potentially affecting multiple systems, but it usually responds rapidly to appropriate antibiotics, such as tetracyclines.
Given your history, I suspect that bird-fancier’s lung, also called hypersensitivity pneumonitis, is more likely. It sounds like your specialist is treating you appropriately.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I read that microwaving food can cause the food to lose nutritional value or even to become carcinogenic. Is this true? – S.G.
ANSWER: Not really. Heating food does cause some nutrients, such as vitamin C, to break down. But microwaves don’t do that more than any other cooking method does. In general, the longer a food is kept very hot, the more nutrients are lost. So quick heating keeps in the most nutrients. Quickly steaming is another way. That’s essentially what a microwave does, since it heats water molecules very efficiently, steaming the water contained in food or that you use to rinse it. In fact, microwaving may be better than boiling, since many nutrients can be lost in the water if you just throw it out.
As far as carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) go, these are products of very high heat, especially grilling meat. Because microwaves can heat unevenly, some areas of the food can get very hot while others stay cold, which is why it’s best, when microwaving, to cook for a short while and allow the heat to distribute itself before heating further or serving.
Dr. Roach regrets he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. To view and order health pamphlets, visit www.rbmamall.com.
© 2018 North America Synd. Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You must be logged in to post a comment.