Histoplasmosis & Peafowl Questions

[MinxFox]

I know there are a lot of topics on histoplasmosis but it seams it is only topics referring to chickens and histoplasmosis.

My Grandmother got histoplasmosis when she was young and out playing around a chicken coop. Now she can't take certain medicines because she has histoplasmosis as some medicine could even kill her.

Soo it sounds like histoplasmosis is just associated with any buildup of bird poop that the histoplasmosis thrives in and releases spores?

It sounded like the main problem areas for other people were inside the coop and maybe even their chick brooder as far as where they were getting histoplasmosis. I was thinking that in a coop it would be no ventilation and everything so that made since to me that you could get it in there.

My question is if I need to be wearing a mask when I clean like what other people on these topics were mentioning? I don't have to clean the pen much I just rake out the smaller pen sometimes and I shovel out the poop under the roosts. One person said if they are cleaning and get wood shavings or dust on their clothes they take their clothes off at the door! Is it really that bad??

I wasn't sure how bad histoplasmosis could be but some people were saying it gave them a high fever and it messed up one person's eyes making them almost blind and also they had marks on their lungs.

Is there any way to know if you have it already? I hope I don't ever get it. It hasn't been so severe for my Grandma although you can see it in her eyes.

Just making sure my mom really wanted me to find out about histoplasmosis since her mom has it.

 

[zazouse]

Honestly Minx i don't think you need to worry as long as your bird are in an open air coup where rain and sun can compost the dropping naturally via moisture and bugs where you really don't have a build up to get dusty like if they are coupled in an area where all the roost droppings are piled up and dry out and becoming dusty.

It will not hurt to wear a mask, i don't but they make my glasses fog up and i can't see a darn thing

Ya probably got more of a chance picking up something from them coons feeding in the pea pen

 

[AugeredIn]

My understanding of Histoplasmosis is that actually a great many of us have been exposed and developed immunity or maybe more accurately our body's defense mechanisms can easily deal with it. Your grandmother most likely either received a huge overwhelming exposure or is other wise compromised. I would not worry about it other than to maybe understand why your grandmother may have been compromised and whether you share that issue. I once had this conversation with my doctor and he downplayed it.

 

[MinxFox]

Okay that makes me feel better about it!

Yeah Zaz that coon is old and I think it already knows about traps because we haven't caught it yet but it is still coming into the pen because I see it on the trail cam still.

I can't recall the whole story about my Grandmother getting histoplasmosis... I will have to ask her the story but I think she was a kid when she got it and on the other topics it said kids can be more susceptible to it so maybe that has something to do with it.