Rules for the Health Forum

For concerns related to avian illness and wellbeing.
Locked
User avatar
Crystal
Brooding
Brooding
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:27 pm
Location: Richmond, VA
Contact:

Rules for the Health Forum

Post by Crystal » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:26 pm

If you think your bird may be ill, the best and safest advice is to seek the immediate care of a qualified avian veterinarian:
  • For those in the US, please check this link to see if there may be a board certified avian veterinarian in your area or at least one you could try reaching out to (they may know of a professional in your area to refer you to, for example): http://www.abvp.com/diplomate (select ‘Avian’ from the drop down list of Categories.)
  • If that search does not give you a nearby result, you can secondarily look for a veterinarian who exhibits an interest in avian medicine and may therefore be willing to help. A good place to start is with members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians (please note that these are not necessarily boarded avian specialists): http://www.aav.org/search/
  • You should also try calling around to all of the veterinary practices in your area (especially if there are any academic/specialty/referral/emergency veterinary facilities) and ask who they think might be able to see a small bird.
Please know that this forum is owned and operated in the US and the law here defines the practice of veterinary medicine as:
To diagnose, prognose, treat, correct, change, alleviate, or prevent animal disease, illness, pain, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical, dental, or mental conditions by any method or mode; including the:
  • Performance of any medical or surgical procedure, or
  • Prescription, dispensing, administration, or application of any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, anesthetic, or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance, or
  • Use of complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies, or
  • Use of any procedure for reproductive management, including but not limited to the diagnosis or treatment of pregnancy, fertility, sterility, or infertility, or
  • Determination of the health, fitness, or soundness of an animal, or
  • Rendering of advice or recommendation by any means including telephonic and other electronic communications with regard to any of the above.
  • Representation of, directly or indirectly, publicly and privately, an ability and willingness to do an act described above.
  • Use of any title, words, abbreviation, or letters in a manner or under circumstances that induce the belief that the person using them is qualified to do any act described above.
Which is to say that making a diagnosis and advising specific treatment constitutes the practice of veterinary medicine, which legally and ethically only a licensed veterinarian with a valid client-patient relationship can perform. In other words, no one on this forum can legally or ethically give you specific veterinary advice.

This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Diagnosing a disease
  • Recommending a specific medication or dosing regimen
  • Recommending the off-label use of over-the-counter drugs in birds
 ! Message from: Crystal
The over-the-counter (OTC) label applies ONLY to the species for which the medication is labeled and ONLY for the conditions the label claims to treat. The moment you go “off-label” (i.e. using it in a species for which it is not labeled OR using it for a condition for which it is not labeled), it is no longer considered “over-the-counter” and actually (in the eyes of the law) becomes a “prescription” drug that only a veterinarian can authorize.

For example, even though livestock ivermectin is easily accessible OTC, any use in animals or for conditions not explicitly stated on the drug label actually requires a veterinarian’s authorization. In other words, it is illegal for pet owners to give their birds livestock ivermectin without a prescription.

The rules for what’s known as extra-label use of animal drugs is spelled out in the Animal Medical Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA). As explained in an FDA summary of the law, extra-label use of animal drugs is legal only under the order of a licensed veterinarian within the context of a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship. See these links if you’d like more information about AMDUCA:
Although it is highly unlikely anyone engaging in these practices would ever face serious legal action, do know that as the operator of this forum, I take the law seriously and have asked the moderator staff help me ensure that we are staying in the realm of what is legally appropriate, to the best of our knowledge, at least on our little slice of the internet.

So what can be discussed in this health matters forum?

For people seeking advice:
Feel free to ask questions, post pictures and videos, and otherwise share your experiences, but please be understanding that the membership is not in a position to help you diagnose or ‘prescribe’ treatment for your bird. The only person who can legally or ethically do this for you is a properly trained veterinarian who has examined and ideally performed diagnostic testing on your bird. This is not just for legal reasons, but also because honestly a definitive diagnosis is rarely achievable through owner-provided history, photos, or video, especially not by fellow laypersons (i.e. non [avian] veterinarians).

For people seeking to give advice:
It is perfectly fine to:
  • Help fellow members better recognize their birds’ symptoms by asking clarification questions, and explaining to them how to check for signs of illness such as thin body condition, presence of a wet vent or nasal/ocular discharge, etc.
  • Although you cannot judge or state for example that "your bird is perfectly healthy," feel free to help members understand the difference between what is normal and not in terms of the appearance and behavior of finches.
  • It is great to have members analyze their bird management techniques as well as to recommend improved husbandry practices where needed.
  • You can even recommend general supportive measures and basic “first aid” for sick birds such as providing heat, proper nutrition, and minimizing stress. (Instructing someone to provide padded perches for sore feet is OK, but instructing someone to put a splint on their bird or to reduce a prolapse would not be considered basic first aid, for example.)
  • It is fine to educate about illness and injury prevention, including hygiene, quarantine, and methods of proper restraint and maintenance care such as how to trim toenails.
  • Although you cannot give a diagnosis by stating "looks like your bird has such-and-such disease," you can provide general educational information (such as links to valid articles) regarding diseases, their pathogenesis/pathophysiology (i.e. how they arise & affect an organism) if known, information regarding whether the disease could be contagious, etc. For example: you cannot state "your bird probably has air sac mites;" but you can say, "I don't know what is causing your bird to make a 'clicking sound' when breathing as there are many causes of breathing changes in birds. You would need to consult your veterinarian for a diagnosis. I do know that air sac mites is one possible cause in some species of finches, and here is information about ASM if you are interested:"
  • You cannot prescribe a specific treatment, but you can provide resources on where to legally obtain OTC medications *labeled for use in birds*- but buyer beware: these may not be truly FDA-approved. This means that FDA has not verified their safety, effectiveness, strength, quality, nor purity.
  • It is fine to share your own experience with diseases and interactions you’ve had with veterinarians so long as you are not making any recommendations for another to follow the treatment your vet gave YOU pursuant to YOUR birds.
  • As always, the safest advice is to encourage owners of sick birds to seek veterinary attention right away. I understand that this is not always possible for an owner to do, but the lack of ability of an owner to get to get to a qualified veterinarian does not then constitute the legal nor ethical grounds to infringe on the practice of veterinary medicine without a license and/or outside of the context of a valid client-patient relationship.
Although this policy is not open for debate, if you have questions or would like clarification, feel free to message myself or any member of the moderator team. Remember: Keep it Legal & Above All Do No Harm! 8) Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Locked