But on my way into work today there was a baby bird sitting right along the side of the road downtown. I was afraid it was going to be run over so I picked it up and set it over by a church a couple of feet away. As soon as I got into work I sprayed my hands with Clorox sanitizer and then once I got to the office I washed my hands with soap and water...and hand sanitizer again. I even called the dr. to see if I had made a mistake picking up the bird. The nurse said that as long as I wasn't licking it (obviously I wasn't) and that I washed my hands then there wasn't anything to worry about. She said that diseases transmitted from birds are low and I am more likely to get something from my household pets. I am still freaking out though.
Re: This is probably so silly...but I'm freaking out
I am such a huge animal lover and it looked so scared I couldn't let anything happen to it. I would have felt awful. I took precautions though after handling it and it didn't break the skin at all so I think I'm ok. I'm just so emotional right now and scared of everything. Truth is, we are probably exposed to worse doing our normal activities than what would have been on the bird.
I also have five (indoor) cats and a dog and they are probably just as dirty. I've picked up birds outside before to get them off the road or when they are hurt and I even rescued a feral cat (which is now one of my indoor ones) and it would scratch me up pretty good in the beginning but I never got anything from any of them.
"The nurse said that as long as I wasn't licking it (obviously I wasn't) and that I washed my hands then there wasn't anything to worry about. She said that diseases transmitted from birds are low and I am more likely to get something from my household pets. I am still freaking out though."
I'm sorry but the thought of this made me laugh out loud. I understand how you feel, I would probably be freaking out too. But I am sure you are absolutely fine. Try to relax and take the nurse's advice.
LOL. I think she was trying to make me feel better because she could tell I was worried.
I mean I regularly lick birds....it is a bit of a fetish for me. I guess I should stop though huh? Lol!!
You sound like my bf...who if she finds anything on the side of the road she always takes it to the vet to be put to sleep. I remember one night we found a cat hit by a car. She put the cat on my lap, drove 30 miles to the only open vet and they put the cat to sleep. We stayed while they did it.
Then a few weeks ago she found a bird on the side of the road, she scooped it up in cardboard, took it to the same vet.
I think you should follow the nurses advice, you will be fine!!!
You are a very sweet for what you did.