Sneezing conure

Hello all:
This is my first time posting here. I am looking for some help. I have a 13 year old Jenday who has always been completely healthy. Lately she has begun sneezing frequently: a sharp, hih-pitched sound several times an hour. I cannot believe she has a cold - any suggestions?
P

Birds don't have colds, they simply don't catch any of the cold viruses so it has to be something else and, if she is doing it that often, you need to take her to an avian vet asap because there are many reasons why she could be sneezing and two of them are: something up her nostrils (like the aril of a seed) or an infection (which could be bacterial or fungal -aspergillosis been one that comes to mind). Ask for a CBC, a choanal swab and a cytology of a nare flushing. They should be able to diagnose the problem very accurately with those three.

Thanks for your reply. I will call the vet (we have a good avian specialist.) She is acting perfectly healthy with the exception of the sneezing. Are the conditions that you mentioned all treatable?

Yes, they are. If there is something up her nose, the vet will remove it and medicate with oral antibiotics. If she has a bacterial infection, she will be treated with antibiotics. If she has a fungal infection, it depends on the kind, type and degree what the treatment will be. The mildest form is treated with just one oral antifungal (like sporanox, for example), the most acute form requires surgery (to remove the aspergilloma), topical treatment during surgery (they apply an antifungal that acts only through direct contact) and it's followed by a combination of oral antifungals for maybe up to six months. She might also have a vitamin A deficiency because, usually, when birds get respiratories is because their immune system is not working right. They need vitamin A to produce the mucus that 'washes' away all the bad stuff in the air they breath and, when there is no mucus, the stuff stays and becomes fertile ground for infections. But, mind you, it's not good to give birds vitamin A in its final form because if you give them too much (and there is no way of telling, not even for a vet), it goes to their liver as fat which is not good at all. So you need to feed the precursor and allow their bodies to transform as much or as little as they need into vitamin A. The precursor is beta-carotene and it's found in all orange and yellow veggies as well as dark leafy greens, that's why birds should be fed sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc. If you haven't been feeding her this stuff, I suggest you order some Red Palm Oil online and put a little bit of it on her soft food.

Do not wait and take the bird to the vet asap because the infection might end up going to her lungs and killing her or, if it stays in her sinuses, her nares could become deformed.