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DMSO for Inflammation in European Starlings

By David Martin - Last Updated August 1, 2020

DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is commonly used to treat inflammation and is applied topically. This can be especially helpful if you need to target a specific area of your starling bird (say, the leg). It is easily absorbed by the skin. DMSO is a by-product of paper making (wood). It’s used as an industrial solvent and as an anti-inflammatory since the mid-20th century.

You’ll want to make sure you get 99.9% pure DMSO. Mix 1 milliliter of DMSO with 9 milliliters water to prepare a 10 percent solution and apply topically. It creates an odd odor that permeates the skin, so be prepared for your starling bird to temporarily be a little stinky.

You can also use DMSO to apply antibiotics directly to a wound.

Some people advocate using DMSO orally, although we have little experience with this and little is known about the long-term oral side-effects. The common advice is to give 10 milliliters per kilogram by mouth twice daily for three days for inflammation. If in doubt, stick to topical use.

Filed Under: European Starling Tagged With: First Aid, Health

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Comments

  1. Cheryl Aguiar says

    May 13, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    Do you use metal caging for starling fledglings? Have you ever had any injuries? Very confused whether to use metal or reptilarium. Thanks!

    • David Martin says

      May 15, 2020 at 3:11 pm

      We just use a standard large metal birdcage (Prevue Hendryx Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage), nothing fancy. Anything smaller just doesn’t work for these active darlings.

This work by David Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Many thanks to the StarlingTalk website and forum for their vast knowledge and wisdom!

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