I seem to have an allergy. What can I do?

Question
I'm getting seriously concerned that I seem to be allergic to my african grey
parrot, Chico. He is 15 weeks old, fully weaned and fledged and came to live
with me ten days ago. What's most frustrating is that the problem appears to
be progressing in precise correlation to my growing affection for him - every
day he does something still more delightful, every day my eyes are getting
more itchy, inflamed, and now streaming and my chest feels still tighter and
more constricted. I am also itching all over. This is not good. It is also
completely unexpected. I know that greys can cause allergies but as I don't
suffer from either hay fever or asthma and have never been allergic to
anything before (cats/dogs etc etc), I wasn't unduly concerned. I noticed a
tightening in my chest the very first evening but refused to worry about it.
Now things have become really unignorable. Last night I found I was
struggling to breathe. I have ordered a powerful HEPA air filter, though I
already have a smaller one, which appears to be doing little. I am also misting
him regularly, which he actually appears to enjoy. The fruits of extensive
internet research have not been terribly encouraging - telling me to clean
around his cage etc (I already do, though he spends very little time in it) and
to keep him away from the allergic person (the 'allergic person' is the only
person and he spends all day with me - there's not much point for either of
us in spending our lives in separate rooms.) If the filter doesn't work, I
honestly don't know what I'm going to do. Am feeling rather bleak about the
future right now. Do you have any suggestions?  

Answer
Being allergic to african greys is very common. Bird dander is a lot different than other pet dander, so even if you are not allergic to other animals, you can be allergic to birds. Allergies is how I came to own my 'Too, Kai. Her owner ignored the allergy symptoms until it got to the point where nothing could be done about it.
A HEPA filter is GREAT. That's how I keep everyone in my home from having reactions to the birds. Make sure it has a permanent filter that you can clean or you will end up buying hundreds of dollars worth of filters each year.
Misting really doesn't do anything for the dander. He needs to have a full BATH (get completely soaked...he'll get this wet-dog smell for an hour or so) every 2-3 days. That REALLY cuts down on the dander. There's also a spray called "dander down" which I haven't used myself, but have heard good reviews from people I know. Make sure the HEPA filter is IN the same room as him, and all carpet needs to be vacuumed at least every few days. Using an ostrich feather duster to quickly dust everything in the rooms he spends the most time in will help greatly. Ostrich feathers naturally "hold" the dust in (don't bother with those swiffer things...they don't do any good) and wont end up just causing the dust to fly back into the air.
Check the HEPA filter regularly- it usually needs to be cleaned every 5-8 days (lots less than the 3 months the filter is SUPPOSED to last).
Also, get put on allergy medications right away. These will treat your symptoms and make sure that they do not get any worse.
Hopefully I've given you some hope-don't worry, once you find the couple of things that work to cut down on the dander from YOUR bird (they're all a little different) there should be no reason that you can't keep him.
Here's a website with some more allergy information: http://www.cockatootrainer.com/allergies/