Why does FAQ 3 explicitly state that, if you see no bat, then there was no exposure- when a bat cold easily fly in through an open window at night, bite you, and easily be able to fly back out of that window before you wake up, therefore you'd never know you've been bit. What if someone sleeps with an open window and wakes up with something that appears like a bat bite, surely they should get the vaccines. Or, if someone has bats in their bedroom wall and one comes in during the night, bites you, then returns to the wall cavity before morning?

I'm genuinely curious why there is no info on these specific scenarios anywhere, I have searches everywhere. Surely this is a huge concern, especially as I currently have bats in my wall and I'm trying to figure out if I have been bit in my sleep as there is a large hole in my wall.

I have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ.

Location: South Florida/Broward County

About two months ago, a family of cats came to our yard: five adults and three kittens. My father-in-law left out food and water for them daily. The family would eat, go away, and come back the next day for their meals.

About a week after they showed up, my cousin told me we should trap them and get them spayed and neutered. Broward County has a community cat program that helps with that, so we were able to trap seven cats, but the last kitten was hard to catch. I got impatient and picked him up while he was eating, and he bit me on my index finger. I had to let him go, and he ran away. I wasn’t able to catch him.
I washed the bite with soap and warm water and put Neosporin on it, then completely forgot about it.

About five days after this incident, animal control released the cats back into our front yard after they got their rabies shots, spayed, and neutered. The family came back the very next day for their meals, and I saw the kitten that bit me. He was eating the food and drinking the water, but his eyes were swollen. I watched him carefully, hoping he was ok. This went on for another week before I noticed that the kitty wasn’t with his family anymore.

As of last Monday, my neighbor told me she found a dead kitten in her front yard a few weeks ago and discarded it. She said her Ring camera showed the kitten walking with her mom into her yard, laying down like it was sleeping, and the mom leaving a few minutes later. The kitten was found dead a few hours later when she got home from work.
Yesterday I had a fever and flu-like symptoms.

I have read the FAQ. My question is does the observation period have to be done at a vet? Or can you just take seeing the animal Alive after 10 days a confirmation

The day before yesterday, I had a sore throat and was unable to swallow. I thought it was an early symptom of that disease. However, it turned out that it might have been a food allergy. Last night, I became extremely excited and couldn’t fall asleep until now, which is further proof. No matter what you say, I will go to the hospital immediately and get vaccinated, regardless of what the doctor says or how much it costs. I’m sorry for being so rude; I’m really agitated right now. Sorry.

I have read the FAQ.

Hi everyone,

I have read the FAQ. I'm still not exactly sure so that is why I made this post.

Sadly I could not add some pictures of my hand or legs.

Three days ago I pet a stray cat (no collar) on the street in Thailand. It looked healthy and well cared for, and a local was also petting its head and said something that sounded like "long", which I think means "try it" (after some research). The cat walked towards me on it's own after leaving the local and I called once or twice and he/she never showed aggressive behaviour.

I only petted the cat on its head and body, and it didn't scratch, bite or lick me. It only licked my shoe. Afterwards it did walk past my legs and rubbed its fur against them. The cat licked its own fur before I pet it and it walked past my legs. I have a few mosquito bites on my legs, but nothing really bloody. They're more like red spots that I've scratched, or that have dried into a small scab, and there are at most 4 of them. I also have to add that I have a very light scratch on 2 finger tips. I had these before petting the cat. The scratches are not deep, 1 or 2 layers of skin, and did not ever bleed before, during or after I petted the cat.

I did not touch anything with my hand afterwards until I came back to the hotel (15 min after petting) and washed my hands 4 or 5 times with soap. I also took a long shower and washed my legs multiple times with soap.

I might be a person who has anxiety given the fact that infection 100% leads to death...

Now I'm wondering whether I should be thinking about catching any diseases from the cat, rabies in particular, or not.

Does anyone know how this works and whether I should take any action?

Thank you!

I have read the FAQ.

My daughter found a kitten in a building in Nairobi. The kitten looks healthy, is playful, and has been playing with her. It scratched her with its claw (no bite), breaking the skin and causing a small amount of bleeding. The kitten is unvaccinated, and we are planning to adopt it.

The scratch happened 2 days ago. Should my daughter get rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), including the vaccine and possibly immunoglobulin? Would observing the kitten for 10 days be enough to rule out rabies? I'd appreciate advice from people familiar with rabies risks and treatment in Kenya.

I have read the FAQ. Still have a question. I had a very vivid dream there was a bat in my room. I woke to a pricking sensation on my neck. I looked and while it looks like a mite a or flea bite I'm still wondering if i should be concerned. I'll be calling my local health department about it but i guess I wanted the internet opinion.

I'm looking around the house for a sign of a bat but I haven't seen anything. I feel like it's pretty unlikely because it would've had to been in the house before we came. This was in Michigan btw.

Also my room windows were closed as was my door until I used the bathroom later that night.

So. Prettttty unlikely. But uh. I think understandably it did freak me out a bit.

Update: can't get ahold of local health department. They're closed on weekends.

Slight update (afternoon) I did look for the bat no sign of it existing. I can't do like a full top to bottom check because I'll be leaving on like an hour to go home. Pretty sure the bat wasn't real!. I also found a live flea (not in my bed) so it was the culprit almost certainly

I have read the FAQ. So i have been scratched by my outdoor cat a few months ago. I have 3 cats and i don’t remember which one scratched me. Two are still alive and well while the third one just dissapeared. Now its common for my outdoor cats to dissapear since they pass away in nature out of diffrent causes so im not surprised that she dissapeared. It was a tiny scratch i think on my hand but it did happen like MONTHS ago i dont exactly remember when. I only remembered about it yesterday and now i am really stressed. Should i be concerned?

anybody have headaches as me that doesn't go with rest for weeks? it's mild to moderate

I have read the faq.

i’ve always been a very paranoid guy, but there’s a very specific scenario that’s happened to me that has been in the back of my mind since the second of this month and it’s been bubbling to the surface as i “Run out of time”
October 2nd…
I live on long island NY In the US. I was working around my titaneum/copper cleaned (but deactivated for a few days at this point) pool and I noticed a dead floating chipmunk or similar rodent that was waterlogged, putrid and stinking a bit. I picked it up out of the water, threw it over the fence and briefly, but with not much effort, rinsed the net in the water then I set it back up against the wall where it usually rests. as I was doing this water splashed onto my hand with my middle finger having at least two small nicks one with redness sort of like a hangnail and one that’s similar to a scrape you get on your knee from concrete that doesn’t draw blood. Shockingly I didn’t panic as much as I do for a lot of things, so I went inside immediately and calmly washed my hands 3 times with dish soap with decent intensity. The rest of the night was uneventful and bereft of worry. I don’t remember what happened the next day but I mustve used the ridiculousness of the situation as some form of bit and one of my friends mustve asked me if I was sure I didn’t have rabies which has caused me to be a bit perturbed every day since then. I’ve done research and some of it is bugging me. Like the fact that theres an outbreak in my area or how rabies can survive up to 7 days in pondwater in a otherwise very vague article by CLRN. Despite most people and medical professionals telling me that rabies doesnt survive in water for very long i’ve found very little information regarding this and a lot of viewpoits conflict. Most of the odds that are actually pretty favorable but I want to plug this once and for all. The answers medical professionals have given me were vague and weird.
I’m well aware of how ridiculous this all sounds to be on my mind but I have a few questions they weren’t able to answer in any meaningful way

How is rabies affected by decomposition?
When is rabid saliva unviable for infection?
Does water speed up or slow the rate of viral inviability?

Thank you for your time in advance.

I have read the FAQ.

"I have read the FAQ. "

I have taken the vaccine due to my fear of the disease and ocd but after the first shot i started to have some sound and visual hallucinations I have a bad inner fever and my eye is a little bit unclear I can't eat much I feel like I'm going to throw up and I have problem getting out of the bed my eye closes once hit with light and air in the morning but after it's okay could something have gone wrong like could I get the disease from the vaccine or is it some rare allergic reaction I visited few doctors said everybody respondes differently

So I've been bit by a stray cat probably not vaccinated, in the thumb joint yesterday (oct 17). But I had my rabivax doses completed on August 2. I immediately washed it off with soap multiple times and let water run through. It is safe right? Or shd I go take another injection? I have read the FAQ.

Ps. I take care of strays.

I have read the FAQ. I am in the UK. Sometime early last week i heard some chittering noises coming from the radiator in my room, around 5 seconds, 3 times, in a span of 20 seconds. I was pretty convinced that when I looked there would be a mouse, which is to say it sounded pretty animal and close, but when I looked I saw nothing, although I didnt look too hard, because it is hard to see behind the radiator. Anyways, i decided that either it was a animal in the walls or it was weird noses from the radiators pipes. I havent heard the sound since. Then, Friday morning I woke up with a safety pin sized bloody spot on my upper inner thigh. I feel really concerned that this noises I had heard was a bat, and the mark i have found is a bat bite. I called NHS111 (UK's line for non urgent health Qs) and told them about this but they didn't really seem to understand my worry, and said I would know if a bat bit me in my sleep, which I know is not necessarily true. I have OCD about this kind of stuff, but I am usually pretty good and knowing when it is my OCD and when there is a valid concern, and I just cannot tell this time. I know the FAQ says that a suspicious mark is not a rabies exposure, which I understand, but i am wondering if the mark paired with the fact I heard these noises and work up with the mark after sleeping warrants a in person doctors visit, or if I am being totally unreasonable.

Title is about how it is my dog went into an area i couldn’t see and took me some time to get over there and by that point he had ate quite a lot of the carcass and while i was trying to get him away from it he licked me on the face directly over my nose and mouth and i’ve been worrying there was still viral load in his mouth ever since and im not sure if my worry is even justified I have read the FAQ. and its such a specific scenario im not even sure, i definitely do have anxiety about things that are out of my control but this has been eating at me any info helps thank you

I'm on a vacation right now, and the problem is street dogs here. I was on a beach, and I've got a wound somehow on my foot. As I was walking, I walked through paw prints of a dog. Is it possible that this transmitted rabies or that there was contaminated saliva? I'm very anxious since it's my first time in a country that has many cases of rabies. Yes I have read the FAQ. Gpt tells me to seek medical h. It scares me even more. I woke up with an appetite los and a light head ache.

I have read the FAQ.

I've always had health anxiety and recently developed rabies phobia/OCD. So, a few days ago. I got a rabies scare and started my shots. I've somehow come across some information that there's been cases where there have been manufacturing faults in rabies vaccine and people have been injected with live virus.

This information has got me spiraling again. I live in bangladesh, not the most well regulated country in terms of healthcare. My mind is going places thinking that something's going to go wrong. Sorry if my writing is erratic. I have another dose left, now I can't decide if I should get the last dose.

i want to disinfect my belongings so bad. Yesterday i washed my cracked dry hands that have small cuts (due to constant hand washing) because my sister and her bf came back from the vet and got our dogs vaccinated and they touched stuff and my hands without washing their hands first and im also afraid that they touched other dogs that could have possibly had rabies showing no signs. So i washed my hands after they touched my hands but before i did i touched my fathers computer, and it wasnt a good job of hand washing since i was being rushed by my mom. I went upstairs in my bedroom to air dry my hands because it felt safee in there. I realized i did a bad job at washing my hands and that dog germs could still be on my hands and it could be circulating around my room and it could land on my stuff and i also felt like a drop of water from when i was drying my hands got on my phone. I felt like my phone was contaminated. I couldnt disinfect it tho because i knew my mom would get mad. I could only wash my blankets and clothes. After potentially getting dog germs on my phone i avoided touching it the whole day. It wasnt working anyway so i was used to not using my phone. By the way, when my sister touched my hands i used my dads computer and then washed my hands. So anyway after i realized my mistake of air drying my hands in the bedroom i simply regretted that decision. I went back downstairs and ate food and blah blah... i avoided touching the computer for a bit and used my moms tablet and then after my father touched the laptop i then used it. This is kinda confusing tho now that im thinking about it and maybe i contaminated more things that i thought... I never wiped down the computer and because the computer was my only source of entertainment i used it. I had to touch my clean clothes and blankets with my hands that touched the laptop. However i dont remember exactly if i did. I was sleepy for like two hours straight and was only allowed to rinse my hands with water. So basically theres a chance my blankets, my clothes, my lotion, my light switch and who knows what else is contaminated This is all i remember, I possibly touched the computer and then i put my clothes to wash. I then washed my hands and touched the laptop. I don't think i washed my hands before putting my clothes to dry. I then touched my dirty blankets to wash and rinsed my hands after. I possibly touched the laptop. I then touched my clean clothes and put the blankets to dry. I probably touched the laptop again. I then put my blankets upstairs. I finally washed my hands and went to go shower. I got back from my shower and touched my lotion bottle and used it. I then touched my clean clothes and changed. I turned off my light and went to bed. Then today i woke up. I touched my light switch and changed. I opened my door and carefully grabbed my phone. I put the phone on my dining room table and used the bathroom. I made my father put my phone to charge on those flat charger things. Now idk what to do. Its still charging but idk if my parents will let me disinfect my phone and belongings since i take hours. They know my ocd is terrible. Idk what to say or do because at first i was nervous of rabies but i decided to be stupid and touch the laptop and then my clothes. Im nervous of the cross contamination between my laptop, hands, and clothes+lotion bottle+lightswitch+doorknob+etc. I also feel like the clothes im wearing are contaminated since my phone touched my shirt and i also used the bathroom and touched my pants and shirt without washing my hands after touching the phone... im gonna shower anyway but i dont wanna touch my clothes as im taking it off and then shower because then ill want to wash my hands after my shower so i think im gonna have to wash my hands, change, wash hands and then move on with my day until i shower and then i dont wash my hands after my shower or i can wash my hands, change, wash hands, and then shower and then not wash my hands after my shower. Im also still using the laptop without wiping it down because the napkins feel dirty.

i have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ. And I posted this one 6 days ago.

So on October 10th, 11:50-9 nighttime, it’s slightly raining, so me and my brother were going on the step of my house, I was following him and while I was going on the step, there is a small green plant and idk if it was my imagination, but I saw something that looked like a raccoon, and when I looked back I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear any noises, and my thumb didn’t brush it, and my brother claimed he did not see anything, and idk if it touched my right shoe or not, as it didn’t see anything wet, so it could’ve been the rain.

I have OCD and sometimes I would imagine stuff, and idk if this was my imagination or not, and today while sitting in the middle seat of my car I was getting my AirPod case from the cubbyhole when it suddenly dropped, landed on my right shoe and then landed on the floorboard. It had brown wet dirt on it, so I wiped it on the back of the upfront seat, and then used a baby wipe to clean it as well.

I am feeling uneasy now, while my ocd is saying my AirPod case is “contaminated” with the possible rabies virus, and I have plans to call the health department in a few days.

I have read the FAQ. Hi everyone. First, I want to start by saying thank you for the FAQ as that has helped my OCD a lot and has calmed me. I know I have OCD and am working on it with a therapist.

I was out for a run the other night at dusk and live near the beach so don’t see too many bats but there are trees and so they are here. One was flying relatively low to me as I was passing by on my run. Normal bat stuff. However, I ran for a few more steps and felt a sting near my ankle above my sock. I tried looking down and didn’t really see anything there but it was getting dark and I had dark leggings on. I stopped after another block because it felt like something might be there but when I felt my ankle there was nothing and I didn’t see anything. My ankle felt tender for the rest of the night and I did have a red mark but it was gone by morning.

I am pretty sure this is just my OCD acting up but wanted to ask as the internet can be conflicting when I tried to get more info. I honestly wouldn’t have thought twice about it if it weren’t for the stinging sensation on my ankle. Thank you in advance for the replies.

Hi everyone,

I completed a 3-dose Rabipur series in the UK in September 2023 (~3 years ago).
After a potential exposure in Peru today, a public hospital tried to give me Rabies Immune Globulin (RIG) and start a full 5-dose series.
Following WHO/CDC guidelines, I:
Declined RIG (since I was previously vaccinated).

Got Dose #1 of an approved rabies vaccine (Rabivax-S) in my arm today.

Plan to get Dose #2 on Tuesday (Day 3) to finish the 2-dose booster protocol.

My questions:
Since my last vaccine was ~3 years ago, is my immune memory still active enough for just 2
boosters without RIG?

Was declining RIG the right move per UK/WHO standards? I believe I have up to 7 days to get RIG if I need it.

I have read the FAQ.

Thanks!

What's the highest rabies boosters have anyone taken after their primary immunization and why ? Anyone from any country.

I have read the FAQ.

Hi everyone. I'm posting here because my health anxiety is spiraling completely out of control and I need a reality check. Back in August, I was bitten on the hand by my pet cat died unprovoked, died the next morning Because of my circumstances, I wasn’t able to start my post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) until 7 days after the bite. However, when I did go, I completed the entire vaccine series and also received ERIG (rabies immunoglobulin) directly injected into the wound site. Even though I finished the treatment, I have been hyper-focusing on my body and feel like I am experiencing symptoms. Around September 30 to October 3, I had some intermittent pain at the bite site (especially when pressed). Then, a couple of weeks later, the pain is still there comes and goes but a deep itch started spreading up my arm and some part of my body which feels worse around midnight. On top of that, I’ve been having body-wide muscle aches, mild photophobia (light sensitivity), presistent mild to moderate headaches and I noticed one of my pupils looks slightly smaller than the other in the mirror. Logically, I know that I have absolutely no neurological decline, no fever, no spasms, and no hydrophobia. I am completely awake and mentally sharp weeks after the pain started. But my brain keeps overthinking and telling me the vaccines failed because I started them 7 days late or because the bite was on my hand. Has anyone else experienced physical "symptoms" like muscle aches, itching at the old bite site, and vision sensitivity purely from severe health anxiety after a bite? How do I convince my brain that the rig and vaccines completely protected me? Thank you so much. I have read the FAQ.

Hi everyone. I'm posting here because my health anxiety is spiraling completely out of control and I need a reality check. Back in August, I was bitten on the hand by my pet cat died unprovoked, died the next morning Because of my circumstances, I wasn’t able to start my post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) until 7 days after the bite. However, when I did go, I completed the entire vaccine series and also received ERIG (rabies immunoglobulin) directly injected into the wound site. Even though I finished the treatment, I have been hyper-focusing on my body and feel like I am experiencing symptoms. Around September 30 to October 3, I had some intermittent pain at the bite site (especially when pressed). Then, a couple of weeks later, the pain is still there comes and goes but a deep itch started spreading up my arm and some part of my body which feels worse around midnight. On top of that, I’ve been having body-wide muscle aches, mild photophobia (light sensitivity), and I noticed one of my pupils looks slightly smaller than the other in the mirror. Logically, I know that I have absolutely no neurological decline, no fever, no spasms, and no hydrophobia. I am completely awake and mentally sharp weeks after the pain started. But my brain keeps overthinking and telling me the vaccines failed because I started them 7 days late or because the bite was on my hand. Has anyone else experienced physical "symptoms" like muscle aches, itching at the old bite site, and vision sensitivity purely from severe health anxiety after a bite? How do I convince my brain that the rig and vaccines completely protected me? Thank you so much. I have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ.

So to preface I do have ocd, and I have read the FAQ. Butttt sometimes I can’t tell whether I actually have a genuine worry or not especially when everyone around me is telling me I’m in danger. So it was 1am 17 days ago, I got a delivery outside. I didn’t have inside lights on and the (uncovered) porch light is dim. I open the door and pick it up. After I picked it up it took me a second to realize that something very lightweight was on my hand. I shook it off, grabbed my bag and was heading inside. As I’m halfway through the door I feel a sensation on my foot. I shake and run to turn on a light, but it takes me a bit to find it and come back. I see a roach inside which I definitely think could be it. But I didn’t look outside the door. I have a pretty big step to get inside so I’m trying to think about how it would have dropped and hitched a ride on my foot? I guess that definitely could’ve happened, though I was only halfway inside with the door still open. I think I was already stepping up to my door when I felt it on me so I’m unsure how it got there with my foot being elevated, or if it was on me longer than I felt it. I was wearing shorts so I would’ve felt if it was running down my body. I also didn’t feel it land on me if it were flying as I feel that would have felt like some weight to it. Just felt just a sudden sensation. Also thought it could’ve already been on the bag somewhere when I dropped it. In the moment I was sure it was that roach until about a minute later I feel a tingle/sting on my foot. I see what looks like an old wound but with two pinpoint puncture marks and a scratch leading from it right where the sensation was coming from. But I don’t think the skin looked broken? And I think the scratch could be old. But honestly couldn’t tell. I called up a number I found just in case (to ease my mind about the wound/scratch honestly) and they told me I need to get the rabies vaccine. That it could have been a lightweight bat. The thing is I didn’t hear anything, and I didn’t see anything fly down at least? Though, it was pretty dark. I didn’t look towards the ground either. I also didn’t feel any bite in the moment or pain. The creature that was on me was very light, about 2-3 inches long (at least on my hand is what it felt like), maybe bigger? But I keep hearing that you can actually get rabies from a very small puncture or scratch that isn’t always visible. I also heard that bats can be silent and also feel “weightless” as they sometimes can only weigh a few grams. I do see LOTS of bats in my area around this time of year very often. But they’re kind of big? At least the ones I see flying around at dusk are. There also have been I think 1 or 2 rabid bats captured in my town within a month. I will post below what they’re texting me. I was about to forget about this whole thing as it lines up with the roach until they started texting me asking if I got the vaccine and recommending it.

Here are some texts I received so you can see the advice they’ve given me:

“Ok, completely understand. I am the Epi at the county in charge of animal bites. If you’re not able to review the footage and are not sure what the animal was, I would recommend getting the rabies vaccine. It is ultimately your decision.

The schedule for the rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccine series is as follows:

Day 0: 1st shot along with rabies immune globulin (RIG).

Day 3: 2nd shot 3 days after Day 0.

Day 7: 3rd shot 7 days after Day 0.

Day 14: 14 days after Day 0.
There may be a 5th shot if you are immunocompromised.

Once you have completed the series, you will have protection against rabies for 3 months. After that, should you have another rabies exposure you will only need 2 shots: Day 0 and Day 3.

For more information visit …”

“Hey, yeah, it’s hard to tell. Based on the guidance around bats, I still recommend getting the rabies vaccine to be on the safe side due to these risk factors: you’ve seen bats in the area, and you have a wound on your leg where its saliva could have touched you.

You could also see if your insurance covers the vaccines at all; that’s usually the deciding factor for a lot of people even when the situation is clear cut. Let me know if you decide to get it or not.”

(I clarified to them that there was no open wound-at least pretty sure didn’t see any broken skin and waiting for them to respond)