Should I be worried about rabies?!
Question: For some reason, I have recently become terrified of this disease. I worry that I have it, even though I have not been bitten or scratched by anything. The only thing is that a couple of months ago I threw away a dead bat BUT it had been dead for quite a while and I barely touched it. Plus I washed my hands like 20 times afterward.
If I have it, it's too late to do anything. What are the chances of my having rabies? Please put my mind at ease. :(
Answers: For some reason, I have recently become terrified of this disease. I worry that I have it, even though I have not been bitten or scratched by anything. The only thing is that a couple of months ago I threw away a dead bat BUT it had been dead for quite a while and I barely touched it. Plus I washed my hands like 20 times afterward.
If I have it, it's too late to do anything. What are the chances of my having rabies? Please put my mind at ease. :(
You can safely relax. The incubation period on rabies is between a few days to a month or so, in humans it's usually between 3 and 8 weeks- but your bat was dead and didn't bite you. Rabies is spread by the saliva or blood of an infected animal. I doubt you played with it's mouth, or tried mouth to snout rescusitation, so you are okay. And drying and sunlight do in the virus pretty quickly, so since your bat had been dead a while, chances are good you had no exposure. Dried saliva, dried blood or a dry carcass do not contain live rabies virus. However, it's still not a good idea to be handling dead animals barehanded. While you are not likely to catch rabies that way, there are other nasty critters you can catch. It's always a good idea to use a shovel to bury the body, and to wear thick work type gloves if you just have to pick it up for disposal. Even a pair of household rubber/latex gloves will do if that's all you have. The idea is to keep a barrier between your skin and them. The local health department can tell you if the area you live in is a rabies hazard, and if it is a problem in the local wildlife. And if you think you have been exposed, you really do need to seek help more immediately. The rabies shots only work if you haven't developed symptoms, once that happens- well it's ugly.
Are you foaming at the mouth yet? I suggest you go rent the movie "Ol' Yeller"
lol there is no way you have rabies........... if you threw the bat out a couple of months ago .... .and you thought u got rabies ..... by now you would know if you have rabies....you would be foaming at the mouth lol ....YOU DONT HAVE RABIES TRUST ME
Why the hell did you even touch a dead bat anyways?
And you probably don't have it...
If you do, just wipe the bubbles around your mouth off every once and awhile and nobody will notice.
=p
Very low,,,
For touching it ,,no your ok,,,,,
for being worried;;;
you can contact your local conservation office,
game warden,,,,,,,and they know about what the rate is
and if a lot of cases are around you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If you see any animal that is usually not out during the day ,
and its out stay clear and stay away if you think an animal is acting funny,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Your braver than me,,,,I wouldn't have even touched it,,,,
Really,, you should never touch any animal with bare hand,,
You have nothing to worry about.
No you don't have rabies. There has to be a break in the skin caused by a bite or a scratch with saliva in it. Believe me if you had rabies you would be very ill and close to death so if you are not feeling sick and are not close to death you do not have it. When a human contracts rabies there is a 99.9% chance of death . that I am a ware of there is only 1 maybe two cases of human rabies patients that have lived after treatment. Please do not worry anymore about this. The bat was dead. you were not bitten and you are not ill. Rest easy dear.