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Scareygirlx33
22-04-18, 20:29
Hi everyone, i would like to make it known that i do have a therapist however, she took a leave of absence so it's just been me and my thoughts!

Okay so I've always been a worrier but right now i'm freaking out over rabies. After watching some documentaries i've been hooked ! There are three scenarios i keep telling myself. I once fed stray cats by throwing food at them and even though you can't get rabies from that, my brain just keeps saying "what if" you were too close.

The other scenario is, two days ago i was walking with my friend. Once we got back to her house her dog was in the living room and it did a weird shaking thing. Immediately i thought rabies ! I asked my friend what her dog was doing and she said it was just stretching and drying since it got wet from the rain outside. She also said it was vaccinated but doesn't everybody say that ? :wacko:
Lastly, my mom is always yelling at me to close my bedroom window because i always have it up at night. I read that a woman got bit by a bat that flew into her window when she was asleep. She saw the bat but didn't notice any bite marks. She later died. I can't help but think that maybe while i was sleeping a bat came into my room only it flew out before i could notice.

I know i probably sound ridiculous :weep: but i truly have been freaking out !! can anyone offer an insight :( If i do have it it's too late for the vaccine I know. :(

Fishmanpa
22-04-18, 21:00
I know i probably sound ridiculous :weep: but i truly have been freaking out !! can anyone offer an insight

You'll find there are several posts here about rabies fears that are equally as irrational so you're definitely not alone. That being said, what you describe is absolutely impossible. No "if's and's or but's".

Positive thoughts

NervUs
22-04-18, 21:45
That you are scanning your life for possible rabies exposures shows that this is something your mind is gravitating to, and you need to fight back. Generally, people DO know when they've been exposed to rabies. You can't get it from being near a dog or throwing food at a cat.

While exceedingly rare, there are cases of people getting rabies from a bat that they never detected. It is a VERY small portion of bat rabies cases-- the vast majority of people do wake up, or know they had contact with a bat. Plus, it is a VERY small number of people who get rabies period. I have had this fear in the past, and I did research and the chances of getting from bat rabies while you are sleeping is like 1 in 2.7 billion. That was the analysis of a Canadian epidemiologist using data from the US and Canada. This is not easy to do in the midst of an intrusive thought but I somehow got to a point of believing if I didn't see a bat, I can't think rabies.

That said, there is no reason to do anything to make it easier for bats to get inside, so if you want to sleep with the window open, make sure there's a screen. Plug up small holes on the exterior of your house. Don't keep doors open at night. Things like that.