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View Full Version : Rabies paranoia - here we go again.



Lu88
19-11-18, 19:05
Hey Guys!

How are you all?

I've just come back from an amazing three weeks in Cuba, my health anxiety had taken a turn for the worse before we went away and this trip really sorted my head out, however I have come home and been triggered yet again!

Firstly, just to put some common sense in place, I know that Rabies is contracted by a bite or saliva from an infected animal to broken skin....neither of which happened to me, but I read that if saliva somehow gets into your eyes/nose/mouth there's still a small chance - and although this actually didn't happen either I am on a google search frenzy.

Long story short:

There are loads of street dogs/stray dogs in Cuba, they are everywhere but very calm, they live amongst the people and seem very used to being around people. We never had a bad experience with them, they left us to it, never barked at us and all was good. One day in Santa Clara a stray dog made friends with one of my friends, we were sat in a bar and a lovely stray dog came over all curious and cute and my friend was patting it etc. Then the dog came over to me, I didn't touch it through fear of disease but it did very quickly lick my skirt (a tight maxi skirt), the skirt wasn't moist off saliva and the lick was very small, in the moment I remember asking my friends if saliva could get through my skin/skirt and they said no and also not to worry as the dog didn't seem rabid - it was blind in one eye and a bit scruffy due to being a stray but its personality was that of a normal kind dog. Now this is where my paranoia sets in, I moved the area of the skirt by reflex away from my skin quickly, possibly touching the saliva, and then I remember thinking "Don't touch your face and wash your hands before you leave, which I did....I thoroughly washed my hands!

I forgot about it and moved on, but on my return home I was reading an article about a man that got rabies from a cat bite and then read something along the lines of "although rare, you can get rabies from saliva getting into mucous membranes" - so now im doubting myself, what if I rubbed my eye after moving my skirt away/touching the saliva? What if I have rabies now?

It was with my left hand and Im right handed so if I did do that it would most likely be with my right hand anyway, and also I know myself, theres now way I would be putting that hand near my eyes or mouth KNOWING I was also about to wash my hands and have health anxiety - you know how we can get ;)

I don't even know if this dog had rabies, none of the dogs we came across - and there were a lot, looked like they had it. They were a bit manky from being strays but none were aggressive/foaming etc. Also, I have read that the virus dies pretty quickly underneath direct sunlight so its unlikely from that tiny lick on my skirt (the skin underneath was healthy, not broken or sunburnt or anything) would cause anything sinister. I suppose im just questioning everything - did I use that hand to touch my face? Is it even possible that that could be a thing?

Has anyone been to cuba and had experience with the dogs? If a stray had licked my skirt anywhere else I wouldnt even think twice about it! And like I said, the lick wasn't a moist big lick, it was almost a small press of the tongue against the material after it sniffed at me, then it sat next to our table and wandered off to the next one for some more attention haha. Nobody else seemed bothered by this dog.

Argh, if it wasn't for this article I wouldn't even have thought twice about it!! I just didnt know that you could get rabies from saliva, I thought it had to be off a bite or saliva into broken skin!!

I cant stop thinking about it.....it's driving me mad. It's the 4th disease I have diagnosed myself with in about a month.


Any advise or experiences would be massively appreciated!!

THANKS GUYS!!!!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fishmanpa
19-11-18, 20:21
Complete and total fantasy and self inflicted anxiety due to Dr. Google and you know it. :lac:

Positive thoughts

venusbluejeans
19-11-18, 20:32
Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Lu88
19-11-18, 20:41
[QUOTE=Fishmanpa;1837728]Complete and total fantasy and self inflicted anxiety due to Dr. Google and you know it. :lac:

Fishmanpa - thank you for being to the point, I need it. One half of my brain is saying exactly that and to basically get a grip. The other half, the anxious half is convinced i'm just that unlucky and now i'm almost looking for symptoms in my own body. Argh, why does this have to take over in such a real way?! It's hard to be rational when HA rears its ugly head hey xxxx

paranoid-viking
21-11-18, 03:53
Hey Guys!

How are you all?

I've just come back from an amazing three weeks in Cuba, my health anxiety had taken a turn for the worse before we went away and this trip really sorted my head out, however I have come home and been triggered yet again!

Firstly, just to put some common sense in place, I know that Rabies is contracted by a bite or saliva from an infected animal to broken skin....neither of which happened to me, but I read that if saliva somehow gets into your eyes/nose/mouth there's still a small chance - and although this actually didn't happen either I am on a google search frenzy.

Long story short:

There are loads of street dogs/stray dogs in Cuba, they are everywhere but very calm, they live amongst the people and seem very used to being around people. We never had a bad experience with them, they left us to it, never barked at us and all was good. One day in Santa Clara a stray dog made friends with one of my friends, we were sat in a bar and a lovely stray dog came over all curious and cute and my friend was patting it etc. Then the dog came over to me, I didn't touch it through fear of disease but it did very quickly lick my skirt (a tight maxi skirt), the skirt wasn't moist off saliva and the lick was very small, in the moment I remember asking my friends if saliva could get through my skin/skirt and they said no and also not to worry as the dog didn't seem rabid - it was blind in one eye and a bit scruffy due to being a stray but its personality was that of a normal kind dog. Now this is where my paranoia sets in, I moved the area of the skirt by reflex away from my skin quickly, possibly touching the saliva, and then I remember thinking "Don't touch your face and wash your hands before you leave, which I did....I thoroughly washed my hands!

I forgot about it and moved on, but on my return home I was reading an article about a man that got rabies from a cat bite and then read something along the lines of "although rare, you can get rabies from saliva getting into mucous membranes" - so now im doubting myself, what if I rubbed my eye after moving my skirt away/touching the saliva? What if I have rabies now?

It was with my left hand and Im right handed so if I did do that it would most likely be with my right hand anyway, and also I know myself, theres now way I would be putting that hand near my eyes or mouth KNOWING I was also about to wash my hands and have health anxiety - you know how we can get ;)

I don't even know if this dog had rabies, none of the dogs we came across - and there were a lot, looked like they had it. They were a bit manky from being strays but none were aggressive/foaming etc. Also, I have read that the virus dies pretty quickly underneath direct sunlight so its unlikely from that tiny lick on my skirt (the skin underneath was healthy, not broken or sunburnt or anything) would cause anything sinister. I suppose im just questioning everything - did I use that hand to touch my face? Is it even possible that that could be a thing?

Has anyone been to cuba and had experience with the dogs? If a stray had licked my skirt anywhere else I wouldnt even think twice about it! And like I said, the lick wasn't a moist big lick, it was almost a small press of the tongue against the material after it sniffed at me, then it sat next to our table and wandered off to the next one for some more attention haha. Nobody else seemed bothered by this dog.

Argh, if it wasn't for this article I wouldn't even have thought twice about it!! I just didnt know that you could get rabies from saliva, I thought it had to be off a bite or saliva into broken skin!!

I cant stop thinking about it.....it's driving me mad. It's the 4th disease I have diagnosed myself with in about a month.


Any advise or experiences would be massively appreciated!!

THANKS GUYS!!!!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You "read"=you googled. As Fish says, complete fatasy. You should use the creativity you used to write a long piece like this to try to write horror fiction. If you have the talent to make up imposible rabies scenario you may have the talent to write horror fiction aswell.
2
And you admit you are googling horror stories about rabies. STOP WITH THAT! No "yes, but...."-just no. And no. And no. And no again. Google something nice instead. Like poetry for excample.