Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forum. However, I have read over multiple posts and am seeking some reassurance through this very difficult time. I was standing in my garage last night and felt a pin prick on one of my toes. I was wearing open toed sandals and didn't look down immediately to see the source of the incident due to the fact that I was sending a text message. I'm now convinced that the possibility exists that a bat bit me and that I've contracted rabies. I have examined the are thoroughly to look for the markings, but can't find any ascertainable bite marks. However, the toe has displayed some throbbing pain and burning since the time of the incident. To make matters worse, I found a story out of British Columbia in which a man died from rabies after having a bat run into his palm. The bat didn't bite the guy or scratch the guy, but simply hit the palm of his hand while he was out walking in the woods. I have never witnessed a bat before on my property, there has been no confirmed cases of rabies in my state over the past eleven years (the only records that I could find go back to 2009, but I do remember a man dying in my general area from the disease around 2003/2004), and I am attempting to reassure myself that there's numerous other probabilities that could have caused the sensation. However, I just can't shake the sensation that it was a bat and that I'm well on my way to a horrible death at the current moment. The thought has even crossed my mind that I should start preparing for such an incident.
Pros of my situation:
1. If it was a bat, I would have felt the animal land on my toe and would have been alerted to the sensation of a foreign object present. Bats have fur and such a thing would have definitely been felt. The toe in question is the one next to the little toe and the bat would have had to either land on the garage floor or the narrow strip of the shoe sole in front of the toe to accomplish the bite. I have practiced numerous simulations today concerning the incident in the spot that it occurred and I would like to think that I would have been aware that such a thing had occurred.
2. I didn't physically see a bat and virtually all known rabies cases in America over the past eleven years have been linked with direct contact with the animal in question. I checked under my vehicle, in the shrubbery (my garage is open air), and other crevices
3. The toes are one of the best places to be bit by a rabid animal due to the fact that they are the furthest from the brain. I know a person who knows a guy that got bit by a rabid raccoon twenty years ago or so, refused the shots, and never contracted the disease. From my understanding, not everyone automatically catches rabies from a rabid animal bite due to things such a bite penetration, distance from brain, etc.
Cons of my situation:
1. The sensation that I felt was textbook as to what many describe a bat bite feels like and the subsequent pain is consistent with the pulsating sensation most often associated with such bites.
2. I live in a warmer climate state and bats are fairly common. While I have never encountered any on my property, they are certainly present in the local area and not just an anomaly.
I know that I've been extremely long winded on this post, but I'm scared to death. I am almost afraid to go outside now and have been on the verge of panicking all day long. If this continues, I'm going to have to check myself into some type of facility and am concerned about what my mental state will be moving forward. Please reassure me that all of this is simply in my head and that such a sensation most likely didn't come from being bit by a rabid bat.
