Rabies fear

[Fishmanpa]

Hi FMP, thank you for once again replying to one of my threads full of silly worries I am convinced are true. I understand it may seem very stupid but I am having a real hard time with this as my mind keeps telling itself that such a small bug (about 2/3cm long) could not move a whole leaf and there was something else there.

From an outside perspective, this is one of those situations where you believe the sky is green when its so obviously blue. I've read rabies worries threads for years and again, there are just no such things as Ninja bats. I truly have a difficult time understanding how irrational fears like this manifest themselves in the minds of those that fear it but I guess that's part of the mental illness.

FMP

[Jamie123]

For me I think part of it is the fact I have never seen a bat up close and am not sure if I have ever seen one at all but hearing that they exist in my area caused me to be worried. For example if you asked me if there was a bird under the leaves I discussed I could immediately tell you no but with bats I have never truly seen the size of one except for on videos and they look small enough to be unnoticeable at times.

[Fishmanpa]

For me I think part of it is the fact I have never seen a bat up close and am not sure if I have ever seen one at all but hearing that they exist in my area caused me to be worried. For example if you asked me if there was a bird under the leaves I discussed I could immediately tell you no but with bats I have never truly seen the size of one except for on videos and they look small enough to be unnoticeable at times.

I'm sorry but that's nonsense as well For all the rabies/bat fears here, there's no way you can logically rationalize the fear. Perhaps some real life help or a lesson in zoology is in order?

FMP

[Jamie123]

I don't disagree that it may be nonsense and that there is no way to rationalise it but I just think that is the reason my fears can continue to lead me on with this.

[Fishmanpa]

I don't disagree that it may be nonsense and that there is no way to rationalise it but I just think that is the reason my fears can continue to lead me on with this.

So you're saying you agree that it's nonsense and irrational and that's why you continue to fear it?

FMP

[.Poppy.]

From an outside perspective, this is one of those situations where you believe the sky is green when its so obviously blue. I've read rabies worries threads for years and again, there are just no such things as Ninja bats. I truly have a difficult time understanding how irrational fears like this manifest themselves in the minds of those that fear it but I guess that's part of the mental illness.

FMP

I think it stems from the fact that, as rare as it is, rabies is scary. At least that’s the struggle for me.

You absolutely would see a bat, and if you didn’t, you would definitely feel it. Full stop.

If it helps, I work in research admin on a university campus with a vet school. I know the people who run the rabies lab here, in fact, one guy in my office volunteers there. They take in animals from around and just test for rabies (bats in houses, raccoons people have killed, etc). It’s notable when they have a positive result. I hear about every single one and it’s not very frequently at all that it happens. And this is in the US where rabies is much, much more prevalent.

also- one year for a rabies vax is cautious but not necessary if they are the same as over here. Here they are boosted every 3 years, and in humans that work in that lab they usually don’t bother, they titer test to see if it’s necessary and it usually isn’t for 5+ Years.

[Fishmanpa]

You absolutely would see a bat, and if you didn’t, you would definitely feel it. Full stop.

That's my whole point. There are no such things as ninja bats.

FMP

[Jamie123]

What I am saying is that it is extremely unlikely but the fact there have been cases of people who have no history of animal contact who have rabies is the thing that really gets to me and I am guessing everyone who has these worries to do with bats. Of course this seems very silly especially since I have seen more worried posts here about rabies from the UK than there have been cases in the last 120 years but the issue is our minds don't work rationally in these situations. So even though I do see where you are coming from and why you would say that I cannot get my mind to just cancel out the intrusive worrying thoughts.

[Jamie123]

Yes I think it is that fact. Along with this the fact it is something which is preventable if you do something about it but are in trouble if you don't makes it the perfect storm particularly for me as my OCD tends to focus on things which I can take action on as my impulsive thoughts push me to take action to try and fight these things.

Poppy thank you for writing about your colleague. This has given me some reassurance as in the UK there are only a small number of positive bats (I think it was roughly 30 out of 15,000 tested) from the bats they have been able to test (I believe usually sick or dead ones as in the UK they are protected). On the government website it does show the areas where the rabid bats are discovered and none of them have been near me which is also reassuring.

Right now I just have a feeling my mind is really struggling to keep it together. It is weird because I can see my mind is just jumping from on worry to the next. One scratch to the next. One pinch to the next. For example today I went out looking again and every pinch as my clothes pulled on a hair as well as every discomfort in my foot led my mind to bats. I think I did tire my mind out a little bit as now I am exhaustedly less worried but I know it will come back. I even started worrying that a bat bit me then went down a drainage shaft because my foot felt cold near it (2 pairs of socks on and trousers on top

With regards to the vaccine I think I read in quite a few places that it is somewhat likely that it is still effective but the vaccination schedules which have been studied seem to be mostly different from the one I had (I had day 0,3,7,21 vaccines) and in most places boosters are still recommended which has been giving my mind more cause for concern however I believe this is for extreme caution due to the severity of the disease. Do you know if the guy you referred to has been vaccinated at all and how often they need to have boosters? In some places it says 3 months in others 6 months and in others a year or more. I have been calmed a little also by one study I read which showed that from around 500 people most still had vaccine effectiveness over 3 years and even though some of the people got bitten and did not have a booster no on died in that study which is somewhat reassuring.

As I am typing this however I feel the pinching feeling in the top of my back, the discomfort in my upper thigh and the tingling in my feet so I don't think I am over it yet.

[Fishmanpa]

I'm truly sorry you're suffering and feeling this way. I can't even begin to imagine suffering like this over something that by all means isn't a blip in the universe. Hope you feel better soon.

FMP