I posted about this scare about 3 years ago on this same forum i got over it with time but now it has come back full force. Make the story brief as i can, rabies had always been a major scare for me even before the incident I'm going to describe took place. Back in 2022, i was working out doing lawn service/work for a family with my father. They live out in the vineyards surrounded by agriculture, they have these 2 dogs that roam around the vineyards. One afternoon (very early evening) while we were loading up everything ready to leave the clients house, we heard barking from the dogs and noticed they had ran off to "fight" off a coyote that had just appeared out of nowhere in the vineyards. i was a bit of distance away but i saw the whole thing go down, there was maybe 4-5 feet of distance between them. They were having a sort of "bark off" both dogs against that single coyote. That lasted maybe 10-20 seconds maybe even less, as far as i remember there was no actual physical contact. It happened so fast. I was to far away to actually see if the coyote was exhibiting any type of rabies symptoms. I've read things going back n forth about it being normal for coyotes to be roaming during the day, but then again i see stuff about coyotes wouldn't be out in the daytime and looking for confrontation unless it was already sick with the virus. The dogs scared off the coyote and it ran off. i had my car parked near and my door was open, one of the dogs that had just engaged in that little fight ended up coming towards my car and sniffing around inside the drivers seat where i had left open. I also had a pair of glasses inside the cupholder in the middle console. What has me terrified is that i remember reading a while back and rereading again that in very rare cases that the saliva of a rabid animal can infect a host via mucous membrane like eyes and mouth. So I'm scared that the bark off between them that the saliva from the coyote had gotten onto the dogs face/mouth/nose/fur. And i have no idea of knowing if that coyote was infected or anything. So i was terrified that when the dog was sniffing around in my car seat that it had somehow left saliva from the coyote onto my seat and or glasses that had left there. i had to drive back home and i immediately did not put my glasses on at the chance that the dog may have sniffed my glasses or licked them which I'm not sure it did or not. Thing is though is that I can't remember if i did or did not rub my face/eyes while i was driving. i was so scared i came home and started washing my glasses immediately with dish soap, i read that the virus is fragile and dies that way. After that i remember placing my glasses somewhere and not using them for weeks because i was so scared. i remember doing so much research and looking for answers after this happened. I was so scared that saliva from the coyote barking got onto the dog and then the dog left it on my car seat/glasses and i touched my seat/glasses that then resulted in me touching my face/eyes/mouth. Important note is that those 2 dogs are vaccinated against rabies and get there scheduled shots and i also got post Rabies vaccines for a different incident that involved a german shepherd that bit me 2 years before this incident (2020) so i had the Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) already in me for 2 years when this rare incident took place. I've read how rare it would be to contact rabies this way but the thing that's scaring me is that i started exhibiting symptoms that are mimicking rabies just recently as of this post and they don't seem to go away or just slowly getting worse(at least i feel they are) about a week and half now . Weak feeling, weak breathing, confusion, forgetfulness ,anxiety, loud noises and light sensitivity, getting irritated easily, what seems to be tight throat/dry throat. at times it feels like it spasms a bit not sure if it's just me hyperfocusing on it or not, salivating alot more than usual. Weak limbs, tingly, pins and needles. Mainly my nervous system is just all out of wack. i remember someone even saying here on this forum when i first brought it up years ago that said that I'm way overreacting and that even if by chance i did contact it that way (which would be really rare) that the vaccines that i got would have protected me because they last a long time in your body. (Quick side note: i also want to point out that just back in late November the 26th 2025 to be exact i started on Antibiotics Doxycycline 100mg for a whole month till Dec. 26 to deal with a lesion i had in mouth. There's a part of my brain saying maybe it's just the whole month of being on antibiotics that messed with my body resulting in my body trying to re adjust itself. But there's that other part of my brain thats overpowering and saying no it's rabies and it's too late and as days pass it'll just progress until i eventually succumb. There's a part of me that wants to believe that i do not have this scary virus like for example i tell myself "Don't you think if it really was rabid coyote saliva and somehow the dog did wipe some inside your car where you touched and then you rubbed your eyes or face, don't you think you would have succumbed to this horrible disease that same year (2022) if not within a few weeks of me contacting it???" And then i feel reassured but just for a bit until i start questioning myself like "what if you are that rare percent? what if the coyote really was rabid?" what if the vaccines you took a 2 years prior to this incident were not strong enough to fight it off? what if the disease remained dormant as is now showing itself and its too late? blah blah etc etc. I had just gone to the ER on the first Jan. 1 2026 late night 11:30pm and didnt leave until like 2:00am for the constant feeling of tight chest with weak breathing and overall weak body feeling. They ran an EKG, that was good. Chest X ray that was good. Blood tests and those were good. So thats when i started questioning and thinking which is what made me think it was finally the rabies thing catching up with me because there's really no way to test for it and it attacks your nervous system. which is why i think it is rabies because of all the symptoms that are frighteningly mimicking them and don't seem to go away and seem to get slowly worse and the fact that there is a chance i someone can get it through eye and mouth Contact and i had no idea of knowing if that coyote was rabid. I know this is a very specific and detailed scare case about this but I'm desperate and i feel like I'm just awaiting for the day soon it fully takes over and i just perish. I'm sorry for the long read and would appreciate any type of feedback please.
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Originally Posted by .Poppy.
