Hi! So I've been lurking on these threads for a while now, and finally decided to post about my own rabies fear. I go back and forth between thinking that I'm irrational and then thinking that I have an actual reason to be concerned. So here it goes:

About 7 years ago my dog got bitten by a squirrel in our backyard. I heard her crying from inside the house, so I rushed outside. When I saw her limping, I scooped her up and carried her inside. She's a little chihuahua mix. I was crying hysterically because I couldn't figure out where the blood was coming from, so I was hands on, inspecting her whole body, her *squirrel saliva laden* blood all over me. It was winter, and I ALWAYS have cracked hands in the winter. I was also wiping my eyes and nose because, again, I was crying. We took my dog to the vet, and she was obviously fine because she was vaccinated, and the vet's office called us later that day to tell us that the health department told us not to worry about bringing in the squirrel for testing because "squirrels don't carry rabies." Never thought about it again, until years later, I was reading an article about some people in Central Park who had all gotten PEP shots after being bitten by an "aggressive squirrel." I remember thinking, "but squirrels don't get rabies." That's when I started looking things up, and that's when everything changed.

All of the sudden, I had this new information that not only can squirrels carry rabies *it's just unlikely* but also that rabies can incubate, albeit in rare cases, for years. Somehow, I was able to talk myself down, and convinced myself that it was unlikely, and I was good to go for a few years. Until recently. I was watching TV and the topic of rabies came up, and it triggered the thought process again. I decided to look information up again because it had calmed me down, for whatever reason, years before. This time, however, my fears only snowballed. I've since been to my primary care physician who referred me to an ID doctor, and also spoke with a doctor/epidemiologist at my state's health department, All have said essentially the same thing, "it's highly, highly unlikely, but of course, I can't say impossible." And that is what my brain gets hung up on. I don't like uncertainty. Especially with something like this. I know I'd be a unicorn if I got rabies after 7 years, but I'm still panicked. All 3 doctors advised against getting the PEP shots. I'm still considering them. I'd have to go to the ER to get them and talk to yet another doctor about it. I know I have health anxiety for sure, but (and no judgement) I didn't just feel a gust of wind and think it was a bat. I know it's been a long time, and most people wouldn't be worried, but this is where I'm at. I'm worried that a small amount of the virus got in through cuts on my hand and because the amount was so small, it's been incubating for years and I'm a ticking time bomb. That's where I'm at. It's very frustrating. I'm not sure what to do at the moment. Just wanted to share my story. Anybody have anything similar?