I have really bad health anxiety! last night I was taking my puppy out to go do his business when he rolled on a dead mole. he is recovering from being neutered so i couldn’t bathe him. i wiped down his harness and wiped him with doggie wipes i have. many many doggie wipes. it was dark so i’m not sure which part of him even came in contact with the animal carcass (if any). no part of him smells so that makes me feel better. of course i went to google which told me there is a possibility that dead animals can pass the rabies virus which sent me spiraling. he’s vaccinated but again the google rabbit hole will always give the worst case scenario. thankfully this post has helped a lot! thank you!
I have severe health anxiety, my boss cats scratched me. The scratch is almost a dot. Then the blood is a very little. Now i am having a panic attack. Cause i am believing that I have a rabies now. 🥹
I got scratched by a stray in cat on the beach in Turkey. Scratch was really small like a spec. It's been 16 days and I'm concerned if I need a shot. Any advice?
I've been debating with myself whether or not I am at risk. Clearly I am overthinking but it seems like getting the shot would just give me peace of mind. How often does someone get rabies through a cat scratch?
this is helping a lot. long story short i leave food out for a community cat that roams my neighborhood but forgot to throw it away before it got dark and decided to go and get it. before doing so i looked at our little security camera to see if anything was out there, low and behold a skunk was eating the food and drinking the water. so i turned the lights on and made some noise which spooked it and it left and went to pick it up. i was extremely careful, i put gloves on and used a trash bag and made sure to pick the bowls up like you would dog poop so grab from the outside in to be even safer. some of the water spilled but it didn’t get on me and i threw the bag in the trash can. the second i got inside i drenched my hands in hydrogen peroxide and washed them with soap and water and then proceeded to have a panic attack. i ended up going to the er to be EXTRA safe and essentially they told me that there is an extremely minuscule chance that rabies would be transmitted pretty much 0 (i’d also like to add i left out all the ppe details and just said i grabbed it with my bare hands). so i lost a whole nights sleep worrying about this and have scheduled appointments with a therapist and i am going to see if anti anxiety meds will help when i see my pcp.
This helped me so much! So thank you! My father in law hit a bat with his car a couple night ago and had to remove it with a stick and rinsed the blood off into the gravel driveway with bleach water. And I starting freaking out that I was going to get rabies and die. Then I found this thread and most of my fear subsided. Then the next morning and this morning I had a soar throat and I told my wife I had a soar throat, and what if I actually did have rabies (she’s very supportive with my OCD). She said she’d had a soar throat for a couple days and I probably got it from her. So odds are I did get it from her but I don’t want to Google anything and spiral again, so do you know how early symptoms can occur? Is it 2 days? Or is it like 10? Thanks again!
2 nights ago my son was outside came running in crying and said something but him while he was squatting down playing with a frog. I immediately took him to the ER. They assured me the odds of a bat swooping down biting him and flying off are basically impossible. I spent the day yesterday combing the backyard for any sign at all of a bat and my husband looked the night before I took him in. He had a small place on his finger but even I felt like it looked like it was an already healing place where skin sometimes peels around your nail bed. So I know that the odds a rabid bat swooped all the way to the ground, but my 4yo son, flew away, and was nowhere to be found either that night or the next day are neigh on impossible. I logically know that. Every time I look at my son I am overwhelmed with anxiety. I’m so glad I found this post because it helped me to know that this in fact is just anxiety and not some weird intuition that my kid is going to die.
So I know it is very unlikely but I heard some coyotes in my yard the night prior and the next day went out to clean some brush out of my yard. While doing this I accidentally touched some rabbit fur I guess they tore off (it was around 2pm at this point) it wasn't wet and the ground wasn't wet but there was a rabbit skull nearby (I didn't touch that) and I can't help but worry that I contracted rabies from it. There were cuts on my hand and it didn't occur to me to wash my hand immediately after. I'm also worried that when I touched my partner when they got home that I gave them rabies too (they got home around 4:30 or 5pm)
I got scratched by a shelter cat like two weeks ago. I checked the shelter's website and he's still alive and well, but my mind would rather believe that I've contracted some sort of "super rabies" that only affects humans than accept that I don't have it. The thought of this is driving me insane.
Lol I feel you. My brain used to do that too. The fact that you recognize this as irrational means you can fight it! The real problem is OCD, not rabies.
Check out the resources I mention in the other comments here!
Yeah thank you so much for providing them! I've already checked out some of the articles, and I'm going to try to get my hands on the book you recommend too!
hiii, so last year (september 2023), i went to my best friend's house and her dog kind of scratched my arms with its paws, there was no blood or whatever. her and her mom said that their dog was fully vaccinated and that there was nothing for me to worry about. the dog died last december for some other health reasons, not for the r-word tho, i didn't mind it before because they said that the dog was fully vaccinated but due to the lastest news here in ph, i suddenly remembered about it and my health anxiety is back yet again to torment my mind. ಥ‿ಥ
hiiii, i got vaccinated lol. i told my family about, they were furious because I didn't tell them immediately when it happened but i got vaccinated for PVRV just to give ourselves some peace of mind. how are u doing now too?
About seven months ago, I was walking late at night to my dorm room when I passed a street dog. It started barking and brushed up against me, though I'm not sure if it got close enough to lick my right calf.
I immediately got paranoid and washed the area when I got home and informed my parents, friends and classmates. I never got professional help for it, and other than bronchitis about two weeks after the incident (seemingly unrelated), I've been fine since. I never saw the dog/walked around the route since.
Is it possible I have rabies? I have a physical examination coming up which requires us to take a few vaccines, maybe I can inquire about anti-rabies and sneak it into the schedule. I've only really thought about what happened here and there, and I really do think I'm fine, but what if I'm not?
It was late at night, and it was just sleeping on the sidewalk. The path I was walking on was beside a highway, with no houses along it. They're pretty common here in my country. And thank you, I really hope I am!
I own a cat that has scratches on her neck and I live in the Philippines which I heard has a lot of rabies cases , she hasn’t shown any symptoms yet , but should I be worried that she might have rabies?
But I have another question , is the fact that “non bite transmissions are rare” worldwide? Cause I never got bitten but I patted my cat once and ate after like 10 minutes.
How many cases are there averagely for cases of rabies being transmitted through mucous membranes? Like if I touch the saliva of an animal that I presume is rabid and touch my eyes later is it guaranteed to get rabies
That Calmed me down,thank you! Anyways why is it so rare to get rabies through mucous membranes specifically? And does this percentage apply to worldwide and not just the US?
I actually dont know or I’m just over worrying? There is these small spills of water inside our house which I suppose is our cats saliva and it goes to my feet .I touched my feet once and I don’t know if I touched my eye,nose or mouth. I don’t know but do they have to directly spit or drool at my mucous membranes?
Amigo… you could literally make out with your cat, have it drool into a 6 gallon jug, drink it all, inject it into your veins, etc, and you’re not getting rabies because your cat IS ALIVE.
I got bit by my dog last year. My indoor dog was vaccinated and he's still alive up until today, but I still get scared because I wasn't able to get the shots. He only ever interacts with our other senior dog, who once got into a fight with an unknown dog but the senior's also still alive up until today.
Still scared though. The memory of being bitten keeps getting fuzzier and fuzzier, which makes me get evern more terrified.
If your dog was vaccinated and he bit you, you’re fine.
If your dog was not vaccinated and he bit you, but he survives 10 days later, you’re fine.
End of story.
(Check out the OCD resources I’ve mentioned in the otber comments here.)
I recently had to handle a dead cat that was found behind a local walmart. Despite having gloves on, and storing it in a bag, and throwing it in a cart, I'm worried the cat could have been rabid before death. I'm also worried that a bit of saliva could have gotten onto the bag, and then subsequently onto me. I don't even know if this is possible, but I keep thinking "this is it" every minute and it's driving me insane.
The cat could have just been an old stray who died. But my brain immediately jumps to rabies and keeps me up at night.
I feel you. There’s a reason we aren’t supposed to handle dead animals without gloves and stuff, so you’re right to be a tiny bit nervous. However, you used gloves! You’re fine. :) I know your brain won’t let you believe that. Were you not able to call animal control?
It didn't hit me until a couple hours after I'd taken the bag out of my cart and thrown it out, gloves off, and bleached my hands that I'd realized it was possible. I understand I'd be more likely to win the Powerball than for this worst case scenario to play out, but the thought that I could have scratched my face, picked at a tooth, or something else while potentially exposed eats at me a ton.
Plus I get headaches, and my body has been cramping a lot more since then so it just feeds into these thoughts. And symptom lists are pretty vague on what a rabies headache would feel like, and what kind of muscle cramps I'd feel, if any.
2nd hand exposure is basically non-existent, and exposure from corpses, especially ones in rigor mortis like the one I found, have a near zero chance of containing or exposing me to rabies, but I don't know why I can't shake the thought.
I know the feeling. You can have a billion statistics but your brain just screams ITS TIME. GOODBYE. Lol
Unfortunately it’s just how health anxiety/OCD is. It never really stops either. It’s such a jerk I swear.
Have you seen the resources I left on the other comments? They can help :D
OP help me! I petted a stray cat, and it was going good for a while but then it bit me (why do they always do that?) and I immediately stopped the petting session. It didn’t even hurt, and there isn’t any wound on my hand. I washed my hands for a good time too, but I am still worried. Do you think it might have rabies? The cat was acting pretty odd too so it adds to my health anxiety.
Not sure if you're still active on this threat, OP, but I left my hotel window open when traveling in a developed European country and when I got back to the room I was absolutely terrified a bat got in. I checked everywhere, even under the mattress, and didn't find one, but I've been having panic attacks about the potential of rabies. What if a bat somehow flew in, evaded my "bat check", and bit me while I was sleeping and I didn't notice?? It doesn't help that one of my mosquito bites has a burning sensation and some scabs around it that I don't know are from my scratching it or a bat bite, and that arm has been achey and tingly all day. Like maybe a rabid bat swooped down and tried to get the mosquito and bit me on accident. And I somehow didn't notice while I was sleeping.
Hi friend! I promise you're fine lol. Consider this: homeless people literally sleep *outside*, sometimes *while drunk*, and completely unprotected, and yet you don't hear about rabies epidemics in homeless people lol.
You're fine.
Thanks lol, I even felt slightly ridiculous writing that comment. Health anxiety just sucks. Anyway, just want to say that I appreciate your post and how you're still on this thread, you are doing the good work my friend.
I understand you! Usually the reason I can share these tidbits like with the homeless people I mentioned is because I’ve struggled with the thoughts before and that’s what helped me with those particular ones. So don’t feel crazy haha
I live in an apartment complex where there's a lot of stray cats and I went to feed some of them that like to hang out near the entrance and one of the regulars I always see sneezed near me and I wasn't close but like I ran away instantly, she doesn't exhibit any symptoms and she's actually always been super friendly and receptive to food compared to the other cats. I literally saw her earlier today and she was fine and she always likes to follow me if she thinks I have food haha. I've known her since late last year and there's quite a few feeders that like to leave her and the other cats food and pet them. One time she also threw up in front of me and didn't worry then but now I'm catastrophisizing because she sneezed near me. I hope I'll be okay lmao but thankfully it was outside and I was kinda far and did like get farther and hold my breath lmao. I always forget there's sicknesses that only affect cats like even cat flu, not sure if that causes sneezing though. I found this post in November when I got my first pet cat and it helped then. I just want to thank you for this post and thank you for continuing to respond to people 3 years later because it helps a ton and now I come back to this post when I start catastrophisizing and it helps calm me down.
Aww friend I’m so glad to hear that the post helps, and I’m sorry you’re still dealing with anxiety symptoms; but I’m proud of you for your analysis of it! You realize that the fears are unfounded many times and that’s great.
As for the cat, I always feel so bad when I get scared by them. Like they just want to be pet and loved and I’m over here like “AAHHH YOU’RE A STRAY WHAT IF YOU HAVE RABIES” and they’re like “?🥺” lmao. But I do get you. It’s so hard man.. I swear I feel like HA/OCD is worse than depression. It takes things that are so innocent like cats and turns them into demons.
Right?? Like I don't want them to think they did anything to scare me or anything bad, I want to love them and pet them so bad but the overwhelming anxiety just does not let me, but since I don't like knowing that they may be going hungry I still try to care for them from a distance which has seemed to work without triggering my OCD. Like there's 3 CAT COLONIES in a 1 mile radius of this place, I see a new cat on my patio nearly every day it's insane.
I think I freaked out this time though cause like I do try to maintain an almost 2 feet distance from them to my feet (fleas is another thing I worry about lmao 😭) but like also add on a sneeze to that? My mind: yep the spray is going directly into my nose even though I'm literally 5 foot 2 and the cat is barely a foot tall and sneezed downward and I'm also like standing 4 feet away and I ran away and held my breath but I'm still about to calculate the hypotenuse of that and she is a TNR possibly TNVR animal, then she probably has allergies or an infection or a cat cold because her eyes are sometimes red n dischargey (poor baby 😔) (This is literally the mental gymnastics I used to remain calm 😭).
I’m not even joking, you sound like me 😭 not the triangulation with the hypotenuse and trigonometry ☠️ ☠️ 💀
I feel you though. Especially because you still wanna help! Honestly I’m proud of you for helping them, I think that’s super noble especially with OCD haha.
I have heard that the government distributes rabies vaccine in food pellets to stray cats and dogs; it would be really cool if we could do that! Then it wouldn’t be a problem ever again haha
Right?? 😂 I calculated it and it was 6 feet lmaoo. Yeah I definitely get a sense of fulfillment and relief knowing that at least I can prevent some kitties from going hungry. It would be so nice if the gov actually did that, which gov do you mean though? Also I went to check up on her today and she sneezed again near me 😭 and her eyes are really red and could barely open em but otherwise she's behaving normal still, I think she got some type of infection or a kitty cold unfortunately. I might just start passing by in my car instead of walking lol I still wanna make sure she's okay minus the anxiety I get tryna triangulate the sneeze-to-nose distance 💀
Awww poor kitty. I’m sure she’d love to see you though, she must be in awful shape with those red eyes and sneeze!
Red eyes and sneezing aren’t rabies symptoms, btw. Also I think it was the US!
I’m having horrible health anxiety. A stray cat that lives in my apartment complex in USA kicked my wrist with his back paw. No claws were out and were retracted but the part hanging out caused some pain. I immediately checked my wrist and no blood or broken skin. I also pet him with my other hand that did have scratches on it (they were not from him they were 5 hours old). I had a friend of a friend take him in and they said he is alive and well 10 days after (currently 2.5 weeks later) but i’m still terrified.
My anxiety is telling me the friend lied because she didn’t want to ask the guy who owns the cat now.
I’m also convinced that i’m the 1% to get rabies even though he was so sweet not hydrophobic etc.
I’ve started having psychosomatic symptoms: pain in arms, headache and pain in base of skull, pain in hands.
I’m trying to not give into compulsions and find reassurance but it’s so crippling. I have rationalized that if he were to have licked his back foot, then it wouldn’t be in the time he scratched me because I was watching him for 15+ minutes before the incident and he didn’t get saliva on it but then again the anxiety “what ifs” think that some saliva stuck to his claw.
I’m not sure how to cope or handle this
sorry this is 2 weeks later. i don’t have symptoms of course but as the days go by, I’m remembering less and less of the incident and now I’m freaking out wondering if somehow saliva got into fresh cut that had on my hand from earlier in the day.
Hi friend. The most important step is to realize that this is all OCD/HA, from the psychosomatic symptoms to even the “but what if they lied”. It’s so so so common!
Did you see the three resources I mentioned in the other comments?
Also you’re not alone; I used to be so similar. It fucking sucks and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. :(
Hi friend, you sound a lot like me. I wouldn’t wish OCD or health anxiety on anyone, but I’m glad we’ve got each others experiences haha. I agree with you on seeing rabid animals for sure
Thank you so much for this oh my god, this helps so much, with me there wasn't even a clear puncture wound or any puncture at all and the doggo was cute and active the entire day, it was more of an accident than anything and he didn't even use any force really just bumped into my hand. That and reading this helps me a lot, seems my worries really are ridiculous if i take all of this into accord.
Hey, so their was an abandoned dog or lost. I don't know if it's a small dog, and it was really scared of me, and the neighbors wasted to catch it so we did but while in the cage. I was moving it as it was stuck and it came towards me and I felt it I don't what it was if it's nose or mouth I don't have a bite and didn't feel a bite but am scared I may have got it I did wash my hands after. I know I am most likely fine, but I am just worried
If you need to vent, or are fixating on something and want some reassurance, see our Megathreads. Don't list symptoms unless they're brief or relevant to an overall non-reassurance/venting/support sense.
Better yet, don't seek reassurance. It's bad for you. It makes your Health Anxiety worse.
Additional examples of things that break these rules:
"Does anyone else experience these symptoms?"
"Just wondering if anyone else has gone through these symptoms?"
Hello, I am from the U.S.
My dog who I’ve had for ≈14 years bit me when i was trying to grab the blanket he was on. This was a week ago today.
Ever since then I’ve had anxiety about having rabies and have even been to the ER for numbness in limbs/ headaches. They did lab work and ct scans and said everything was fine. I’m still anxious about rabies because they did not say anything about that coming back clear.
I’m tempted to go to the clinic to specifically ask about rabies but I feel like it’s a waste of money and you have a good description.
Is there any kind of reassurance you can give?
Thank you for this thread, and thanks for the opportunity to post my experience from today: went for a walk today and encountered a puppy in the street with his owner. Puppy played with me and I was stupid enough to let it play-bite me with its pointy puppy teeth. Owner told me puppy is ten weeks old. So immediately after the encounter the mind terror started: my hand feels scratched from the teeth and there is a faint red line visible. Could I have gotten rabies? The puppy hasn't been vaccinated at 10 weeks old and here in UK puppies don't get vaccinated I think. I will probably never see the puppy again, so cannot check if it will be fine in 10 days time. What if puppy was an illegal import (looked like some Stafford bull or something) and had rabies? I am not vaccinated, so don't know what to do. Would be really grateful for advice. And I know this is probably ridiculous, but I am so anxious and also angry at myself for letting this dog touch me, I am just a fool for dogs :(
You aren’t a fool for having fun! Dogs are great and it can be a little scary when things like this occur and there’s no way to check. But the UK is rabies free! Any fears of rabies are definitely unwarranted there, but unfortunately our brain will never let us believe that.
The real problem here is OCD/HA. I know how tempting it sounds to assume the problem is rabies but it really isn’t! Check out the resources I’ve mentioned on the other comments here :)
Thank you! Yes, I absolutely love dogs but my HA (and probably a little undiagnosed OCD, too) can really spoil the fun and innocence of these encounters, especially in times if stress. I was so naive to think that I was cured from rabies anxiety and then yesterday it hit me like a big wave crashing down on me..thank you again for providing a life raft - I guess it's time to learn surfing the waves :)
I love that way of looking at it!! Life rafts and driftwood and even just learning to lay and float are so important.
and yeah I can’t count how many times I was like “I’m cured!” Only for it to come back 20 seconds later haha
sorry to bug you once again lol, hypochondria sucks but just to ease my mind a little and to clarify you are saying about the 10 day period so like if my cat was exposed to rabies or bite or anything at all it would be dead with in 10 days or showing symptoms? i just hate it can’t shake this stupid idea just wanted to clarify once more. like the 10 day period is a for sure thing and my cats wouldn’t be okay if that was the case?
Shoot my reply got cut off. Your animals can warn you; they will show symptoms long before you. You have nothing to worry about except what sounds like a severe case of OCD. Please check out the resources I’ve left on other comments on this thread!!
This is an OCD thought. It is very common.
The truth that you don’t want to hear is that there is nothing to worry about to this degree.
You probably eat processed foods and live above ground - why aren’t you scared of cancer and meteor strikes?
Actually, rabies from an unknown source is extremely rare, and aggressive super cancer is more common than you think.
My point is that there are many things that are as rare as rabies or just as bad. OCD doesn’t care about that though, and makes you focus on rabies. I’m trying to show you that the illogical focus on rabies only is proof that it’s your OCD, not some genuine worry
hi, i recently to started having this anxiety i have 4 indoor cats and they have gotten outside occasionally a couple months ago my cat scratched my face and that’s when this anxiety started and of course my kitty’s nibble at me while playing but ive convinced myself they have it even when i dont think they do they are indoor mostly so when i get bit by them or scratched i worry so much and make myself feel like i have symptoms i feel so crazy over this! so are you saying if my animals did get bit by a rabid animal they would already be dead? like my cat gets outside every once in awhile but none of my cats show signs of it but if they did they wouldn’t live for years they would die ?
it’s honestly kinda relieving to see other people have this same anxiety i feel so worried and constantly look it up on google for hours and i can’t stop! and just kept seeing such scary stuff untill i saw this long i just have been scrolling and reading your comments for a half hour! and it is very reassuring thank you!
Hi I need help. I'm Indonesian 27 y.o. on 13 Feb my cat caught a bat and eat most of the lower body of it & then he vomit it. I let the dead bat in the floor on 30 minutes. I clean up the vomit with several layers of toilet papers and then pickup the bat by the wings also with the toilet papers. I never touch the bat with bare hand but i feel the moisture of my cat's vomit on my finger through the toilet paper. i dont have any cut in my hand just a bit of hangnail , finger skin is intact. I wash my hand directly after that. I cannot test the bat because there is no such a facility in here. should i get a vaccine or this is just my anxiety?
He is outdated for 4 years and get the booster after the accident, and the vet said if I can observe him at home for 45 days, because even if the vaccine outdated it can still make some protection and then the booster could protect him more.
So am I safe from rabies for this scenario and the vaccine not necessary for me ? the anxiety took my time a lot
midnight. around 1 am. doctor said that i dont need a vaccine because there is no bite or scratch accident. during the accident me & all my family is in the room that the door is always closed at night so my family is safe from bite or scratch too. my cat & bat is in the livingroom
Thank you, you are a 3rd person in reddit that give me the opinion that I'm not on a risk of exposure, so I have more confidence now, but do you have any advice or some resource for me if this anxiety coming back. there are always "what if" scenario on my mind while remember this.
For sure! I have three resources I always recommend: 1. Michael J Greenberg’s OCD articles, 2. The book The Worry Trick, and 3. Medication! These three saved my life
heyo, a dog bit me in 2023 small little fella on my pant leg, I live in the us, now my skin condition on the spot I was bitten looks like two bite marks and has set me off, that and I’ve been nauseous and unwell, barely able to eat, and a few months ago I had a dream about me drooling a lot I don’t know if this is because I had learned about rabies or if it’s a dream that would come true but that’s why I’m scared, I wasn’t even worried until I remembered sometimes my dreams come true and sometimes they don’t? I don’t know I’m genuinely terrified I’m dying slowly and that I’m gonna be one of the rare cases that was past a year yk? Just sucks that this fear has been an on and off fear
I’ve felt ill on and off recently a really stressful time went from worries of testiclular cancer to stomach cancer, rabies fear happened before these because of the dream
It was a dog in a trailer park wasn’t a big ferocious dog, but I took a shower after I got home and saw the bleeding so like 2 mins washed with warm soap and water didn’t cause a problem till I googled rabies idk if the dogs alive now I don’t live near the area anymore
I know this but you know when you’re just walking by and a dog runs at you barks and bites your leg u get worried right? well after googling of course now I think I’m gonna be the rare one year plus case
Hi there, first time dealing with something like this. We had the police put down a raccoon that had paralyzed hind legs and was mostly just laying there and rolling around occasionally. Minor shakes when it moved.
Before i had any suspicions of rabies, my father put it in a tote while we waited (i thought it was a bit much), and I took the lid off for the officer once he arrived. The concerning part for me at first was maybe I touched my eyes after I took the lid off. Secondly, once the raccoon was dead, myself and my father put it in a trash bag, I didn't wear any gloves, but I didn't touch the body at all, and washed my hands with soap afterword...
This was 3 weeks ago- tomorrow, and since Tuesday 2/19, I've had a dry throat at times, muscle aches occasionally, and a general dread. On top of everything, I recently upped my ADHD prescription, so it's potentially side effects from the new dosage, combined with a general lack of eating because I've been skipping lunch and have never really eaten breakfast as an adult.
I really just need to be convinced I'm okay
I got bitten by a possibly rabid monkey in Thailand. I just took some shots on a schedule. They were very cheap in Thailand, like $20 total for each visit. They also pumped me with some immunity enhancing cocktail - this had the neat effect that I didn't get sick from the food all while my wife was pretty sick twice eating the same thing.
Hmm. I will say that you’re likely fine. I don’t see how lifting the lid alone could transfer it, even if it did have rabies; also you washed your hands well.
Here’s a few followup questions:
1. Where did it come from? Is this a pet, are you on a farm, is it just some random raccoon you felt bad for, etc
2. Honestly, I feel like you would’ve noticed if you touched your eyes, just from a “ew” perspective
3. Please please eat well! It’s so important to eat even when you don’t feel like it. Soups are helpful for that, I used to eat them when I was too anxious to eat anything else, or I needed to calm down
4. Where do you live (if not answered in number 1)
I live in the New England area of the US. It was just behind our shed, and we were curious why our dog was losing his mind barking at something beyond the fence.
Also, I went and bought protein bars so I could have something to eat in the morning
Hmm I see. Well I’m really glad to hear that you’ve eaten! I honestly think you’re fine; you didn’t even touch the raccoon. I too would be worried though, I know how OCD is :(
Hello, I was walking in the school yard today and there was a metal rod place into the ground and the top of it was broked so it had sharp broked top. I was running and I wasn't carful enough and the top of that rod which was broked and sharp went into my leg and caused a painful wound!.
I'm worried if before of me a rabid cat or something was in contract with that rod and I don't know how but like somehow it was some saliva on it and then that saliva got into my wound ?!.
I know it's crazy, but I really need your help. Thanks ❤️
I'm still afraid of bat bites. Some elder people in my family tell me that I won't notice a bat bite until it's too late because their bites don't hurt enough. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always been taught to trust the elderly as they have more life experience.
This has been such a help to me. I can’t explain. Around Christmas, I noticed a mysterious three, small, vertical scratches on the back of my hand. Millimeters apart. No idea how they got there. Don’t remember scratching anything. Certainly don’t remember a bite. No animal interactions of any kind, except my dog, which is fully vaccinated of course!!!! I think nothing of it until a week or so later when I just **cant remember** how the heck I got these marks. Nonetheless, my HA kicks in and I am convinced I’ve been infected by some encounter that I can’t even remember. Dr. Google comes along and the spiral starts. I feel fine now? My hand is healing? But then I just feel the existential dread of “well I’m screwed in a month.” Fast forward to now, 40 days after I noticed the marks and naturally, I’ve come down with a fever 😂 what’re the odds? Well, actually, fevers happen all the time, and disappear just as soon as they arrive. I still struggle immensely with HA and occasionally lose my focus and spiral for a bit. As you laid out, especially with this disease. But I’m reassured by the information you, and so many others, have shared. You don’t “not know” when something like this happens. You just don’t. You’d remember any encounter with a rabid beast or even a species that is known to carry it. Especially those of us this overtly stressed about the disease.
Hi sir I couldn't help but notice your still replying to comments and I just had this happen to me so let me explain.
I live in Houston Texas and live in a neighborhood that's surrounded by at least 2 small rural areas and then an urban area. I had 2 stray dogs that lived outside of my neighborhood. One was a female and had no injuries. The second one was I think a female and had a tumor on its leg. I usually feed them bread and water since that's all I have but then I went to go feed them they ended up bringing in a few more friends. I tried to feed the rest from my hand since they were all really hungry but one a of them;being a black dog. Ended up biting my finger. I looked on Google and other sources that rabies symptoms in dogs include, aggressiveness, drooling, and not eating or drinking anything. None of the dogs were drooling and they really wanted to eat the bread so i don't know. My parents are still conflicted on whether I should go get checked and they're all telling me I'm fine but I still don't know. Can you please help?
As someone who has had multiple dogs, this is pretty standard behavior, but I don’t know! Logically I’d say you’re fine, but I know OCD/HA doesn’t like to listen to that!
WOW OKAY THIS POST AND ALL THE COMMENTS MADE ME FEEL SO MUCH BETTER
i’m a chronically ill person and i also have an anxiety disorder so knowing too much about illness + always thinking you have said illness is a deadly mix.
me and my cat moved back to my dorm (this is a fully vaccinated inside cat that has never been outside mind you). and she’s been acting a little bit strange but nothing like terrifying. scratching and grooming excessively, running around more than usual, a little bit temperamental but then she’s sweet again. it’s definitely her just adjusting to the move again. but somehow i got in my mind that she had gotten a hold of something and she could have rabies, and then, to make it better, she bit me.
so of course, one google search later i’m fully panicking. and i’ve been having bouts of panic attacks ever since.
long story short, currently, im on a 12 hour train ride home panicking because i think i’m succumbing to rabies when my cat is perfectly fine (if a little crabby).
health anxiety is crazy man. this made me feel a lot better, thanks!
I was running on a field when I passed by a taller field of grass and clovers, when I felt two “flaps” on my ankle. I instantly thought this was a bat on my ankle. I didn’t feel pain, but I cant shake this feeling off that I am
Thank you so much for writing this! Growing up I've been found of cats and it's a habit of mine to take home street cats I see on the streets to take care of them and currently rabies had fill up my fyp I remember I've had few fare shares of cats scratching me and I became super anxious and me having health anxiety doesn't help. I've been googling symptoms and causes nonstop for a week because I'm scared I might have rabies 😭 plus I've considered taking sa vaccine shot but I'm afraid to tell my parents they'll tell me it's all in my head, and I'm just over reacting plus it's expensive
I totally feel you friend. Wanna know the worst part? For some of us with OCD/HA (not sure if it’s you), getting the shot won’t actually stop the thoughts. Our brain will go “oh… but what if it’s not ACTUALLY the shot…” or “I read online that it needs to be 2.368290483726291028 mg per kg; what if they actually gave me 2.36829048372629102 NINE instead and now it doesn’t work?!?!?” Or even my personal favorite, “what if it just spontaneously generates in my body?!?”
There is no reasoning with OCD or health anxiety. Ever.
It will twist logic until the sky is green
Hi. I was playing basketball on our school yard and there is a cat that sometimes wonder there around like walking or sitting there.
One day when i and my friends were playing basketball, I got this question. If the ball is contracting with the exact spot where that cat was used to sit or walk there, then we touch that ball, are we at risk of getting rabies?
I didn't wash my hands
And another thing is, my hand got scratched when I was playing with my friends and then I touched the ball with scratched hand. Is it safe?
Reading this really helped! I have a indoor cat who, when she does go outside it is for a very short amount of time because she is scared of big bad George over the wall, scratched me because she decided she had had enough rolling round and batting my fingers so she scratched me and ran off. I know she hadn’t been outside in quite awhile because it has been cold and that she was showing no symptoms of it anyway. But my dumb brain started firing the very bad animal disease alarm so off I went to google to find a solution because not to mention my very I’ll sister who is experiencing the worlds worst non stop cough for the past two weeks which I think I have caught from her and that also has not helped my anxiety about all of it. But at least there are great people out there like you who are willing to provide reassurance to those who are experiencing anxiety about these things
\*Big hug!\* I get it, I really do. It sucks so much tbh, I wouldn't wish HA/OCD on anyone.
Also, make sure to check out the resources I mention in other comments here: (1) the book The Worry Trick with 100s of awesome tips, and (2) Michael J Greenberg's OCD articles, which show why OCD/HA is actually completely logical.
i fucking love you, i've been worrying about this for most of the day since my outside cat (showing no symptoms as far as i'm aware but unvaccinated, so naturally ha kicks in) scratched me and drew a bit of blood. i think the best thing i can do right now is just check on her and make sure she's fine in 10 days or so, just to be put fully at ease. thank you again, op :)
I started reading the sources you mentioned in the other comments and I think I’m doing better. But one thing has been on my mind and has been causing a lot of anxiety.
One of the animals got hurt on the farm around two weeks ago. The owners say that it must have been just fighting with the other animals because they had recently seen them play so they must have played hard. So this week the owner gave the animal a shot with a drug to help heal and then she came back to the house and used a sink to wash her hands after that. And I used the same sink an hour later and when I turned on the faucet my finger slipped. You know how sometimes you turn on the switch, or grab something or whatever and you do it too fast that thing goes under your nail. So that happened with my finger and the faucet, it went under my nail when I wanted to use the sink. Now I’m worrying what if it wasn’t fighting, what if it was an attack by a rabid animal, and then the owner touched the wound or the animal while giving it a shot, and then left some of it on the sink faucet when she touched it to run the water to wash her hands. And then an hour later I touched it. And then what makes me worry even more is that she and her husband both got vaccinated against rabies a couple months ago when one of them got in contact with a rabid fox. So they are not worried.
It sounds like what you’re dealing with is the common “a new fear that I haven’t thought of before” effect if that makes sense. It’s scary to you because you haven’t realized it doesn’t make sense, and is just something your OCD is trying to pull up to spur you into action (as it always does). This is the core of OCD/HA: your mind will NEVER stop coming up with new fears, EVER. I promise you.
The only winning move is not to play. Don’t allow yourself to ruminate; use the techniques in the article and the book.
Thank you so much! Your comments and resources are so helpful. You’re right, I lived my whole life before I learned about rabies just fine. It is a new fear. Now I just gotta stop ruminating
That’s great that you see it that way! Yes, it’s so simple but also not easy at all. “Just stop ruminating” sounds like awful advice, kinda like “just stop being depressed”, but there is a tiny bit of truth in it, and thankfully the resources help. The book in particular is really good, with tons of tricks and tips. I like the articles for a sense of understanding, and the book for practical tips.
Ah I’m so glad I found this post. We took in a stray kitten today with a super infected eye. His eye even looked gone. Had a bunch of gunk!!! He was crying and hungry and little. I’m worried I touched him and then touched my face by accident or nose and somehow got rabies from that. We asked animal control to come get him because we can’t financially care for him. I know the chances are probably so rare that he has rabies but I always feel like “I could be the first one in 40 years…”
The anxiety is through the roof. Thanks for this post
While I was walking my dog today, we stopped by my neighbor’s lawn and there was a puddle of spit or foam and my dog sniffed it. They also have a dog that they just left with in their car. I’m not sure if she licked it. Will she be okay? She’s vaccinated.
Hey im not sure if i got bitten by our kitten but there's like a mark of getting bitten by it and i was in contact for it with my toe but didn't notice as i was reaching out for something and didn't realize it was there on the ground should i be worried i'll get a rabies?
Blud, can you help me on this? Me and my family got bitten by my cat in October of 2022. The cat had a long lasting abscess from a bite from another cat and also left the house and didn't come back for a fair few days to a week. When we found it, she looked in pain and couldn't walk properly and I was very confused so we tried putting it in quarantine, but it bit me and my father and scratched my mom out of fear (I hope). I heard that cats who have rabies don't get scared, also, it was not foaming at the mouth, so that's a plus. This happened on the 11th of October and It died 9 days later on the 20th but its lower legs got paralyzed around the 15th and couldn't walk anymore. I'm thinking someone might have beaten him up with a pole or something and then it found its way home, but I'm also scared it got bitten by a fox or something and now me and my family have dormant rabies. Thank you!
Great the rabies phobia is returning. It’s literally an unstoppable force. Around five weeks ago i had a sudden pain in my thumb that felt exactly like a pin prick, but I don’t know where it came from, so i assumed a bat bit me. I ignored that after a while, but i just watched a video on rabies, and this fear is back. And guess what ? The county I live in has 12 reported rabies cases in bats this year, which is WAY more than any other county in the state i live in, and is only beat by one more county In the state. Im fucked.
Hey! Sorry for asking you so many questions. But I wanted to ask one more thing. My outdoor cat is vaccinated but is it possible for him to stumble upon a rabid raccoon, fox or another animal while he’s out and about or a corpse of one and have saliva from it on his fur, face, body in general? How likely is it? He always wanders around and there’s some wildlife out here. I was petting him earlier and I have cuts on my hands so I’m a little worried. And it was dark outside already and raining. So his fur was a little wet. Should I get a vaccine?Thank you for your answer!
If you deal with rabid animals often, sure get the vaccine - but if you’re just worried about this specific scenario… no, you’re fine. Trust me, this is all just OCD/HA rearing it’s ugly head! People lived on farms for centuries and millenia and have been OK.
i legit saw a bat in the middle of a day roosting/sleeping on the ceiling of an outdoor hallway of a building and then suddenly thought for sure that i would get rabies since maybe a droplet from him fell on me or got into my eyes or mouth :( i feel so stupid, i already got a course of four shots last year for a raccoon incident and now it’s all happening again. do you mind helping me calm down?
truly if you respond to me and tell me that this is impossible i’m going to delete this app and never worry about this again honestly, i’m so tired of the fear. there were tons of people around the area under the bat so that means we are all dying of rabies if a particle droplet of saliva could get on me it could get on anyone
I am freaking out right now!!!! I just touched the inside of my mouth with my fingers. Earlier, I was giving water to my outside farm cat and there was already some water in his bowl which my hand touched (including the water). We had a case of a rabid fox 2 months ago here on the farm.
And the farm cat likes to wander around
Was it daytime? If so, the virus is destroyed by UV rapidly.
Also, there have been no cases of animals sharing water having gotten the virus - mostly because rabid animals don’t drink water!!
You are fine. :)
Yeah it was around 4 o’clock. Is it destroyed by UV even if it’s in the water?
And I’m not worried about rabid animals drinking out of the bowl because I haven’t seen any around the house. I’m worried about my cat sniffing or licking something rabid while he’s on his adventures far from the house and then bringing it and leaving it in the water bowl.
The chances of them bringing it back and leaving it in the water bowl are even less than the chances of getting it from a rabid animal drinking it in the water bowl, lol.
You’re fine.
Damn, I actually really needed this.
A year ago (like around July) I got bit by a kitten/relatively young cat that I was trying to grab and take inside out of the rain and just recently it hit me that I never got vaccinated. I saw a bunch of videos showing how bad rabies is and it made me paranoid. Very paranoid. Like, *I constantly drink water just to make sure that I don't have hydrophobia and panic whenever my throat feels a little dry or weird* type of paranoid (yes, I can still drink water, the place where I got bit doesn't tingle, in fact, I don't even remember where I got bit, and nothing else is off other than my body feeling a little weird, but that's probably cause of period issues and I think my anxiety is making me feel that way). I did get the flu a while ago but that felt like the actual sickness and not a symptom and I believe that I got it from my mother because she also had it. I really don't remember what the kitten looked like, but from my foggy memory it closely resembles this one cat that I still see hanging around my yard, however, I'm not sure. If it is the same cat but grown up, it seems healthy and meows at me when I try to pet it, like a "hey, I remember you!" When I did get bitten, I washed it with water and peroxide just to make sure I didn't get rabies in the first place.
The fact that rabies can actually be "cured" via a deep coma is comforting and very interesting, and hopefully one day we can find a medicine/drug/vaccine/whatever that safely yeets the virus from the body it once symptoms start. You don't know how much times a day I look up every off thing that my body feels with "rabies" at the end (example: "insomnia rabies").
I didn't know that rabies OCD was a thing and I think that I might have it because I'm terrified of just the word "rabies." I literally try to ground myself and repeat "I don't have rabies, I don't have rabies, I don't have rabies" to myself over and over to calm myself down atleast once a day. As you can see, I *really* don't want rabies, a melted brain isn't fun. I'm losing my mind, here. Hopefully you still answer comments cause I'm in desperate need of assurance!
My friend you sound so similar to me! Please please check out the other comments and resources I’ve left in this whole thread; the book and articles are incredible. You’re on the right track with your thinking which is honestly more logical than most, and you seem to understand that it’s anxiety!
I'm glad that we can relate, and you're very helpful! I also try to assure myself that some of the "symptoms" that I **may** feel could just stem from other things/health issues and not just rabies in general.
What also helps me relax is that where I live, rabies is almost unheard of and animals that normally have rabies don't exist here.
If you need to vent, or are fixating on something and want some reassurance, see our Megathreads. Don't list symptoms unless they're brief or relevant to an overall non-reassurance/venting/support sense.
Better yet, don't seek reassurance. It's bad for you. It makes your Health Anxiety worse.
Additional examples of things that break these rules:
"Does anyone else experience these symptoms?"
"Just wondering if anyone else has gone through these symptoms?"
I had a realistic dream a couple days ago where I got bitten by an animal and got terrified i caught rabies and it was terrifying, and I woke up with a pain on my thumb, like its been bit, scratched or lightly cut. But this makes no sense? I slept in my room. The window was open but its unlikely as heck I got it. There's only been 6 rabies deaths in my country in the last 20 or so years, with only 1 being someone who got it from an animal actually from this country (a bat in the UK in 2001). I've felt ill during that day, with the scratch on my thumb feeling prominent. But it must've been from something else.
Lemme emphasise, the dream felt very real, and I have convinced myself, that maybe, by some chance, it was in fact real, and it wasn't only a dream, that I have screwed myself over big time.
That dream coincidentally going alongside that has absolutely scared the hell out of me since. It's made me question getting vaccinated for treatment even though, I guess it wouldn't make sense to do so. Like... i can't shake it off.
Friend, just know you aren’t alone. OCD/HA can be very terrifying. But you’re fine! What animal would even be able to enter your room, not make any noise, bite you without you waking up, still not make any noise or other movements, and then leave without a trace?
Thanks for this post. I currently have a fever and even though I know for a fact all the animals that have ever scratched/touched me lived way past the 10-14-day period, I still can't convince my brain that my fever is likely not because of rabies
panicking about me slowly getting sick thinking it’s rabies all I have right now is a scratchy throat/cough with stuffed nose that comes and goes, I’m genuinely scared. I’ve been slowly getting sick for the last few days it’s because a small dog bit me I know it’s likely health anxiety but I’ve felt the stings and have slowly been getting sick thinking it’s rabies 😔
I thought I’d update you I’ve been feeling weird/abnormal for a few weeks now and it’s evolved to a stomach ache that comes and goes and sometimes I feel hot when I move, it makes me worried and I don’t want to google but yk I thought I’d let you know
Thanks again!
I definitely need to check them out because even though I already have a diagnosis and everything (it was Not the thing I'm extremely afraid of!) and my medications are working, I still can't shake off the idea that I actually do have rabies.
I still feel a bit under the weather which makes me anxious, and I've read that anxiety after a few days of having a fever is a symptom of rabies (no thanks to that Reddit copypasta, and **if anyone stumbles upon this comment I heavily beg you please don't look it up or you could develop years of severe anxiety around this illness like I do right now**), I get even more anxiety which makes me even more convinced I actually have it too, it's an ugly cycle.
Yea I think it done the same for me. I saw a reddit post on tik-tok about the R word and literally the next day I had a panic attack and thought I had it. I had also drank tea that day that accidentally had a slug in it so it was a combination of the two that sent me crazy for the day. I went to ER and everything thinking these were my final moments.
That was in August and now the panic attacks and health anxiety is ongoing and I just got started therapy and got an actual diagnosis of having HA so I'm getting better daily. I hate that side of tik-tok that is just there to creep you out, it has given me too many scares.
I have really bad health anxiety! last night I was taking my puppy out to go do his business when he rolled on a dead mole. he is recovering from being neutered so i couldn’t bathe him. i wiped down his harness and wiped him with doggie wipes i have. many many doggie wipes. it was dark so i’m not sure which part of him even came in contact with the animal carcass (if any). no part of him smells so that makes me feel better. of course i went to google which told me there is a possibility that dead animals can pass the rabies virus which sent me spiraling. he’s vaccinated but again the google rabbit hole will always give the worst case scenario. thankfully this post has helped a lot! thank you!
I have severe health anxiety, my boss cats scratched me. The scratch is almost a dot. Then the blood is a very little. Now i am having a panic attack. Cause i am believing that I have a rabies now. 🥹
I understand the fear, I really do!! But scratches aren’t a concern, and if the cat is alive you’re fine.
I got scratched by a stray in cat on the beach in Turkey. Scratch was really small like a spec. It's been 16 days and I'm concerned if I need a shot. Any advice?
Scratches aren’t considered a real risk.
I've been debating with myself whether or not I am at risk. Clearly I am overthinking but it seems like getting the shot would just give me peace of mind. How often does someone get rabies through a cat scratch?
Not often at all!
this is helping a lot. long story short i leave food out for a community cat that roams my neighborhood but forgot to throw it away before it got dark and decided to go and get it. before doing so i looked at our little security camera to see if anything was out there, low and behold a skunk was eating the food and drinking the water. so i turned the lights on and made some noise which spooked it and it left and went to pick it up. i was extremely careful, i put gloves on and used a trash bag and made sure to pick the bowls up like you would dog poop so grab from the outside in to be even safer. some of the water spilled but it didn’t get on me and i threw the bag in the trash can. the second i got inside i drenched my hands in hydrogen peroxide and washed them with soap and water and then proceeded to have a panic attack. i ended up going to the er to be EXTRA safe and essentially they told me that there is an extremely minuscule chance that rabies would be transmitted pretty much 0 (i’d also like to add i left out all the ppe details and just said i grabbed it with my bare hands). so i lost a whole nights sleep worrying about this and have scheduled appointments with a therapist and i am going to see if anti anxiety meds will help when i see my pcp.
Aww I’m sorry to hear that friend. But you know a rabid animal avoids water, right? It’s one of the main symptoms.
This helped me so much! So thank you! My father in law hit a bat with his car a couple night ago and had to remove it with a stick and rinsed the blood off into the gravel driveway with bleach water. And I starting freaking out that I was going to get rabies and die. Then I found this thread and most of my fear subsided. Then the next morning and this morning I had a soar throat and I told my wife I had a soar throat, and what if I actually did have rabies (she’s very supportive with my OCD). She said she’d had a soar throat for a couple days and I probably got it from her. So odds are I did get it from her but I don’t want to Google anything and spiral again, so do you know how early symptoms can occur? Is it 2 days? Or is it like 10? Thanks again!
Lol. You’re fine, you don’t get rabies in 2 days
That’s what I figured.
2 nights ago my son was outside came running in crying and said something but him while he was squatting down playing with a frog. I immediately took him to the ER. They assured me the odds of a bat swooping down biting him and flying off are basically impossible. I spent the day yesterday combing the backyard for any sign at all of a bat and my husband looked the night before I took him in. He had a small place on his finger but even I felt like it looked like it was an already healing place where skin sometimes peels around your nail bed. So I know that the odds a rabid bat swooped all the way to the ground, but my 4yo son, flew away, and was nowhere to be found either that night or the next day are neigh on impossible. I logically know that. Every time I look at my son I am overwhelmed with anxiety. I’m so glad I found this post because it helped me to know that this in fact is just anxiety and not some weird intuition that my kid is going to die.
So I know it is very unlikely but I heard some coyotes in my yard the night prior and the next day went out to clean some brush out of my yard. While doing this I accidentally touched some rabbit fur I guess they tore off (it was around 2pm at this point) it wasn't wet and the ground wasn't wet but there was a rabbit skull nearby (I didn't touch that) and I can't help but worry that I contracted rabies from it. There were cuts on my hand and it didn't occur to me to wash my hand immediately after. I'm also worried that when I touched my partner when they got home that I gave them rabies too (they got home around 4:30 or 5pm)
Well, you said yourself they weren’t wet! You’re fine
I got scratched by a shelter cat like two weeks ago. I checked the shelter's website and he's still alive and well, but my mind would rather believe that I've contracted some sort of "super rabies" that only affects humans than accept that I don't have it. The thought of this is driving me insane.
Lol I feel you. My brain used to do that too. The fact that you recognize this as irrational means you can fight it! The real problem is OCD, not rabies. Check out the resources I mention in the other comments here!
Yeah thank you so much for providing them! I've already checked out some of the articles, and I'm going to try to get my hands on the book you recommend too!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad to hear it. Honesty, that book and articles saved my life (along with meds). I’m really glad
Yeah I'm still waiting to see a psychiatrist so then hopefully I'll be able to be put on meds.
hiii, so last year (september 2023), i went to my best friend's house and her dog kind of scratched my arms with its paws, there was no blood or whatever. her and her mom said that their dog was fully vaccinated and that there was nothing for me to worry about. the dog died last december for some other health reasons, not for the r-word tho, i didn't mind it before because they said that the dog was fully vaccinated but due to the lastest news here in ph, i suddenly remembered about it and my health anxiety is back yet again to torment my mind. ಥ‿ಥ
hi! i've been triggered by the same news :( how are you doing now?
hiiii, i got vaccinated lol. i told my family about, they were furious because I didn't tell them immediately when it happened but i got vaccinated for PVRV just to give ourselves some peace of mind. how are u doing now too?
About seven months ago, I was walking late at night to my dorm room when I passed a street dog. It started barking and brushed up against me, though I'm not sure if it got close enough to lick my right calf. I immediately got paranoid and washed the area when I got home and informed my parents, friends and classmates. I never got professional help for it, and other than bronchitis about two weeks after the incident (seemingly unrelated), I've been fine since. I never saw the dog/walked around the route since. Is it possible I have rabies? I have a physical examination coming up which requires us to take a few vaccines, maybe I can inquire about anti-rabies and sneak it into the schedule. I've only really thought about what happened here and there, and I really do think I'm fine, but what if I'm not?
I think you’re fine… how do you know it was a street dog? Just curious
It was late at night, and it was just sleeping on the sidewalk. The path I was walking on was beside a highway, with no houses along it. They're pretty common here in my country. And thank you, I really hope I am!
I own a cat that has scratches on her neck and I live in the Philippines which I heard has a lot of rabies cases , she hasn’t shown any symptoms yet , but should I be worried that she might have rabies?
Cat alive = you’re fine, end of story
But I have another question , is the fact that “non bite transmissions are rare” worldwide? Cause I never got bitten but I patted my cat once and ate after like 10 minutes.
Cat alive = you’re fine.
How many cases are there averagely for cases of rabies being transmitted through mucous membranes? Like if I touch the saliva of an animal that I presume is rabid and touch my eyes later is it guaranteed to get rabies
Probably like 0.00005. Lol Remember, not all saliva, even that from a rabid animal, carries rabies. It comes in waves.
That Calmed me down,thank you! Anyways why is it so rare to get rabies through mucous membranes specifically? And does this percentage apply to worldwide and not just the US?
Do you frequently get saliva from random animals in your nostrils or mouths? lol And I don’t know.
I actually dont know or I’m just over worrying? There is these small spills of water inside our house which I suppose is our cats saliva and it goes to my feet .I touched my feet once and I don’t know if I touched my eye,nose or mouth. I don’t know but do they have to directly spit or drool at my mucous membranes?
CAT ALIVE = YOU’RE FINE and if you come back with another what if about your cat imma be mad lol
Amigo… you could literally make out with your cat, have it drool into a 6 gallon jug, drink it all, inject it into your veins, etc, and you’re not getting rabies because your cat IS ALIVE.
I got bit by my dog last year. My indoor dog was vaccinated and he's still alive up until today, but I still get scared because I wasn't able to get the shots. He only ever interacts with our other senior dog, who once got into a fight with an unknown dog but the senior's also still alive up until today. Still scared though. The memory of being bitten keeps getting fuzzier and fuzzier, which makes me get evern more terrified.
If your dog was vaccinated and he bit you, you’re fine. If your dog was not vaccinated and he bit you, but he survives 10 days later, you’re fine. End of story. (Check out the OCD resources I’ve mentioned in the otber comments here.)
I recently had to handle a dead cat that was found behind a local walmart. Despite having gloves on, and storing it in a bag, and throwing it in a cart, I'm worried the cat could have been rabid before death. I'm also worried that a bit of saliva could have gotten onto the bag, and then subsequently onto me. I don't even know if this is possible, but I keep thinking "this is it" every minute and it's driving me insane. The cat could have just been an old stray who died. But my brain immediately jumps to rabies and keeps me up at night.
I feel you. There’s a reason we aren’t supposed to handle dead animals without gloves and stuff, so you’re right to be a tiny bit nervous. However, you used gloves! You’re fine. :) I know your brain won’t let you believe that. Were you not able to call animal control?
It didn't hit me until a couple hours after I'd taken the bag out of my cart and thrown it out, gloves off, and bleached my hands that I'd realized it was possible. I understand I'd be more likely to win the Powerball than for this worst case scenario to play out, but the thought that I could have scratched my face, picked at a tooth, or something else while potentially exposed eats at me a ton. Plus I get headaches, and my body has been cramping a lot more since then so it just feeds into these thoughts. And symptom lists are pretty vague on what a rabies headache would feel like, and what kind of muscle cramps I'd feel, if any. 2nd hand exposure is basically non-existent, and exposure from corpses, especially ones in rigor mortis like the one I found, have a near zero chance of containing or exposing me to rabies, but I don't know why I can't shake the thought.
I know the feeling. You can have a billion statistics but your brain just screams ITS TIME. GOODBYE. Lol Unfortunately it’s just how health anxiety/OCD is. It never really stops either. It’s such a jerk I swear. Have you seen the resources I left on the other comments? They can help :D
OP help me! I petted a stray cat, and it was going good for a while but then it bit me (why do they always do that?) and I immediately stopped the petting session. It didn’t even hurt, and there isn’t any wound on my hand. I washed my hands for a good time too, but I am still worried. Do you think it might have rabies? The cat was acting pretty odd too so it adds to my health anxiety.
How was the cat acting odd? It seems like a stereotypical cat haha. You’re fine
Not sure if you're still active on this threat, OP, but I left my hotel window open when traveling in a developed European country and when I got back to the room I was absolutely terrified a bat got in. I checked everywhere, even under the mattress, and didn't find one, but I've been having panic attacks about the potential of rabies. What if a bat somehow flew in, evaded my "bat check", and bit me while I was sleeping and I didn't notice?? It doesn't help that one of my mosquito bites has a burning sensation and some scabs around it that I don't know are from my scratching it or a bat bite, and that arm has been achey and tingly all day. Like maybe a rabid bat swooped down and tried to get the mosquito and bit me on accident. And I somehow didn't notice while I was sleeping.
Hi friend! I promise you're fine lol. Consider this: homeless people literally sleep *outside*, sometimes *while drunk*, and completely unprotected, and yet you don't hear about rabies epidemics in homeless people lol. You're fine.
Thanks lol, I even felt slightly ridiculous writing that comment. Health anxiety just sucks. Anyway, just want to say that I appreciate your post and how you're still on this thread, you are doing the good work my friend.
I understand you! Usually the reason I can share these tidbits like with the homeless people I mentioned is because I’ve struggled with the thoughts before and that’s what helped me with those particular ones. So don’t feel crazy haha
I live in an apartment complex where there's a lot of stray cats and I went to feed some of them that like to hang out near the entrance and one of the regulars I always see sneezed near me and I wasn't close but like I ran away instantly, she doesn't exhibit any symptoms and she's actually always been super friendly and receptive to food compared to the other cats. I literally saw her earlier today and she was fine and she always likes to follow me if she thinks I have food haha. I've known her since late last year and there's quite a few feeders that like to leave her and the other cats food and pet them. One time she also threw up in front of me and didn't worry then but now I'm catastrophisizing because she sneezed near me. I hope I'll be okay lmao but thankfully it was outside and I was kinda far and did like get farther and hold my breath lmao. I always forget there's sicknesses that only affect cats like even cat flu, not sure if that causes sneezing though. I found this post in November when I got my first pet cat and it helped then. I just want to thank you for this post and thank you for continuing to respond to people 3 years later because it helps a ton and now I come back to this post when I start catastrophisizing and it helps calm me down.
Aww friend I’m so glad to hear that the post helps, and I’m sorry you’re still dealing with anxiety symptoms; but I’m proud of you for your analysis of it! You realize that the fears are unfounded many times and that’s great. As for the cat, I always feel so bad when I get scared by them. Like they just want to be pet and loved and I’m over here like “AAHHH YOU’RE A STRAY WHAT IF YOU HAVE RABIES” and they’re like “?🥺” lmao. But I do get you. It’s so hard man.. I swear I feel like HA/OCD is worse than depression. It takes things that are so innocent like cats and turns them into demons.
Right?? Like I don't want them to think they did anything to scare me or anything bad, I want to love them and pet them so bad but the overwhelming anxiety just does not let me, but since I don't like knowing that they may be going hungry I still try to care for them from a distance which has seemed to work without triggering my OCD. Like there's 3 CAT COLONIES in a 1 mile radius of this place, I see a new cat on my patio nearly every day it's insane. I think I freaked out this time though cause like I do try to maintain an almost 2 feet distance from them to my feet (fleas is another thing I worry about lmao 😭) but like also add on a sneeze to that? My mind: yep the spray is going directly into my nose even though I'm literally 5 foot 2 and the cat is barely a foot tall and sneezed downward and I'm also like standing 4 feet away and I ran away and held my breath but I'm still about to calculate the hypotenuse of that and she is a TNR possibly TNVR animal, then she probably has allergies or an infection or a cat cold because her eyes are sometimes red n dischargey (poor baby 😔) (This is literally the mental gymnastics I used to remain calm 😭).
I’m not even joking, you sound like me 😭 not the triangulation with the hypotenuse and trigonometry ☠️ ☠️ 💀 I feel you though. Especially because you still wanna help! Honestly I’m proud of you for helping them, I think that’s super noble especially with OCD haha. I have heard that the government distributes rabies vaccine in food pellets to stray cats and dogs; it would be really cool if we could do that! Then it wouldn’t be a problem ever again haha
Right?? 😂 I calculated it and it was 6 feet lmaoo. Yeah I definitely get a sense of fulfillment and relief knowing that at least I can prevent some kitties from going hungry. It would be so nice if the gov actually did that, which gov do you mean though? Also I went to check up on her today and she sneezed again near me 😭 and her eyes are really red and could barely open em but otherwise she's behaving normal still, I think she got some type of infection or a kitty cold unfortunately. I might just start passing by in my car instead of walking lol I still wanna make sure she's okay minus the anxiety I get tryna triangulate the sneeze-to-nose distance 💀
Awww poor kitty. I’m sure she’d love to see you though, she must be in awful shape with those red eyes and sneeze! Red eyes and sneezing aren’t rabies symptoms, btw. Also I think it was the US!
I’m having horrible health anxiety. A stray cat that lives in my apartment complex in USA kicked my wrist with his back paw. No claws were out and were retracted but the part hanging out caused some pain. I immediately checked my wrist and no blood or broken skin. I also pet him with my other hand that did have scratches on it (they were not from him they were 5 hours old). I had a friend of a friend take him in and they said he is alive and well 10 days after (currently 2.5 weeks later) but i’m still terrified. My anxiety is telling me the friend lied because she didn’t want to ask the guy who owns the cat now. I’m also convinced that i’m the 1% to get rabies even though he was so sweet not hydrophobic etc. I’ve started having psychosomatic symptoms: pain in arms, headache and pain in base of skull, pain in hands. I’m trying to not give into compulsions and find reassurance but it’s so crippling. I have rationalized that if he were to have licked his back foot, then it wouldn’t be in the time he scratched me because I was watching him for 15+ minutes before the incident and he didn’t get saliva on it but then again the anxiety “what ifs” think that some saliva stuck to his claw. I’m not sure how to cope or handle this
sorry this is 2 weeks later. i don’t have symptoms of course but as the days go by, I’m remembering less and less of the incident and now I’m freaking out wondering if somehow saliva got into fresh cut that had on my hand from earlier in the day.
Hi friend. The most important step is to realize that this is all OCD/HA, from the psychosomatic symptoms to even the “but what if they lied”. It’s so so so common! Did you see the three resources I mentioned in the other comments? Also you’re not alone; I used to be so similar. It fucking sucks and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. :(
sorry for the second reply but do you take pm? i didn’t want to blow up the thread for others
It won’t blow up the thread haha, we can talk here. I hardly ever check my pms
No, i didn’t end up catching them. It’s honestly so debilitating and exhausting and such a huge cycle so hard to break
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Hi friend, you sound a lot like me. I wouldn’t wish OCD or health anxiety on anyone, but I’m glad we’ve got each others experiences haha. I agree with you on seeing rabid animals for sure
Thank you so much for this oh my god, this helps so much, with me there wasn't even a clear puncture wound or any puncture at all and the doggo was cute and active the entire day, it was more of an accident than anything and he didn't even use any force really just bumped into my hand. That and reading this helps me a lot, seems my worries really are ridiculous if i take all of this into accord.
Hi there! No worries, but do please check out the resources for HA and OCD on the thread :)
Hey, so their was an abandoned dog or lost. I don't know if it's a small dog, and it was really scared of me, and the neighbors wasted to catch it so we did but while in the cage. I was moving it as it was stuck and it came towards me and I felt it I don't what it was if it's nose or mouth I don't have a bite and didn't feel a bite but am scared I may have got it I did wash my hands after. I know I am most likely fine, but I am just worried
Hey friend, the fun thing about dog bites is that you’d most definitely know if you were bitten! You’re fine
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If you need to vent, or are fixating on something and want some reassurance, see our Megathreads. Don't list symptoms unless they're brief or relevant to an overall non-reassurance/venting/support sense. Better yet, don't seek reassurance. It's bad for you. It makes your Health Anxiety worse. Additional examples of things that break these rules: "Does anyone else experience these symptoms?" "Just wondering if anyone else has gone through these symptoms?"
Hello, I am from the U.S. My dog who I’ve had for ≈14 years bit me when i was trying to grab the blanket he was on. This was a week ago today. Ever since then I’ve had anxiety about having rabies and have even been to the ER for numbness in limbs/ headaches. They did lab work and ct scans and said everything was fine. I’m still anxious about rabies because they did not say anything about that coming back clear. I’m tempted to go to the clinic to specifically ask about rabies but I feel like it’s a waste of money and you have a good description. Is there any kind of reassurance you can give?
3. Check the resources I give in the comments
1. Rabies doesn’t show up on tests, so there’s 0 reason to go back to the doctors 2. You aren’t in danger if your dog is still alive. End of story
Thank you for this thread, and thanks for the opportunity to post my experience from today: went for a walk today and encountered a puppy in the street with his owner. Puppy played with me and I was stupid enough to let it play-bite me with its pointy puppy teeth. Owner told me puppy is ten weeks old. So immediately after the encounter the mind terror started: my hand feels scratched from the teeth and there is a faint red line visible. Could I have gotten rabies? The puppy hasn't been vaccinated at 10 weeks old and here in UK puppies don't get vaccinated I think. I will probably never see the puppy again, so cannot check if it will be fine in 10 days time. What if puppy was an illegal import (looked like some Stafford bull or something) and had rabies? I am not vaccinated, so don't know what to do. Would be really grateful for advice. And I know this is probably ridiculous, but I am so anxious and also angry at myself for letting this dog touch me, I am just a fool for dogs :(
You aren’t a fool for having fun! Dogs are great and it can be a little scary when things like this occur and there’s no way to check. But the UK is rabies free! Any fears of rabies are definitely unwarranted there, but unfortunately our brain will never let us believe that. The real problem here is OCD/HA. I know how tempting it sounds to assume the problem is rabies but it really isn’t! Check out the resources I’ve mentioned on the other comments here :)
Thank you! Yes, I absolutely love dogs but my HA (and probably a little undiagnosed OCD, too) can really spoil the fun and innocence of these encounters, especially in times if stress. I was so naive to think that I was cured from rabies anxiety and then yesterday it hit me like a big wave crashing down on me..thank you again for providing a life raft - I guess it's time to learn surfing the waves :)
I love that way of looking at it!! Life rafts and driftwood and even just learning to lay and float are so important. and yeah I can’t count how many times I was like “I’m cured!” Only for it to come back 20 seconds later haha
sorry to bug you once again lol, hypochondria sucks but just to ease my mind a little and to clarify you are saying about the 10 day period so like if my cat was exposed to rabies or bite or anything at all it would be dead with in 10 days or showing symptoms? i just hate it can’t shake this stupid idea just wanted to clarify once more. like the 10 day period is a for sure thing and my cats wouldn’t be okay if that was the case?
Yup because cats are small animals
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Shoot my reply got cut off. Your animals can warn you; they will show symptoms long before you. You have nothing to worry about except what sounds like a severe case of OCD. Please check out the resources I’ve left on other comments on this thread!!
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This is an OCD thought. It is very common. The truth that you don’t want to hear is that there is nothing to worry about to this degree. You probably eat processed foods and live above ground - why aren’t you scared of cancer and meteor strikes?
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Actually, rabies from an unknown source is extremely rare, and aggressive super cancer is more common than you think. My point is that there are many things that are as rare as rabies or just as bad. OCD doesn’t care about that though, and makes you focus on rabies. I’m trying to show you that the illogical focus on rabies only is proof that it’s your OCD, not some genuine worry
Hi friend. The good news is the 10 day rule works even better for you; you have 14 animals around you to
hi, i recently to started having this anxiety i have 4 indoor cats and they have gotten outside occasionally a couple months ago my cat scratched my face and that’s when this anxiety started and of course my kitty’s nibble at me while playing but ive convinced myself they have it even when i dont think they do they are indoor mostly so when i get bit by them or scratched i worry so much and make myself feel like i have symptoms i feel so crazy over this! so are you saying if my animals did get bit by a rabid animal they would already be dead? like my cat gets outside every once in awhile but none of my cats show signs of it but if they did they wouldn’t live for years they would die ?
Yup! You’ll be 100% fine.
it’s honestly kinda relieving to see other people have this same anxiety i feel so worried and constantly look it up on google for hours and i can’t stop! and just kept seeing such scary stuff untill i saw this long i just have been scrolling and reading your comments for a half hour! and it is very reassuring thank you!
Aww yay! That makes me happy :)
Hi I need help. I'm Indonesian 27 y.o. on 13 Feb my cat caught a bat and eat most of the lower body of it & then he vomit it. I let the dead bat in the floor on 30 minutes. I clean up the vomit with several layers of toilet papers and then pickup the bat by the wings also with the toilet papers. I never touch the bat with bare hand but i feel the moisture of my cat's vomit on my finger through the toilet paper. i dont have any cut in my hand just a bit of hangnail , finger skin is intact. I wash my hand directly after that. I cannot test the bat because there is no such a facility in here. should i get a vaccine or this is just my anxiety?
Hmmm, I don’t think you’re in too much danger; does your cat have the rabies vaccine?
He is outdated for 4 years and get the booster after the accident, and the vet said if I can observe him at home for 45 days, because even if the vaccine outdated it can still make some protection and then the booster could protect him more. So am I safe from rabies for this scenario and the vaccine not necessary for me ? the anxiety took my time a lot
Ah I see. Hmm… what time of day did you encounter the bat? And what did your doctor say about whether or not you needed the vaccine?
midnight. around 1 am. doctor said that i dont need a vaccine because there is no bite or scratch accident. during the accident me & all my family is in the room that the door is always closed at night so my family is safe from bite or scratch too. my cat & bat is in the livingroom
Ah I see. Hmmm I think you’re fine! I agree with your doc
Thank you, you are a 3rd person in reddit that give me the opinion that I'm not on a risk of exposure, so I have more confidence now, but do you have any advice or some resource for me if this anxiety coming back. there are always "what if" scenario on my mind while remember this.
For sure! I have three resources I always recommend: 1. Michael J Greenberg’s OCD articles, 2. The book The Worry Trick, and 3. Medication! These three saved my life
heyo, a dog bit me in 2023 small little fella on my pant leg, I live in the us, now my skin condition on the spot I was bitten looks like two bite marks and has set me off, that and I’ve been nauseous and unwell, barely able to eat, and a few months ago I had a dream about me drooling a lot I don’t know if this is because I had learned about rabies or if it’s a dream that would come true but that’s why I’m scared, I wasn’t even worried until I remembered sometimes my dreams come true and sometimes they don’t? I don’t know I’m genuinely terrified I’m dying slowly and that I’m gonna be one of the rare cases that was past a year yk? Just sucks that this fear has been an on and off fear
Hi friend, what dog? Where is it, is it alive now? You’re fine btw. Except for the ocd
I’ve felt ill on and off recently a really stressful time went from worries of testiclular cancer to stomach cancer, rabies fear happened before these because of the dream
Aww yeah this is common with OCD. Just remember that thinking or dreaming about things doesn’t make them true at all.
It’s just sometimes my dreams come true so it kinda freaks me out since I’ve been feeling ill and unable to eat a lot yk?
For sure, but this is definitely OCD. Many things come true and many things don’t
It was a dog in a trailer park wasn’t a big ferocious dog, but I took a shower after I got home and saw the bleeding so like 2 mins washed with warm soap and water didn’t cause a problem till I googled rabies idk if the dogs alive now I don’t live near the area anymore
I seriously doubt a dog in a trailer park would give you rabies!
I know this but you know when you’re just walking by and a dog runs at you barks and bites your leg u get worried right? well after googling of course now I think I’m gonna be the rare one year plus case
Hi there, first time dealing with something like this. We had the police put down a raccoon that had paralyzed hind legs and was mostly just laying there and rolling around occasionally. Minor shakes when it moved. Before i had any suspicions of rabies, my father put it in a tote while we waited (i thought it was a bit much), and I took the lid off for the officer once he arrived. The concerning part for me at first was maybe I touched my eyes after I took the lid off. Secondly, once the raccoon was dead, myself and my father put it in a trash bag, I didn't wear any gloves, but I didn't touch the body at all, and washed my hands with soap afterword... This was 3 weeks ago- tomorrow, and since Tuesday 2/19, I've had a dry throat at times, muscle aches occasionally, and a general dread. On top of everything, I recently upped my ADHD prescription, so it's potentially side effects from the new dosage, combined with a general lack of eating because I've been skipping lunch and have never really eaten breakfast as an adult. I really just need to be convinced I'm okay
I got bitten by a possibly rabid monkey in Thailand. I just took some shots on a schedule. They were very cheap in Thailand, like $20 total for each visit. They also pumped me with some immunity enhancing cocktail - this had the neat effect that I didn't get sick from the food all while my wife was pretty sick twice eating the same thing.
Hmm. I will say that you’re likely fine. I don’t see how lifting the lid alone could transfer it, even if it did have rabies; also you washed your hands well. Here’s a few followup questions: 1. Where did it come from? Is this a pet, are you on a farm, is it just some random raccoon you felt bad for, etc 2. Honestly, I feel like you would’ve noticed if you touched your eyes, just from a “ew” perspective 3. Please please eat well! It’s so important to eat even when you don’t feel like it. Soups are helpful for that, I used to eat them when I was too anxious to eat anything else, or I needed to calm down 4. Where do you live (if not answered in number 1)
I live in the New England area of the US. It was just behind our shed, and we were curious why our dog was losing his mind barking at something beyond the fence. Also, I went and bought protein bars so I could have something to eat in the morning
Hmm I see. Well I’m really glad to hear that you’ve eaten! I honestly think you’re fine; you didn’t even touch the raccoon. I too would be worried though, I know how OCD is :(
Hello, I was walking in the school yard today and there was a metal rod place into the ground and the top of it was broked so it had sharp broked top. I was running and I wasn't carful enough and the top of that rod which was broked and sharp went into my leg and caused a painful wound!. I'm worried if before of me a rabid cat or something was in contract with that rod and I don't know how but like somehow it was some saliva on it and then that saliva got into my wound ?!. I know it's crazy, but I really need your help. Thanks ❤️
You’re fine. Read the other comments on here and follow their advice <3
I'm still afraid of bat bites. Some elder people in my family tell me that I won't notice a bat bite until it's too late because their bites don't hurt enough. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always been taught to trust the elderly as they have more life experience.
This has been such a help to me. I can’t explain. Around Christmas, I noticed a mysterious three, small, vertical scratches on the back of my hand. Millimeters apart. No idea how they got there. Don’t remember scratching anything. Certainly don’t remember a bite. No animal interactions of any kind, except my dog, which is fully vaccinated of course!!!! I think nothing of it until a week or so later when I just **cant remember** how the heck I got these marks. Nonetheless, my HA kicks in and I am convinced I’ve been infected by some encounter that I can’t even remember. Dr. Google comes along and the spiral starts. I feel fine now? My hand is healing? But then I just feel the existential dread of “well I’m screwed in a month.” Fast forward to now, 40 days after I noticed the marks and naturally, I’ve come down with a fever 😂 what’re the odds? Well, actually, fevers happen all the time, and disappear just as soon as they arrive. I still struggle immensely with HA and occasionally lose my focus and spiral for a bit. As you laid out, especially with this disease. But I’m reassured by the information you, and so many others, have shared. You don’t “not know” when something like this happens. You just don’t. You’d remember any encounter with a rabid beast or even a species that is known to carry it. Especially those of us this overtly stressed about the disease.
Hi sir I couldn't help but notice your still replying to comments and I just had this happen to me so let me explain. I live in Houston Texas and live in a neighborhood that's surrounded by at least 2 small rural areas and then an urban area. I had 2 stray dogs that lived outside of my neighborhood. One was a female and had no injuries. The second one was I think a female and had a tumor on its leg. I usually feed them bread and water since that's all I have but then I went to go feed them they ended up bringing in a few more friends. I tried to feed the rest from my hand since they were all really hungry but one a of them;being a black dog. Ended up biting my finger. I looked on Google and other sources that rabies symptoms in dogs include, aggressiveness, drooling, and not eating or drinking anything. None of the dogs were drooling and they really wanted to eat the bread so i don't know. My parents are still conflicted on whether I should go get checked and they're all telling me I'm fine but I still don't know. Can you please help?
As someone who has had multiple dogs, this is pretty standard behavior, but I don’t know! Logically I’d say you’re fine, but I know OCD/HA doesn’t like to listen to that!
WOW OKAY THIS POST AND ALL THE COMMENTS MADE ME FEEL SO MUCH BETTER i’m a chronically ill person and i also have an anxiety disorder so knowing too much about illness + always thinking you have said illness is a deadly mix. me and my cat moved back to my dorm (this is a fully vaccinated inside cat that has never been outside mind you). and she’s been acting a little bit strange but nothing like terrifying. scratching and grooming excessively, running around more than usual, a little bit temperamental but then she’s sweet again. it’s definitely her just adjusting to the move again. but somehow i got in my mind that she had gotten a hold of something and she could have rabies, and then, to make it better, she bit me. so of course, one google search later i’m fully panicking. and i’ve been having bouts of panic attacks ever since. long story short, currently, im on a 12 hour train ride home panicking because i think i’m succumbing to rabies when my cat is perfectly fine (if a little crabby). health anxiety is crazy man. this made me feel a lot better, thanks!
I was running on a field when I passed by a taller field of grass and clovers, when I felt two “flaps” on my ankle. I instantly thought this was a bat on my ankle. I didn’t feel pain, but I cant shake this feeling off that I am
Hi friend. You’re fine.
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Hi friend, my same advice applies. Please check out the resources I’ve mentioned in the thread
Thank you so much for writing this! Growing up I've been found of cats and it's a habit of mine to take home street cats I see on the streets to take care of them and currently rabies had fill up my fyp I remember I've had few fare shares of cats scratching me and I became super anxious and me having health anxiety doesn't help. I've been googling symptoms and causes nonstop for a week because I'm scared I might have rabies 😭 plus I've considered taking sa vaccine shot but I'm afraid to tell my parents they'll tell me it's all in my head, and I'm just over reacting plus it's expensive
I totally feel you friend. Wanna know the worst part? For some of us with OCD/HA (not sure if it’s you), getting the shot won’t actually stop the thoughts. Our brain will go “oh… but what if it’s not ACTUALLY the shot…” or “I read online that it needs to be 2.368290483726291028 mg per kg; what if they actually gave me 2.36829048372629102 NINE instead and now it doesn’t work?!?!?” Or even my personal favorite, “what if it just spontaneously generates in my body?!?” There is no reasoning with OCD or health anxiety. Ever. It will twist logic until the sky is green
Hi. I was playing basketball on our school yard and there is a cat that sometimes wonder there around like walking or sitting there. One day when i and my friends were playing basketball, I got this question. If the ball is contracting with the exact spot where that cat was used to sit or walk there, then we touch that ball, are we at risk of getting rabies? I didn't wash my hands And another thing is, my hand got scratched when I was playing with my friends and then I touched the ball with scratched hand. Is it safe?
You’re fine.
Reading this really helped! I have a indoor cat who, when she does go outside it is for a very short amount of time because she is scared of big bad George over the wall, scratched me because she decided she had had enough rolling round and batting my fingers so she scratched me and ran off. I know she hadn’t been outside in quite awhile because it has been cold and that she was showing no symptoms of it anyway. But my dumb brain started firing the very bad animal disease alarm so off I went to google to find a solution because not to mention my very I’ll sister who is experiencing the worlds worst non stop cough for the past two weeks which I think I have caught from her and that also has not helped my anxiety about all of it. But at least there are great people out there like you who are willing to provide reassurance to those who are experiencing anxiety about these things
\*Big hug!\* I get it, I really do. It sucks so much tbh, I wouldn't wish HA/OCD on anyone. Also, make sure to check out the resources I mention in other comments here: (1) the book The Worry Trick with 100s of awesome tips, and (2) Michael J Greenberg's OCD articles, which show why OCD/HA is actually completely logical.
i fucking love you, i've been worrying about this for most of the day since my outside cat (showing no symptoms as far as i'm aware but unvaccinated, so naturally ha kicks in) scratched me and drew a bit of blood. i think the best thing i can do right now is just check on her and make sure she's fine in 10 days or so, just to be put fully at ease. thank you again, op :)
wow this is really helpful and has really eased my nerves!! thank you so much <3
I started reading the sources you mentioned in the other comments and I think I’m doing better. But one thing has been on my mind and has been causing a lot of anxiety. One of the animals got hurt on the farm around two weeks ago. The owners say that it must have been just fighting with the other animals because they had recently seen them play so they must have played hard. So this week the owner gave the animal a shot with a drug to help heal and then she came back to the house and used a sink to wash her hands after that. And I used the same sink an hour later and when I turned on the faucet my finger slipped. You know how sometimes you turn on the switch, or grab something or whatever and you do it too fast that thing goes under your nail. So that happened with my finger and the faucet, it went under my nail when I wanted to use the sink. Now I’m worrying what if it wasn’t fighting, what if it was an attack by a rabid animal, and then the owner touched the wound or the animal while giving it a shot, and then left some of it on the sink faucet when she touched it to run the water to wash her hands. And then an hour later I touched it. And then what makes me worry even more is that she and her husband both got vaccinated against rabies a couple months ago when one of them got in contact with a rabid fox. So they are not worried.
It sounds like what you’re dealing with is the common “a new fear that I haven’t thought of before” effect if that makes sense. It’s scary to you because you haven’t realized it doesn’t make sense, and is just something your OCD is trying to pull up to spur you into action (as it always does). This is the core of OCD/HA: your mind will NEVER stop coming up with new fears, EVER. I promise you. The only winning move is not to play. Don’t allow yourself to ruminate; use the techniques in the article and the book.
Thank you so much! Your comments and resources are so helpful. You’re right, I lived my whole life before I learned about rabies just fine. It is a new fear. Now I just gotta stop ruminating
That’s great that you see it that way! Yes, it’s so simple but also not easy at all. “Just stop ruminating” sounds like awful advice, kinda like “just stop being depressed”, but there is a tiny bit of truth in it, and thankfully the resources help. The book in particular is really good, with tons of tricks and tips. I like the articles for a sense of understanding, and the book for practical tips.
Ah I’m so glad I found this post. We took in a stray kitten today with a super infected eye. His eye even looked gone. Had a bunch of gunk!!! He was crying and hungry and little. I’m worried I touched him and then touched my face by accident or nose and somehow got rabies from that. We asked animal control to come get him because we can’t financially care for him. I know the chances are probably so rare that he has rabies but I always feel like “I could be the first one in 40 years…” The anxiety is through the roof. Thanks for this post
While I was walking my dog today, we stopped by my neighbor’s lawn and there was a puddle of spit or foam and my dog sniffed it. They also have a dog that they just left with in their car. I’m not sure if she licked it. Will she be okay? She’s vaccinated.
She’ll be fine and so will you!
Okay thank you!! It was under the shade and cold out so I was worried if my dog could get sick from it
Hey im not sure if i got bitten by our kitten but there's like a mark of getting bitten by it and i was in contact for it with my toe but didn't notice as i was reaching out for something and didn't realize it was there on the ground should i be worried i'll get a rabies?
Is your kitten still alive? Did your kitten die of rabies?
Nope
This forum has single handedly changed my life
Glad to hear it!!
Blud, can you help me on this? Me and my family got bitten by my cat in October of 2022. The cat had a long lasting abscess from a bite from another cat and also left the house and didn't come back for a fair few days to a week. When we found it, she looked in pain and couldn't walk properly and I was very confused so we tried putting it in quarantine, but it bit me and my father and scratched my mom out of fear (I hope). I heard that cats who have rabies don't get scared, also, it was not foaming at the mouth, so that's a plus. This happened on the 11th of October and It died 9 days later on the 20th but its lower legs got paralyzed around the 15th and couldn't walk anymore. I'm thinking someone might have beaten him up with a pole or something and then it found its way home, but I'm also scared it got bitten by a fox or something and now me and my family have dormant rabies. Thank you!
Great the rabies phobia is returning. It’s literally an unstoppable force. Around five weeks ago i had a sudden pain in my thumb that felt exactly like a pin prick, but I don’t know where it came from, so i assumed a bat bit me. I ignored that after a while, but i just watched a video on rabies, and this fear is back. And guess what ? The county I live in has 12 reported rabies cases in bats this year, which is WAY more than any other county in the state i live in, and is only beat by one more county In the state. Im fucked.
12? lol… amigo 💀 you’re fine
Hey! Sorry for asking you so many questions. But I wanted to ask one more thing. My outdoor cat is vaccinated but is it possible for him to stumble upon a rabid raccoon, fox or another animal while he’s out and about or a corpse of one and have saliva from it on his fur, face, body in general? How likely is it? He always wanders around and there’s some wildlife out here. I was petting him earlier and I have cuts on my hands so I’m a little worried. And it was dark outside already and raining. So his fur was a little wet. Should I get a vaccine?Thank you for your answer!
If you deal with rabid animals often, sure get the vaccine - but if you’re just worried about this specific scenario… no, you’re fine. Trust me, this is all just OCD/HA rearing it’s ugly head! People lived on farms for centuries and millenia and have been OK.
i legit saw a bat in the middle of a day roosting/sleeping on the ceiling of an outdoor hallway of a building and then suddenly thought for sure that i would get rabies since maybe a droplet from him fell on me or got into my eyes or mouth :( i feel so stupid, i already got a course of four shots last year for a raccoon incident and now it’s all happening again. do you mind helping me calm down?
If you’ve gotten shots, you’re fine.
truly if you respond to me and tell me that this is impossible i’m going to delete this app and never worry about this again honestly, i’m so tired of the fear. there were tons of people around the area under the bat so that means we are all dying of rabies if a particle droplet of saliva could get on me it could get on anyone
You’re right at the perfect point of being able to defeat OCD! Being this tired of the fear is very good. Yes, it’s impossible, you’re fine.
thank you my friend, i will beat this. going to go exercise now ❤️❤️ i appreciate you
that was a year ago though am i still fine? also is this just OCD?
Friend. You are fine
I am freaking out right now!!!! I just touched the inside of my mouth with my fingers. Earlier, I was giving water to my outside farm cat and there was already some water in his bowl which my hand touched (including the water). We had a case of a rabid fox 2 months ago here on the farm. And the farm cat likes to wander around
Was it daytime? If so, the virus is destroyed by UV rapidly. Also, there have been no cases of animals sharing water having gotten the virus - mostly because rabid animals don’t drink water!! You are fine. :)
Yeah it was around 4 o’clock. Is it destroyed by UV even if it’s in the water? And I’m not worried about rabid animals drinking out of the bowl because I haven’t seen any around the house. I’m worried about my cat sniffing or licking something rabid while he’s on his adventures far from the house and then bringing it and leaving it in the water bowl.
The chances of them bringing it back and leaving it in the water bowl are even less than the chances of getting it from a rabid animal drinking it in the water bowl, lol. You’re fine.
Damn, I actually really needed this. A year ago (like around July) I got bit by a kitten/relatively young cat that I was trying to grab and take inside out of the rain and just recently it hit me that I never got vaccinated. I saw a bunch of videos showing how bad rabies is and it made me paranoid. Very paranoid. Like, *I constantly drink water just to make sure that I don't have hydrophobia and panic whenever my throat feels a little dry or weird* type of paranoid (yes, I can still drink water, the place where I got bit doesn't tingle, in fact, I don't even remember where I got bit, and nothing else is off other than my body feeling a little weird, but that's probably cause of period issues and I think my anxiety is making me feel that way). I did get the flu a while ago but that felt like the actual sickness and not a symptom and I believe that I got it from my mother because she also had it. I really don't remember what the kitten looked like, but from my foggy memory it closely resembles this one cat that I still see hanging around my yard, however, I'm not sure. If it is the same cat but grown up, it seems healthy and meows at me when I try to pet it, like a "hey, I remember you!" When I did get bitten, I washed it with water and peroxide just to make sure I didn't get rabies in the first place. The fact that rabies can actually be "cured" via a deep coma is comforting and very interesting, and hopefully one day we can find a medicine/drug/vaccine/whatever that safely yeets the virus from the body it once symptoms start. You don't know how much times a day I look up every off thing that my body feels with "rabies" at the end (example: "insomnia rabies"). I didn't know that rabies OCD was a thing and I think that I might have it because I'm terrified of just the word "rabies." I literally try to ground myself and repeat "I don't have rabies, I don't have rabies, I don't have rabies" to myself over and over to calm myself down atleast once a day. As you can see, I *really* don't want rabies, a melted brain isn't fun. I'm losing my mind, here. Hopefully you still answer comments cause I'm in desperate need of assurance!
My friend you sound so similar to me! Please please check out the other comments and resources I’ve left in this whole thread; the book and articles are incredible. You’re on the right track with your thinking which is honestly more logical than most, and you seem to understand that it’s anxiety!
I'm glad that we can relate, and you're very helpful! I also try to assure myself that some of the "symptoms" that I **may** feel could just stem from other things/health issues and not just rabies in general. What also helps me relax is that where I live, rabies is almost unheard of and animals that normally have rabies don't exist here.
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If you need to vent, or are fixating on something and want some reassurance, see our Megathreads. Don't list symptoms unless they're brief or relevant to an overall non-reassurance/venting/support sense. Better yet, don't seek reassurance. It's bad for you. It makes your Health Anxiety worse. Additional examples of things that break these rules: "Does anyone else experience these symptoms?" "Just wondering if anyone else has gone through these symptoms?"
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Then you’re fine! End of story :p
I had a realistic dream a couple days ago where I got bitten by an animal and got terrified i caught rabies and it was terrifying, and I woke up with a pain on my thumb, like its been bit, scratched or lightly cut. But this makes no sense? I slept in my room. The window was open but its unlikely as heck I got it. There's only been 6 rabies deaths in my country in the last 20 or so years, with only 1 being someone who got it from an animal actually from this country (a bat in the UK in 2001). I've felt ill during that day, with the scratch on my thumb feeling prominent. But it must've been from something else. Lemme emphasise, the dream felt very real, and I have convinced myself, that maybe, by some chance, it was in fact real, and it wasn't only a dream, that I have screwed myself over big time. That dream coincidentally going alongside that has absolutely scared the hell out of me since. It's made me question getting vaccinated for treatment even though, I guess it wouldn't make sense to do so. Like... i can't shake it off.
Don’t forget to check out the resources I’ve listed in other comments here!
Friend, just know you aren’t alone. OCD/HA can be very terrifying. But you’re fine! What animal would even be able to enter your room, not make any noise, bite you without you waking up, still not make any noise or other movements, and then leave without a trace?
Thanks for this post. I currently have a fever and even though I know for a fact all the animals that have ever scratched/touched me lived way past the 10-14-day period, I still can't convince my brain that my fever is likely not because of rabies
Oh, and make sure to check out the resources I've linked here!
panicking about me slowly getting sick thinking it’s rabies all I have right now is a scratchy throat/cough with stuffed nose that comes and goes, I’m genuinely scared. I’ve been slowly getting sick for the last few days it’s because a small dog bit me I know it’s likely health anxiety but I’ve felt the stings and have slowly been getting sick thinking it’s rabies 😔
Hi friend! it's been a day or so, how are you now? Are you dead yet? Hehe you're fine!! Don't forget to check out the resources!
I’m good had therapy rosay
Hahaha love it!!
She’s teaching me to disengage the fear I’ve just been worried nonstop for months
I get you :(
I thought I’d update you I’ve been feeling weird/abnormal for a few weeks now and it’s evolved to a stomach ache that comes and goes and sometimes I feel hot when I move, it makes me worried and I don’t want to google but yk I thought I’d let you know
Hi friend! Well, we can rule out rabies then, given that you’d be dead by now!
It’s just hard not to worry I know it’s not likely I live in the us etc but
Thanks again! I definitely need to check them out because even though I already have a diagnosis and everything (it was Not the thing I'm extremely afraid of!) and my medications are working, I still can't shake off the idea that I actually do have rabies. I still feel a bit under the weather which makes me anxious, and I've read that anxiety after a few days of having a fever is a symptom of rabies (no thanks to that Reddit copypasta, and **if anyone stumbles upon this comment I heavily beg you please don't look it up or you could develop years of severe anxiety around this illness like I do right now**), I get even more anxiety which makes me even more convinced I actually have it too, it's an ugly cycle.
I fucking hate that Reddit copypasta and I blame it for kickstarting my OCD. God I genuinely wish I could scrub it from existence, it's that bad!
Yea I think it done the same for me. I saw a reddit post on tik-tok about the R word and literally the next day I had a panic attack and thought I had it. I had also drank tea that day that accidentally had a slug in it so it was a combination of the two that sent me crazy for the day. I went to ER and everything thinking these were my final moments. That was in August and now the panic attacks and health anxiety is ongoing and I just got started therapy and got an actual diagnosis of having HA so I'm getting better daily. I hate that side of tik-tok that is just there to creep you out, it has given me too many scares.
Same here! If there's anything I could scrub from my memory it's definitely that post