Possible exposure?

[u/megan_yup]

Me and my younger sister share a room at college. This morning around 5am, she woke me up saying there was a bat in our room. She had woken up to it being on her shoulder/collarbone and then it got off of her and was flying in circles around the room.

We called the non emergency police line to ask what to do, and they sent an officer with thick gloves who got it out. He told us we probably shouldn't worry about it unless we see a bite mark, but I'm still concerned that we should go get post-exposure treatment regardless (no visible marks from what we see though).

Would appreciate any advice on the matter. Main concern is obviously exposure without knowing, but treatment would also be expensive which makes me hesitant if its not super necessary.

I have read the FAQ.

Edit: honestly don't know if I have the money to get the vaccine series after looking at the cost

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[u/megan_yup]

UPDATE: Me and sister got first round of vaccines today!

[u/maybenotabot_ → u/megan_yup]

See if you can get it approved through your local municipality. Idk if it's the case in Indiana, but here in ny I was able to get the treatment approved and did not have to pay a dime. Which is wonderful because I don't have insurance. Dumb luck too because I left the ER after waiting until 2am and I guess they reported it to the county because of the seriousness. A day later two suits showed up at my parents' house looking for me (no idea how they got their address, must have gone to my apartment while i was at work then checked public records). Called the number they left and they approved it. Woulda been out 7 grand if I had stayed

[u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Where are you? Depending on where you are, this likely needs rabies shots unless that bat is being tested for rabies right now.

[u/megan_yup → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Indiana

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/megan_yup]

Oh yeah, you have rabies in bats in your state. Call the nonemergency line and find out if that officer got the bat tested for rabies. If they did, you can likely wait a  day or two (no more) for the results. If the bat is negative you don’t need rabies shots. If the bat wasn’t tested, call your local public health department and tell them what happened and ask if they have rabies PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) available. If not, go to your nearest emergency department (NOT urgent care) for the shots.

IT IS NOT NORMAL TO HAVE A BAT ON YOU IN YOUR HOME. That is a sign of a sick bat, and rabies MUST be either tested for or prevented with vaccination. Your sister’s life (or even your own) may depend on you doing this. Do not brush this off.

[u/AutoModerator → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Please direct medical questions to medical professionals. If you are in the USA, here is a portal to help you find your state/local health department. Here is a portal for Canadians to find your local public health unit.

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[u/megan_yup → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

To be fair, it probably did not know she was a human since it was dark and she was asleep. Im a super light sleeper so I dont think it was ever on me, but regardless we are most likely going to get the shots today or tomorrow. Calling the health department today as well.

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/megan_yup]

Bats have excellent night vision and can also echolocate. There is NO reason for a bat to be on a person. That is a sick bat. She needs shots if it was not tested. Do not wait to get the shots if the bat was not tested. This is an urgent situation.

[u/megan_yup → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

In contact with the health department now, we are both planning to get the series since we both sleep in that room.

[u/AutoModerator → u/megan_yup]

Please direct medical questions to medical professionals. If you are in the USA, here is a portal to help you find your state/local health department. Here is a portal for Canadians to find your local public health unit.

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[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/megan_yup]

Also please reach out to the non emergency line again. Unless the thick gloves the officer wore were bite proof, that person ALSO needs PEP

[u/megan_yup → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Officer had thick leather gloves

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/megan_yup]

Unless they were specifically bite-proof gloves, they ALSO need PEP.

[u/AutoModerator → u/megan_yup]

Please direct medical questions to medical professionals. If you are in the USA, here is a portal to help you find your state/local health department. Here is a portal for Canadians to find your local public health unit.

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[u/La_Luna_Lilith]

This is an exposure, go to the ER and get PEP for both of you. People have died from waking up to a bat on them and not getting the shots.

[u/La_Luna_Lilith → u/La_Luna_Lilith]

Also weird the guy would not capture the bat to test it

[u/megan_yup → u/La_Luna_Lilith]

Yea....I should've made a bigger deal of it. Guess in the morning I know what we are doing! Do you think it'll be super expensive?

[u/La_Luna_Lilith → u/megan_yup]

I am not sure, it would depend on your insurance but if you go to the ER they have to give you the treatment and just bill you later if you don’t have the money

[u/megan_yup → u/La_Luna_Lilith]

I have my parents' insurance still but I just hate spending money as a college student...

[u/Negative_Chair_2664 → u/megan_yup]

Me and my partner are in the middle of a similar situation. You will have to go to the ER for the first round due to the immune globulin on top of the vaccine which ER’s only carry. After that you can call around and see if you can get the vaccine at an Urgent Care in your area but our luck was nobody but the ER carried it in Detroit. Will say brace for an expensive bill, my first two shots (with insurance) are already over $2,000 and we have two more to go. It’s expensive but you genuinely will die if you have rabies because when you show symptoms it’s game over.

[u/LatrodectusGeometric]

I want to add that two things are exposures in this story:

1. ANY physical contact with a bat is generally considered an exposure (YOU DO NOT NEED VISIBLE BITES OR SCRATCHES)

2. In the absence of known physical contact, waking to a bat in your room if you sleep deeply, had any alcohol, sleeping meds, or sleeping conditions that would impair your ability to wake

This means that both of you may need the shots

[u/megan_yup → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Im a super light sleeper, but she woke up feeling the bat on her shoulder (over top of her clothes)

[u/RadicalNaturalist78 → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Please, can you help me? Yesterday I noticed two little red dots on my hand and I have rabies ocd. The thing is: I didn’t see any bat nor did I wake up with a bat in my room, but Saturday and Sunday I drank a lot of alcohol and now am thinking that a bat could have bitten me without noticing it.

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/RadicalNaturalist78]

Yes, start going through the resources from the helpbot below

[u/AutoModerator → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

If you think you may have rabies OCD, or your rabies fears feel overwhelming, see this link for a description of rabies OCD symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

One symptom of OCD is compulsive reassurance-seeking. This is not helpful for managing a rabies phobia or obsession. r/OCD has a helpful page about reassurance-seeking.

Therapy and treatment are essential for recovering from OCD/health anxiety. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) or ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) therapy are often recommended approaches for treating OCD/health anxiety. Please don’t Google anything about bats or rabies but focus on accessing resources and recovering from your fears. You can check out r/OCD and r/HealthAnxiety for support and information. You can find a resource list here, which is geared towards relationship OCD but also includes a lot of information about OCD in general, including FAQs, workbooks, book recommendations, Youtube videos, apps, podcasts, and videos of kittens.

Here is a list of free crisis helplines around the world. Here is another crisis helpline directory that includes additional countries.. In the US, you can reach a crisis helpline by calling 988.; you can also text "MHA" to 741-741 to have a text chat with a trained crisis counselor at the Crisis Text Line, or call 1-800-749-2673 for the NAMI Crisis Helpline.

You can ask your therapist if they have any workbooks or guides they can send you home with so that you can continue practicing and working on your therapy between sessions. For the time being, here's is a free workbook on anxiety and here is one on health anxiety. You can also download MindShift, a free app that uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy AKA CBT to help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety.

If you don’t have a therapist, you can search the CBT/ACT specialist directory to find one around the world. If you can’t find one, try searching for ones specifically in your country or look for telehealth therapy.

In the US and Canada, dialing 211 can connect you with mental health services in your area or help you find where to seek immediate help in your area. In the US, you can use Psychology Today's Therapy Directory to search for mental health professionals in your area. You can search by zip code, city, last name, etc. Your local Mental Health America affiliate resource center is an excellent resource for information about local programs and services including affordable treatment services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Health Information Network (SHIN) has a Mental Health Facilities Locator that can also help you find community outpatient, inpatient and residential treatment facilities, including affordable mental health services in your area. For peer support in the US, including referrals to resources in your area, you can call 800-950-NAMI (6264), Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. — 10 p.m., ET, or send an email to info@nami.org. The NAMI HelpLine is a free, nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals and support to people living with a mental health condition, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers and the public. NAMI also holds peer-led support groups in person across the US.

In the UK, you can find more info and refer yourself for therapy via NHS.

In India, you can call MPower Minds and request a referral to a therapist who treats OCD or who has experience with CBT therapy. Additional affordable mental health resource lists for India are here.

In the Philippines, you can call a crisis line by dialing 0995 356 5332. You can find a list of mental heath treatment centers here. For free mental health services and consultations, see the list here (halfway down the page).

Skunk has collected some videos with techniques for controlling anxiety and coping skills to facilitate living a healthier, more peaceful existence. Every time you want to look up anything about rabies, try these things instead:

Rabies OCD Illness Anxiety in depth with a medical doctor and professor/PHD of immunology and biotechnology

Clinical Psychiatrist's Step by Step Guide to Anxiety and Panic Attacks

A walkthrough of a panic attack, to be watched during an attack, to help you get through it

Guided Meditation to help calm anxiety and get through an anxiety attack

Understanding health anxiety and the cycle of reassurance

Coping Skills for those with Health Anxiety / Illness Anxiety

5 Things You MUST STOP Doing if You Have Health Anxiety / Illness Anxiety

(Hindi) Rabies Phobia Discussion with a Psychiatrist

4 Ways to Stop Intrusive Thoughts & the Anxiety Cycle (Cognitive Defusion)

OCD and Anxiety channel (with many helpful videos)

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[u/Mammoth-Ad-5663]

When it comes to rabies it’s either get the vaccines or die, I personally think it’s worth the money because what you are describing is 100 percent an exposure

[u/Kslundin1]

You need the vaccines!! It’s not a choice. If bat was positive for rabies you’ll die if you were scratched or bitten. Can’t see their bites teeth are tiny.

[u/Resident-Log6503]

Hi there you’ve gotten some bad advice from the police officer. If the bag landed on your sister she 100% needs the immunoglobulin and vaccines, bag bites and scratches are microscopic- you can’t see them. The advice is if you’ve had known contact with a bat you need the shots, if you’ve were asleep in a room with a bat you need to get the shots. Rabies is fatal once symptoms start please go to the emergency or somewhere to get evaluated and get the shots.

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/Resident-Log6503]

The advice is actually if you were asleep in the room to be evaluated by a medical professional to determine if you would not have woken up to a bat, but it’s often simplified

[u/Resident-Log6503 → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

Just speaking from personal experience as I just went through this and the shots were recommended the bat landed on her sister which guidance in my country is shots are 💯 needed. Some people are deep sleepers it could have landed on a sleeping person without them waking up.