Rabies?
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi all,
I'm in somewhat of a state of panic and hoping for some reassurances. I'm holidaying currently in Santiago, Chile. There's a lot of street dogs here, they're more or less accepted as part of city life. Anyway, approximately 10 days ago I was walking home along a quiet street and a smallish dog bit me on my calf, I yelled at it and swung my bag at his friend who was also growling, and kept walking and they left me alone. It was only a small dog, and I was wearing jeans, so I didn't think too much of it, I just hoped when I got home it hadn't broken the skin.
I got home a few minutes later and pulled up my jeans and couldn't find any blood or anything like that. Upon super close inspection there was 1 tiny puncture wound, but as I had been wearing jeans I figured there wasn't really any chance of me having caught anything. I told myself it's possible for a slight puncture mark to be made even without direct contact of saliva or anything like that and so I went on about my day and didn't even give it a second thought. Had I known then what I know now about rabies I certainly would have gone to a doctor.
10 days later (today) and I have been feeling slightly sick. It started about 2 days ago, just a sore throat and runny nose. I didn't think anything of it, just that I was getting a cold. However this morning I woke up and had a pretty bad headache so I decided to see if there were any nasty influenza bugs in Chile at the moment. During my research I stumbled across something talking about flu like symptoms and rabies and I remembered the dog and thought, hmmm, maybe the dog got me sick. (At this point I still had no idea the severity of rabies or the fact it's more or less untreatable after the first 48 hours)
So I spent the next hour or so reading up on rabies and suffice to say I am FREAKING out. Mainly because it seems like if I do have it that I'm pretty much screwed. Even going to a hospital now they couldn't do anything for me, and I wouldn't know where to go or how to speak Spanish with them anyway.
I'm trying to make myself feel better by reminding myself that:
-a few websites and reports say rabies is ALMOST non-existant in Chile.
-the last dog related rabies death in Chile was over 30 years ago.
-there's so many dogs here I'm sure tourists get nipped every day and probably don't rush to the emergency room.
-i'm not showing many more symptoms of the disease. basically my symptoms are runny nose, sore throat, and a head that feels like a block of cement. I am not dizzy, I haven't lost my appetite, I'm drinking a lot of water, I'm not nautious, I'm not hallucinating, etc. HOWEVER, apparently these are symptoms that appear later so I'm worried in a few days I'll start to get them (Although I have hda these cold like symptoms without change for approx 2 or 3 days now)
Having said all that, the bottom line is that I was bitten by a dog through my jeans, there was a tiny puncture mark, so perhaps some saliva did get into my system. If the dog had rabies then I guess I've got it
I had NO idea that rabies was untreatable, and I had no idea that it needed IMMEDIATE medical attention. Now I'm quite distressed that what I thought was just a cold could actually be a serious, untreatable disease that will kill me over the next week or two. HELP!?
0 likes, 9 replies
tudoloo
Posted
I hope you are okay.
I was recently bitten by an unprovoked leashed dog (didn't get the owner's information or anything
) and the bite was minor and left a small bruise with two tiny red puncture-like wounds. Since the bite was fast and went through my jeans and boxers, I don't think it broke the skin (I'm not sure how you can tell). I got to a train station and washed it with hand soap. Then almost 2 hours later, I got to my friend's house to put some anti-bacterial ointment on it. 24 hours later, I feel a slight fever and tiredness but it was a long day with a lot of movements. The next morning (this morning), I feel a sore and dry throat. I had ample sleep but feel a little tired. I did a lot of research on Rabies when the bite happened and was really worried and going to check in my clinic for urgent care,
but I was wondering if you ever contracted the dreaded disease? I hope all is well.
tekahoma tudoloo
Posted
tekahoma Cmpdw
Posted
i feel you although I don't know you . all the best
atul4142 Cmpdw
Posted
I hope you are okey..
Friend i am suffering through the same problem..
I am scared..
Is there any treatment for this.??
Is thease Rabies..??
Please HELP ME...
tekahoma atul4142
Posted
I once had all the symptoms that represented rabies, .. 2 years ago. It turns out its just anxiety. if you were bitten by something, just go get vaccine.
What bit you ?
atul4142 tekahoma
Posted
street dog near about 400 days
before.
That dog bites me on my right leg in
between ankle and heel. The bite
was
very little scrach. After 3 days i go to
the hospital and doctor told me
that you dont need anti rabies
injuction because the bite was just
an
scratch. After 10 - 11 days i feel
little sence at the scratched place.
Nearabout 2 - 3 months later i feel
like COME OVER DIZZY. Again after
some
days i have cough ( have like never
before : RUNNY NOSE. ) In these
days i
suffers from SUN STROKE (loo
lagna ). Again after some days later
muscles
of my head behind the eyes
becomes littly fat and beats like
heart but the
beats of these muscles little fast
(still Same thing happens with me.)
Now
in these days i feel little pain in my
head ( but the pain is not
continuous and it is just like a little
cramp and it happens 2 - 3 times in
a day but the pain is for very little
short time. ) Now in these days i
feel muscular beats behind my eyes
and hedack ( but the hedack starts
after
3 to 4 hours later i wake up in
morning but in between these hours
i feels
like normal ( healthy.) And i have
Sputum in my throat.
Some of my friends have same problem just because of me.
Same things are happening with them.
I theank i will
survive for 12 to 18 months without
any treatment. PLEASE SIR I need
your
healp. I hope you will help me...
atul4142 tekahoma
Posted
and it happened in 25 Aug 2014.
and now I have some symptoms like runny nose, headache, little fever, vain of my head becomes little hot. these symptoms appears from 10 months before and still i have these symptoms.
I had shone to doctor but they are saying that you have to show within 10 days, now we can't do anything.
and they also saying that this could not be rabies.
They are saying that rabies patient can't live that much time.
But I am sure that I have rabies.
Please tell me what should i do....???
atul4142 tekahoma
Posted
Please friend i an dam serious about i it.
Hey all...
If someone knows how to solve this problem then please give me your email id.
PLEASE....
BROOOO atul4142
Posted
Is everything getting better now?
What happened?