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Rabies fear

Posted , 3 users are following.

Kdawg
Kdawg

So two days ago at my work me and my coworkers found some baby raccoons stuck in our dumpster. (I live in the Midwest US) It was very hot and they seemed like they might die from the heat so I placed some shelving from the store in there for them to get out. About 10-15 minutes after they left I removed the shelving to put back inside. (I did not touch the animals in anyway no bites/scratches or fresh salvia) my concern came from the fact maybe if one of them had rabies they could have drooled on the piece of shelving that I touched. I did eat a few chips about 20 minutes later stupidly without thinking to wash my hands. I’ve been having intense fear the past few days, have practically read everything on the internet about rabies and have been contemplating trying to get the vaccine just in case. I’ve called the department of health which they didn’t seem concerned but they weren’t very reassuring either. I should also mention the dumpster was in direct sunlight with very hot temps. I want to know what my risk of exposure was for peace of mind 

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest Kdawg

    Posted

    I would not be very concerned about rabies if I were you. I order to catch rabies you need to have a direct-fluid transfer from a rabies infected and contagious animal, for example a bite that breaks your skin and allows saliva to reach your blood. Just handling baby raccoons (I have done this many times) and then eating some chips 20 minutes later would not provide a mechanism for Rabies virus transmittal, IMO. If you're really anxious about it you can get a vaccination, but I seriously doubt you have exposure to Rabies.

    With that said, Raccoons can carry many parasites that you need to be careful about-different types of intestinal worms for example. Baby Raccoons wouldn't naturally have these, but they might have had contact with them on their mother. You should talk to your GP about that and see if he can provide advice on symptoms you might keep an eye out for. Might have to take a de-worm pill or something. And please, always wash your hands after handling wild animals-they really aren't clean and you might end up with a bad case of intestinal distress!

  • victoria68136
    victoria68136 Kdawg

    Posted

    Hi

    I think your be fine .

    U didmt get bite mor touchrd them .

    You are fine

    But understand your worrys .

    Uou will be ok

  • Kdawg
    Kdawg

    Posted

    Even though it’s pretty much impossible I am still super anxious about it. This really sucks 
  • victoria68136
    victoria68136 Kdawg

    Posted

    Hi kdawg

    Plz dont worry ..u will not catch anything ..you didnt get bittten

    Thats the only time u could be at risk .

    Trust me i have been bitten by a dog and i didnt even go to gp.

    And also the most dangerous bite to have is of HUMANS they are worse than animals believe it or not x

  • Kdawg
    Kdawg

    Posted

    I wish I could get a definitive answer with it from an actual public health official. Based off the research I’ve done it’s such an extremely low possibility nothing short of an act of god. If it were that easy to get rabies I think there’d be many more cases. But still 3 months is a long time to worry about it. 
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