Rabies

C

calilove3456

New member
A month ago I was bit (very small bite on the thumb and hand) by my friends dog. It showed no signs of being rabid, however, his dog had a fairly large open wound which she would constantly lick. I am worried that rabies might have been transmitted from her wound to me by her licking and biting me? Is this even possible? My friend took his dog to the vet and it was tested negative for rabies but I am still worried that rabies could have been transmitted to me via the dogs open wound (which came from an unknown source). Am I obsessing?
 
The incubation period on dogs is 10 days. So if the dog is still alive and kickin...it doesn't have rabies. Did it have it's rabies shots? That would give it protection from rabies but it would still need more shots in order to survive a rabid bite. So the animal that bit it couldn't have been rabid. Therefore, you couldn't have rabies either.

But if you are still concerned, call your public health dept. Did anyone see what bit it and did it get reported? If there is any possibility of rabies, your public health department can give you rabies shots for free as it's a public health hazard. Call and ask them for advice.

Jenny
 
Noone saw what wounded the dog. It just had a quarter sized piece of skin missing. The dog's wound has healed and the dog is doing fine yet I'm still worried that rabies could have been transferred from the dogs wound to me from his licking or biting.
 
This happened a month ago and You say the dog tested negative for rabies.

You ask are you obsessing, i would say most definately Yes.

Since the dog tested negative and this has been a full month, you and the dog are fine.

If you were saying you have been extremely ill since you were bit by a dog, then you should have had medical attention at that time. From what you have described all is well.


Be Well
BeHappy2
 
Ntness....if the animal that bit the dog had rabies and it broke the skin, the dog would have gotten rabies with symptoms within 10 days. Even if it had it's rabies shots, it would have gotten sick without more shots and would have been sick enough to be noticeable. So the original bit couldn't have come from a rabid animal. The dog would gotten sick one way or the other...deadly sick or just very sick and it didn't get sick at all so the bit wasn't from a rabid animal.

Yes, you are obsessing. But if you don't believe any of us here, call your public health department and ask them. They are the ones who treat this and keep track of it. The incubation period for a human is as short as 10 days but can be up to a year so there is no way to make you feel completely safe as the incubation period is so long. But the fact that the dog is fine after a month should tell you there was no rabies to start with.

If a rabid animal had bitten the dog, the dog would have almost immediately licked the area. Let's say he then nipped you with the rabid saliva in his mouth. He would have gotten rabies to some extent, within 10 days. If he hadn't had his shots, he would be dead in a matter of days or even hours. If he had had his shots, he would still get very sick without a rabies booster from the vet...they still need more shots to boost the immunity. Now the dog didn't get sick at all and even tested negative for rabies so he didn't have it in any form. So whatever bit him, no matter when he licked your hand or nipped your finger, you can't get rabies as he wasn't bitten by a rabid animal.

If we can't convince you, call public health. There is nothing more we can say...it there.
 
Thank God! I was wondering the same thing! :^) My dog didn't have any open sores that I could see and had its shots but she pinched me behind my leg, so I was REALLY worried there. :D That, and there was no blood drawn, just a bruise or "pinch."
 
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