Hypochondriasis
My obsessive thoughts involve my health. I was exposed to a bat nearly a year ago and I was obsessed for weeks that I had rabies. This fear resurfaced several weeks ago. It was so bad I went to the doc just to confirm that...no...if I had rabies I'd be dead by now. We get bats in our home every summer and haven't been able to seal them out..so they'll be back. I am able to get rabies vaccine but I worked myself into such a state the other day...I actually have the vaccine in my fridge right now but I've been putting off getting the first shot...now I'm worried about a reaction to the vaccine. I've never had a probelem with vaccines, so I know I am just obsessing...obsessive scary thoughts suck!
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Guest
Oh my! Rabies! I had a rabies scare myself. I was working in Moshi, Tanzania and a friends pet nipped me - I went to the local clinic and because the dog was owned and not a stray, which are common, they opted to not give me a shot (in Tanzania, they are about the size of a pencil and very painful).
I came home 5 months later and my GP couldn't believe I didn't get one, esp. since rabies is rampant in the sub-saharan strays population. It's true though, if you were going to get rabies you would have certainly gotten it by now - it can't live in the body for more than about 4-6 weeks before showing symptoms, even then most people have some sort of symptom within the week of the incident.
If you want to take the vaccine, take it, a reaction is highly unlikely but it may make you a bit sore and it hurts more than the average poke. Honestly, as an RN and someone who has had this experience, I don't think it's necessary but woe is the obsessive thought!
Good luck my friend!
I came home 5 months later and my GP couldn't believe I didn't get one, esp. since rabies is rampant in the sub-saharan strays population. It's true though, if you were going to get rabies you would have certainly gotten it by now - it can't live in the body for more than about 4-6 weeks before showing symptoms, even then most people have some sort of symptom within the week of the incident.
If you want to take the vaccine, take it, a reaction is highly unlikely but it may make you a bit sore and it hurts more than the average poke. Honestly, as an RN and someone who has had this experience, I don't think it's necessary but woe is the obsessive thought!
Good luck my friend!