Rabies ocd

Learned what rabies was 2 weeks ago with bats and convinced scratches on me are from a bat :(

fish><>

Date posted: 8d

I really feel you on this. Rabies ocd is awful - once a drop of water fell on me in the city and I was convinced it was bat saliva (I live in the city) (we don’t have many bats). Bats flew overhead once, no contact, and I ended up getting the PCP vaccine. If it helps: The median risk of rabies transmission without rabies PEP for a bite exposure by a skunk, bat, cat, and dog was estimated to be 0.05, 0.001, 0.001, and 0.00001, respectively. Rabies PEP was unanimously recommended in these scenarios. However, rabies PEP was overwhelmingly not recommended for non-bite exposures (e.g. dog licking hand but unavailable for subsequent testing), estimated to have less than 1 in 1,000,000 (0.000001) risk of transmission. (Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2887820/#:~:text=The%20median%20risk%20of%20rabies,(0.000001)%20risk%20of%20transmission.) So, even if it was a bat, which it is not, you are totally fine

Anonymous

Date posted: 8d

@fish><> Thank u for this :)

fish><>

Date posted: 8d

@Anonymous Fs, I hope it helped! Sending support your way.

Anonymous

Date posted: 6d

@fish><> Did getting the pcp vaccine help u? I am still overthinking a lot

fish><>

Date posted: 2d

@Anonymous It did, but I really wouldn’t recommend doing it. The problems with going to the ER or getting unnecessary vaccines in response to health OCD are that: 1) it encourages the idea that your obsessions have substance, which only fuels them, and 2) it will help at first, but will quickly stop working. Like, for example, I’ve been going to the ER a lot lately for my cardiophobia as a compulsion. It’s helped for a while, but has also started to be not enough - “the ekg was only 10 seconds, what if they missed something?” “What if I’m fine now, but have a heart attack as soon as I leave but don’t do anything because I was already just at the ER and think that I’m fine?” That sort of thing - what once helped is now not enough. Ultimately, the only way out is through, and getting medical treatment you logically know is unnecessary (even if it feels necessary) will only dig you deeper and make it harder to get out in the long run. Ultimately, that is incredibly hard, though, so I completely understand your need to go and do it, and you’d be stronger than I was if you withhold and try to breathe your way through it. Have you talked to a therapist about it at all to try and figure out how to get through this? Also, sorry for the late reply, I hope you are doing alright at the moment!

Anonymous

Date posted: 2d

@fish><> My therapist and my family think I should not get. It’s been almost 3 weeks now :/ so I’m still overthinking. I did go to the doctors the day after and they looked at my scratches and said they were fine and that they look like they are from me which is hard for me to believe because of the scenario in my head. The scratches never tingled or burned or anything. It’s been really rough I’ve been crying almost every day

Anonymous

Date posted: 2d

@Anonymous I don’t know I think back and forth because I felt a sensation on my neck but never saw anything and my brothers never did either so I want to believe them but I can’t? And the scratches aren’t even in the area I felt it at. So it’s been hard my brain won’t believe the doctors or them

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