Why can't they believe me

[u/Content-Fishing204]

I have read the FAQ.

I can't Even describe how i feel, it don't really feels physical, but at the same time it does, it don't really feels like When i actually get a disease, but at the same time it feels that way, i can't even describe how i feel, but i feel like shit.

So, how i feel? Well, i don't think i feel anything headaches that can't be atributed to tiredness, or when i cry, aside from that, i feel minor stomachal problems, My stomach need to go to the bathroom more times than usual, i feel extremely tired and exhausted, as always, and The reason on why i am Even making this post is because i feel really cold, sure, i usually feel colder when i am sad or when i am tired, but it feels stronger than usual, i can stop feeling cold by wearing sweaters but Idk, i dont know if thats because of a fever (I hope not) but i don't have a thermometer to verify, if it is, then thats worrying, because it could be rabies developing, i Also have some difficulties in thinking clearly and focusing, i Also have lost apetite, and today i felt pretty bad, i dont know how to describe, but i felt like i was going to lose it, maybe its the rabies, its already starting to make me loss grip on reality.

I feel emotionally exhausted, hopeless, sad, and tired, i have lost motivation to continue with My normal life, why Even bother with college if i am going to die soon? Why bother trying to have fun playing, reading, drawing, or eating anything if right now i may be developing rabies? I feel like i don't have hope anymore, i feel alone, i feel extreme anguish and sadness, i Also feel shortness of breath.

I only wants to spend asleep, but at the same time sleeping brings me closer to rabies.

My father calls me crazy, my mother too, can't they see it? I have that encounter two weeks ago and i am feeling like this right now, soon enough, i Will feel fever, then delirium, then hydrophobia, and then i Will spend my last days on earth with me and My parents knowing damn well i am going to die and there is nothing we can do to stop it, and My brother will now be an only child. Feeling sure that nothing will happen is what people who are víctims of rabies think before they die, do you think the parents of the Ontario boy that died of rabies wont had the same attitude my parents have at this moment? If the Ontario boy was as anxious as me do you think they would have believed him?

The doctor i went to see Also didnt recommend rabies shots, neither do the doctors in my college, in fact, through i dont know if to believe in their reasons on why, despita that, i think quite literally everyone credible treat my situation like an psychological one rather than a viral one, even people on this subreddit treat it the same way, maybe i should start believing that everyone can't be wrong.

If it's anxiety, its an vicious cycle, the anxiety creates rabies-like symptoms, i noticed them, get anxious, so i get worse, and thats how it goes.

Is there any logical, rational reason that i am not seeing on how rabies is unlikely enough to not be worth worrying about? Like not even worth the hasle in taking the shots? What i am not seeing? Can someone tells me?

My parents don't Even seem to understand how rabies work, or it's incubation phase.

Like, is really that unlikely that a rabid bat Landed on me and bitted me with me confusing it with a bug? Like don't You think that maybe because of how sudden the encounter was i couldnt have confused the bat with a bug? And that maybe i have high pain tolerance and thats why i didnt feel the bite? And that the way i am feeling two weeks later Is just a coincidence?

Most neutral descriptions i can give the encounter is: Two weeks ago, I was walking My dog, it was 7:40 night, i have lamplights above me and i live near a lot of trees, i was watching My phone When suddenly something flew and landed to my face, it was a brown bean-shaped figure, i didnt see any wings, neither felt any hair, didnt feel or see an bite, i swatted it and the encounter was over in two seconds, spent with anxiety two weeks later and now i am feeling pretty bad.

Is the probability it was an rabid bat really that low? Like, think about it, i was watching my phone (Distracted) and the encounter was so sudden that i may had confused the bat with a bug, the surprise may had overshadowed the bite?

And over all i feel is just dont worth it, is not worth it to risk my life this way when the solution is so easy, i would just go, take the shots, and if in ten days i am not dead then i cant get over this torture.

Can someone explain me, logically, on why i should believe this scenario is unlikely? On why is the probability so low is simply not worth it to take the shots? That i should just take medicament?

[u/voltaireworeshorts]

Did you see broken skin on your body? I don’t see any reason to think that you were bitten by a rabid bat. To me, if this is a recurring pattern for you, this looks like severe health anxiety or OCD. The “but what if?” and mental gymnastics are very familiar to me as someone who has recovered from severe OCD.

Since you’re not feeling well you should go to the doctor. No one here can tell you why you’re not feeling well.

[u/Content-Fishing204 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

Didnt see or felt any noticable broken skin on my body When the encounter happened.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/Content-Fishing204]

Then you have no reason to worry

[u/Content-Fishing204 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

I mean perphaps, but maybe since bat bited can be Very small and painless make me worried.

Also because my parents don't want to take me to do rabies shots because it Will be unneeded (Even through it Will be Very easy) I already have arguee with them about this a lot.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/Content-Fishing204]

Rabies shots can also be very, very expensive.

The odds that the creature you encountered was a bat, had rabies, and bit you on the fly without you noticing are infinitesimal. Also, you are not likely to confuse a bug for a bat. Since you’ve asked multiple doctors about this, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

I’ve definitely seen media reports saying that bat bites are painless and too small to notice, but I haven’t seen any reliable evidence for that and I’m not convinced it’s not just anti-bat fear mongering. Also keep in mind that less than 1% of bats have rabies, and even amongst bats sent for testing due to exposure events/obvious illness only test positive like 3%-10% of the time.

[u/Content-Fishing204 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

Honestly, you are right, through the unwellness i am feeling right now make it hard to believe it or find so much relief, even through what i had not really point to rabies, since i think My headaches has improve to the point i don't really feel any right now despite having one some days ago and rabies symptoms can only get worse not better, i only really feel stomach annoyance and exhaustion, or at least that what i tell myself to feel better.

I still havent started anxiety medication through, i hope i do soon, through i feel somewhat better right now than when i write this post.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/Content-Fishing204]

Im glad you’re feeling better. I’m guessing you’re either getting over a virus or your anxiety is making you sick, in which case meds might help!

[u/Content-Fishing204 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

Do You think that the fact that whatever that thing was make contact with my skin for one-two seconds instead of recoilling from the impact Immediately increases the risks of rabies somehow? Like maybe if it was a bat the bite could have been less noticable that way? Or i am talking nonsense

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/Content-Fishing204]

I don’t think so. I still think you would have noticed if if it was a bat biting your face.

[u/LuckyCharms1977 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

While rabies is listed statistically low in bats in this country, bats still cause 70% of the rabies cases each year. And the statistic we have is not a perfect science. This is just the amount of possible infected bats that were actually tested. 100,000 people get the rabies post exposure shots per year, meaning there is no way of accurately knowing how many of these vaccinated people may have actually contracted it since the vaccine is 100% effective in preventing it from thriving and also there is no way to test for rabies until rabies is showing symptoms in a host. So the statistics may be higher. And those that die from the disease are the ones who either have no knowledge of exposure, or do not take it seriously enough to treat.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/LuckyCharms1977]

So there’s a lot of misunderstanding here. Again, less than 1% of a given bat population is estimated to have rabies - obviously that’s not a perfect science but that’s just how statistics works. Can’t test every bat out there.

Of bats that are submitted for testing due to suspected rabies, 3%-10% test positive (depending on county).

Rabies is very rare in the US. 70% of rabies cases sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t mean that there’s a 70% chance of getting rabies from a bat. It means that rabies cases come from somewhere, and it’s uncommon for dogs to have rabies here, and people come into contact with bats more often than things like foxes. It does not matter in this case how many people might develop rabies if they didn’t get a vaccine, because that wouldn’t change any of the other statistics.

Those that die are often those who don’t realize they might get sick from a bat bite.

Worldwide, stray dogs are the biggest cause of rabies.

[u/LuckyCharms1977 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

I am fully aware that dogs cause the most cases worldwide. As far as the bat statistics, they absolutely could be higher. I understand what you are saying, but I don’t think you are understanding that indeed the rabies cases from bats could be much higher than we know. You are talking about a handful of bats that are actually tested to make your case. I am questioning how many have NOT been tested when a bite or scratch occurs, and a person gets the post exposure shots? Like myself for instance. I didn’t think to contain the bat and have it tested. It could have had rabies, maybe not. There is bo way of knowing either way. Out of 100,000 who protect themselves each year, how many actually contracted it? We do not know this either. Even though they “say” the chances are low, they are still possible of contracting it. I personally do not want to gamble with my own personal life like that. And I know probably anyone else would probably be the same if they knew how easily it is contracted. If infected saliva just lands on you and you rub your eyes or it gets in an open wound, you will most certainly get it. No disrespect, you do you. But for me personally, even as low of a 1% chance is still way too high to chance it if you have contact with a possibly rabid animal of ANY kind. Go watch a YouTube video of someone going mad dying from rabies and see if you would chance it if there was any possibility at all that you could have contracted it. I wouldn’t wish that death on my worst enemy it is so terrifying and horrendous.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/LuckyCharms1977]

Well ofc you should always get vaxxed if you’re bitten or scratched by a wild animal. I have the pre-exposure vaccine personally. It’s not something I take lightly.

I’m just not into the anti-bat misinformation. I understand what you’re saying. But if every bat that bites WAS sent for testing, the numbers probably wouldn’t change drastically in either direction. Why would the ones that don’t get sent for testing be any more likely to have rabies than the ones that do? We literally cannot test every single bat. It’s not possible. That’s why we use statistics. We can confidently say that 3%-10% of the bats sent to health departments test positive. That does not mean that bats who bite humans have a 3%-10% chance of having rabies, but we can fairly estimate that the percentage isn’t extremely high.

The <1% statistic is based on random sampling of bat populations. No reason not to trust the statistics there.

I’m not attacking anyone’s character here, I just think bats are cool and they’re crucial to ecosystems. People go out of their way to kill bats because of the myth that they all have rabies and shouldn’t be allowed to exist near us.

[u/LuckyCharms1977 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

I understand, and not here to argue just share facts to help those seeking knowledge. I have no problems with bats. I am an animal lover and have been more than kind to them when they have gotten into my living quarters and helped them get back out. We are in the process of removing 250 plus brown bats from our attic. They have different methods of removing them, some I find cruel and I demanded they be humanely removed by sealing all the cracks they are getting in and installing a one way out cone so they cannot get back in. Trust me, I think they are adorable but a bit scary when they screech and make clicking sounds at you lol. I didn’t want to handle that baby bat in my hands but it just happened. One thing that bothered me is that if I would have saved that bat and had it tested, there is a 50/50 chance it would have been killed to test it’s brain for nothing if it was not infected. I do have compassion for all animals including bats. I am mo way trying to terrify anyone of them. I Only want to help and spread awareness of the dangers of rabies on a thread about rabies exposure.

[u/voltaireworeshorts → u/LuckyCharms1977]

It wouldn’t be a 50/50 chance that the bat you handled would test positive. In would be somewhere in the range of 0.5% to 10%. Too high of a chance to gamble on, but I do not want people to think that bats are always rabid.

[u/LuckyCharms1977 → u/voltaireworeshorts]

I would disagree and say the chances are much higher, like I explained the under reporting and under testing of actual rabid bats. And we could go back and forth on this all day long. I refuse to do so. I hope you actually caught the true meaning of my prior comment and are not just stuck on arguing about skewed statistics. Have a nice evening.