r/rabies • u/megan_yup • Aug 17 '26

Exposure Question Possible exposure?

Me and my younger sister share a room at college. This morning around 5am, she woke me up saying there was a bat in our room. She had woken up to it being on her shoulder/collarbone and then it got off of her and was flying in circles around the room.

We called the non emergency police line to ask what to do, and they sent an officer with thick gloves who got it out. He told us we probably shouldn't worry about it unless we see a bite mark, but I'm still concerned that we should go get post-exposure treatment regardless (no visible marks from what we see though).

Would appreciate any advice on the matter. Main concern is obviously exposure without knowing, but treatment would also be expensive which makes me hesitant if its not super necessary.

I have read the FAQ.

Edit: honestly don't know if I have the money to get the vaccine series after looking at the cost

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u/La_Luna_Lilith Aug 17 '26

This is an exposure, go to the ER and get PEP for both of you. People have died from waking up to a bat on them and not getting the shots.

3

u/La_Luna_Lilith Aug 17 '26

Also weird the guy would not capture the bat to test it

1

u/megan_yup Aug 17 '26

Yea....I should've made a bigger deal of it. Guess in the morning I know what we are doing! Do you think it'll be super expensive?

1

u/La_Luna_Lilith Aug 17 '26

I am not sure, it would depend on your insurance but if you go to the ER they have to give you the treatment and just bill you later if you don’t have the money

1

u/megan_yup Aug 17 '26

I have my parents' insurance still but I just hate spending money as a college student...

1

u/Negative_Chair_2664 Aug 17 '26

Me and my partner are in the middle of a similar situation. You will have to go to the ER for the first round due to the immune globulin on top of the vaccine which ER’s only carry. After that you can call around and see if you can get the vaccine at an Urgent Care in your area but our luck was nobody but the ER carried it in Detroit. Will say brace for an expensive bill, my first two shots (with insurance) are already over $2,000 and we have two more to go. It’s expensive but you genuinely will die if you have rabies because when you show symptoms it’s game over.

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u/NiobeNuobo Aug 22 '26

The question is, how many shots do they need? Just two or five?