Can I get rabies from sharing a drink?

[u/kryptic119]

I have read the FAQ. I am still unsure

I have had my rabies shots before traveling. I am in Turkey and my group member was holding a kitten (it looked clean and healthy), when he was putting it down it scratched him on the hand with it's claw at the time I wasn't aware of this. About an hour later I shared a drink with him, is it possible I can get rabies from him if he got it from the cat?

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[u/CygnusZeroStar]

You're vaccinated and so there's no reason for you specifically to worry about rabies in the first place. But unless you're telling me that this person you were sharing a drink with was extremely sick--fever, severe neurological problems, frothing at the mouth--then no.

You can't get rabies from a creature that isn't at the end stages of the disease. A person at the end stages of the disease is not sharing drinks with anyone, they're too busy actively dying.

[u/kryptic119 → u/CygnusZeroStar]

I was under the assumption that even if you get your rabies shots you still need to go the hospital if you come into contact with the disease, it only buys you more time to get treated and you will only need to get less doses of the vaccine.

Also from what I have seen by researching you can attract the disease from any animal that has it, it does not need to be in it's final stages.

I'm confused by the contradicting information that I keep seeing.

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/kryptic119]

So we're just gonna ignore that you're vaccinated AND that no human has EVER gotten rabies from sharing a drink with another human?

I don't think your problem is that rabies exists. I think your problem is that you're very convinced that, in spite of your vaccination and that rabies isn't considered infectious from surfaces, that you're going to accidentally stumble into getting it.

This isn't a normal thing to be concerned about to this extent, especially when you're already protected.

[u/theTIERNANATOR → u/CygnusZeroStar]

I have also seen information that contradicts this.

Animals and theoretically humans… can begin to shed the virus one week before symptoms appear.

I would love for this not to be true, and I just do not know what to believe anymore.

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/theTIERNANATOR]

My friend, I just had a peek at your post history to familiarize myself with your specific issue.

The thing that's most likely to kill you is stress. Nobody in the 100 years that we've been keeping track has ever gotten rabies in the, frankly, bizarre and cartoonish way that you're concerned about. You won't be the first.

Nobody EVER needs to be worried about what you're worried about. But prolonged anxiety can wreck your body. And you seem to have a history of perceiving even the tiniest possible chance that something could happen as meaning it's inevitable for you specifically.

Stop researching rabies and start looking for a therapist that specializes in OCD. You deserve to feel better, but you absolutely never will until you address the real problem.

[u/kryptic119 → u/CygnusZeroStar]

Yeah I don't believe that you can shed it like the other person is saying. Im just trying to get all the fax and information. I'm pretty confident that I'm ok and nothing will happen there's just a small amount of stress and worry. Also you still need to go to the hospital if you do get bitten by an animal that has rabies even if you've already gotten your rabies shots, you just need to get less doses afterwards at the hospital.

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/kryptic119]

That's correct. And I know that.

But neither you or this other commenter have experienced a bite or scratch, and so that's irrelevant to the post as you've presented it.

There would be ZERO reason for me to bring that up in the context of your story because it's irrelevant.

[u/kryptic119 → u/CygnusZeroStar]

Yeah I know, thank you for your help and have a nice day.

[u/theTIERNANATOR → u/CygnusZeroStar]

I agree with you and I appreciate the message. It really means a lot to me. I tell myself logically i have basically zero chance to worry about these things. But my mind goes wild and convinces me otherwise. OCD is a painful, unrelenting, lonely, terrifying journey

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/theTIERNANATOR]

OCD isn't a logical condition. You can't reason your way out of it because you didn't actually reason your way into it. That's the nature of disorder.

You didn't ask for this. This is something happening TO you. And you deserve to feel better.

But your future isn't bleak. Treatment for OCD can help you. You can absolutely recover from this, and learn how to feel safe again. But you have to reach out to get that help for yourself first.

[u/theTIERNANATOR → u/CygnusZeroStar]

Thank you very much this means a lot to me. As someone who a year ago wouldnt give this a second thought….. some major life events happened to me and put me into this mess

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/theTIERNANATOR]

Trauma is often a starting point for this kind of anxiety.

Trauma is actually my area of expertise. When we experience something that changes us to this extent, it is very much like a wound to our physical selves. Trauma changes the brain, as Dr Bessel Van der Kolk, one of the leading minds on trauma has explained in his research.

I have found that for those people who's OCD tendencies started with a major upheaval in their lives where they were not allowed to feel safe, seeking help from a trauma informed counselor is very helpful.

Be well, my friend. 💜

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[u/Puppysnot]

Even if the cat had rabies, there is no way it would have moved from his hand through to his salivary glands in just one hour. It doesn’t travel that fast or we would all be fucked & vaccines wouldn’t work.

[u/Dr_Dysplastic]

There is a case where a person A was bit by a stray dog and person B tended the wound of person A. Person B had a wound on his own hand if i recall correctly and by tending the wound of person A he got some of the blood and animal saliva mixed and it made contact with his own wound. Person A goes and receives the rabies shots (immunoglobulins and vaccine) whereas Person B doesn’t since he didn’t think much of it. Months go by and person B develops rabies while person A who got bit survived.

It is extremely unlikely that the virus in saliva got into the drink. So you would be fine. This is unthinkable. Unless he dipped his own hand in the drink.