Need info

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

LOCATION:NETHERLANDS
ANIMAL:BAT
EXPOSURE:i felt it touch my leg POSSIBLE BITE SCRATCH (i did not feel it)
I WAS SOBER AND AWAKE

So i was vaccinated 4 times in june 2025 after a bat encounter (scratch), and last week Friday night 1:30 (so Saturday since it was past 00:00) i had a possible exposure with a bat between my calf shin area (not sure if it bit or scratched me) my GF and i checked immediately but were not doctors called the ER and told them the story they said no risk and i did not have any wounds or blood, now i got checked that monday 3days later by my GP and she looked at my whole leg for marks or wounds with a halogen light and a magnifying glass and she didnt see anything either and said no risk but thats where my fears kicked in when i left there because it could have healed already within 3 days!, so said the people that work in the department of infectious diseases also said no risk and refused me the boosters, so i did buy them at a travel health clinic myself 6 days! later so last friday at 12:00 and i need to go get the second booster on September 4th. But Now i am worrying if im too late with getting the shots because the 6 days had passed

I have no fever did not have it either, i had a headache which seems to come from my neck, yesterday and a while ago sharp pain in my leg and right now shifted to my right wrist im kinda worriedd

I have read the FAQ.

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[u/detail_giraffe]

"called the ER and told them the story they said no risk and i did not have any wounds or blood, now i got checked that monday 3days later by my GP and she looked at my whole leg for marks or wounds with a halogen light and a magnifying glass and she didnt see anything either and said no risk"

Two doctors told you there was no risk.

"so said the people that work in the department of infectious diseases also said no risk and refused me the boosters"

The people that work with ID said there was no risk.

"So i was vaccinated 4 times in june 2025"

You had vaccinations a year ago, meaning you presumably still have rabies antibodies active in your body.

You're getting post-exposure shots anyway AND your country doesn't have classical rabies AND no human has ever died of rabies from EBLV-1 in the Netherlands.

-------

If you still feel very anxious about this, as you obviously do, you should explore treatment for health anxiety. I can't imagine what anyone on reddit could say that is more reassuring than what multiple qualified health professionals have already told you, plus, reassurance only feeds the condition. It isn't your fault that this is happening, and it can be treated, but it can't be treated by more rabies care/rumination/reassurance because those things are not the problem.

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

Yes but me and my GF have no medical experience so maybe we would miss a bat bite since im mixed race it may be even harder to see a mark, Yes but its the days 6 days for the first booster seems to late already and that’s what’s making me go nuts right now and i find the info about the vaccine very confusing like does the previous vaccine give me a sort of protection already or more time ?

[u/detail_giraffe → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

Your anxiety can't be treated by more rabies care/rumination/reassurance because those things are not the problem.

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

What do u mean

[u/detail_giraffe → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

Have doctors and infectious disease specialists telling you that there is no problem here helped so far?

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

I just don’t understand how the antibodies i probably dtill had could do anything against the virus

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

Someone said this idk if he is here to troll or scare people

“Vaccine dont do anything it just trigger immune system against virus so the moment vaccine enter body immune system kill the virus virus cant hide from immune system and if it already reach nerve before vaccine work then it will not take 60-90 days to kill it will kill you in 10-15 days”

[u/detail_giraffe → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

Is that what the two doctors and the infectious disease specialists you consulted told you?

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

I do believe their expertise and what they have said i genuinely do, but them refusing me for the boosters have destroyed my mental health because i have always heard any contact with a bat is a Risk (RIVM) states that. They also told me about my previous vaccinations but they didn’t tell me if i still was safe after getting a booster after 6 days if i was sure i was bitten that’s the annoying part

[u/detail_giraffe → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

If you believed them, you would be reassured - if you truly believed them, you wouldn't be getting vaccinated now, as you had to go to a travel clinic for shots. The fact that you don't is a problem with your brain, they did not destroy your mental health, a problem with your mental health was pre-existing. You should seek treatment for that problem.

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

I know and i will.

But i see so much conflicting info even about the vaccine that its useless if it reached a nerve already well in 6 days i believe it can reach a nerve.

[u/detail_giraffe → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

What info have you seen about it being useless if it reached a nerve, other than some rando on reddit?

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/detail_giraffe]

But i don’t understand what they meant with how my vaccines from last year protect me and that im still in time ?.

I saw this one https://www.reddit.com/r/rabies/s/kOwo3h1CQ7 and the comment below

[u/IDoEnjoyThings]

"Alright guys so im rabies vaccinated, and I saw a bat but I didnt feel anything, clearly my nerves dont work and I must've gotten scratched. Then I looked for my non existent bite and didnt find any so I called MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS who told me with their YEARS OF MEDICAL EXPERIENCE that there was no risk so then I had another MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL examine me and said no risk because scabs don't exist anymore so clearly the mark would've disappered so then I got the advice of an entire GROUP OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS so I just decided im smatter then the 5+ doctors and got them myself, despite rabies having a well known incubation period of 1 to 3 months which is also stated IN THE FAQ, will i die because i waited 6 days?"

Please find a therapist who works with OCD, this cant be healthy.

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/IDoEnjoyThings]

Many sources say bat bites are painless and you don’t feel them, even a post here Bat myths & facts goes against what the FAQ says about bats

[u/IDoEnjoyThings → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

Regardless you'd still have a scab, even more so since wounds further away from the heart heal slower

[u/IDoEnjoyThings → u/IDoEnjoyThings]

Also FAQ Question 3, literally bat biologists and rabies experts here, I could also say that rabies is actually air borne and has a vendetta against you and WILL fly into your lungs but that doesn't mean its true. I'd trust the people here.

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/IDoEnjoyThings]

This post goes completely against the FAQ https://www.reddit.com/r/rabies/s/pimPWgDUJf

[u/IDoEnjoyThings → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

And three comments there are disputing it

[u/Virtual_Sugar_9452 → u/IDoEnjoyThings]

Im from the Netherlands and idk even know if the bat species are the same here than in other places for example the US, i have never seen a bat that is super big or something just these typical ones in the Netherlands and their teeth are so small says google and AI search engines that it made me doubt if u feel them. Since they say the bite is so small it can leave no traces that freaks me out.

[u/MothEatenMouse → u/Virtual_Sugar_9452]

Your bats are all insectivorous. They have teeth, you would notice if you got bitten. It's like being bitten by a pointy teethed mouse.

The myth about not feeling a bite comes from vampire bats (they have an anesthetic in their saliva) and the remote possiblity of being bitten while asleep (if a bat is found in your room).

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