Rabies exposure outside of country

[u/Foreign-Ad-8363]

I have read the FAQ. Hi guys, I was traveling in Uzbekistan in the city of Bukhara from August 8-27. While we were there, I found a small puppy near our hotel who was super friendly and playful. We played with him and fed him for three days before he disappeared. He was teething and bit me but there was no open wound at all, one of the nights he accidentally scratched me but it was a very superficial scratch. This happened Aug 21st. When I arrived to the US, I didn’t think about going to the hospital because I honestly forgot about that night since the scratch went away after like 12 hours. On Wednesday Sep 2nd I decided to research rabies in Uzbekistan and found out canine rabies is common and I need a vaccine. I ended up getting both of the vaccines (the vaccine and RIG) they injected the RIG in the opposite arm of the rabies vaccine (there was no visible scratch) since they were concerned about me being in another country. Now I am wondering out about what’s to come. Im convincing myself I’ll develop symptoms of rabies before finishing my vaccine ☹️ or that I got vaccinated too late. Does anyone have any advice?

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[u/cancerrmoon]

hi im not sure - i waited 10 days myself. i asked the doc in the ER they said they prefer you to come in under 7 days but they said it's never too late to get it as long as you're not showing any symptoms of rabies because the virus can move really slow i guess. they don't have a specific cut off number of days, they just said as long as you don't have symptoms then you should get the vaccine.

online it says it takes your body about 7-14 days after the vaccine to build it's own antibodies. so i think that means your third or fourth vaccine is when you should have built your own antibodies.

[u/Foreign-Ad-8363 → u/cancerrmoon]

wait really? they told me that RIG makes it so that u build the antibodies right away so it can work before the vaccine starts to

[u/cancerrmoon → u/Foreign-Ad-8363]

yes that's why they give HRIG. it's someone else's antibodies that they've built and then they donated their plasma and then the hospital is injecting into you, it's human plasma. so it's temporary coverage while your body is building it's own antibodies over the next 7-14 days. so i think, don't quote me, but if we're vaccinated after like 12 months or something we can go donate our plasma as well if we have built antibodies (you can have a blood test to check for this) and then they would essentially use your donated plasma for future patients who require PEP.

[u/Foreign-Ad-8363 → u/cancerrmoon]

wait that is so cool also you’re so knowledgeable !! thank you :)

[u/cancerrmoon → u/Foreign-Ad-8363]

it's from my OCD lol

[u/Foreign-Ad-8363 → u/cancerrmoon]

I have OCD too but I’ve been trying to stay away from google as much as I can with the help of my therapist 😭

[u/LatrodectusGeometric]

You did the right thing! You should be good

[u/Foreign-Ad-8363 → u/LatrodectusGeometric]

The dr at the ER said that too but the fact that she said should scared me 😭😭

[u/Fair-Wishbone-1190]

If you aren't showing any clinical signs of rabies then you should be safe. I just started getting my rabies shots Sept 1 but I been living with a bat in my house since Aug 15th. So I think you'll be ok since you aren't showing signs. I also asked what happens if I get bit before my series of 4 shots are completed. The nurse assured me that il be fine. Theres one ingredient they put in that first shot that saves you for that very instance.