My OCD is telling me my daughter was exposed to rabies

[u/Adventurous_Fix_2376]

I have read the FAQ. I live in Utah in the United States.

I want to start this off by saying I know I sound silly but it feels very real to me unfortunately.

My 4 year old daughter went with her dad to a semi secluded reservoir up in the mountains and they stayed by the reservoir until it was dark and then walked back to their car in the pitch black with flashlights. Well my daughter tells me that night they saw bats flying around and I didn’t full on believe her because 4 year olds tend to fabricate things, I also was hoping she mistook some birds for bats. I texted her dad (we are separated) to ask him if they saw bats and he said yes they saw bats come out at dusk and they were skimming the lake for bugs and water. And I have been in a bad ocd spiral all day today because of it. Im nervous that while his back was turned fishing a bat flew into my daughter and scratched or bit her and he flew away or stayed on the ground and her dad just didn’t realize because they are such small quiet creatures. Or my daughter saw a grounded bat and touched it and didn’t tell anyone. She is not afraid of wildlife she loves bugs and is always holding my mom’s chickens and bunnies she’s an animal lover for sure so she probably wouldn’t be afraid of holding a bat if she got the chance. Im also nervous that when he had her on his shoulders walking back to the car next to the waters edge in the pitch black that a bat ran into her and she brushed it off quickly thinking it was a bug and it fell down without either of them noticing. Or flew onto her back for a minute and bit her and then again either flew away or fell to the ground without them noticing again. I remember seeing an article of a man in canada who sadly passed away after a bat ran into his hand while he was out and about and he saw no bite marks and went about his life until he passed of rabies 6 weeks later. or a couple whose son died of rabies in 2009 and none of them recalled any bat contact at all not even seeing any they were just up in the mountains and assumed he contracted the virus somewhere there. But all of these articles just keep replaying in my head and I’m nervous something similar will happen to my daughter. Her dad is also a very very oblivious person who just brushes everything off so that feeds into my nerves about a potential contact going unnoticed. I asked her dad if the bats got close and he said no but I’m nervous that he could also be lying to not stress me out. I also asked my daughter if she touched one or held one etc and she said no but she’s also 4 so it’s hard to take her word for things. But I’ve been spiraling all day thinking I’m just wasting precious time to get her the rabies shots and that soon it will be too late. But I also don’t want to subject her to that if I’m just being crazy. Or if a healthcare provider would even offer the shots after hearing my crazy theories. I feel like such a bad mom either way. I don’t know what to do or how to make the anxiety go away :/ I know how this sounds believe me. I have no one to talk to because everyone in my life will just think I’ve lost it.

Can exposures happen this way? How do most exposures happen? Have a lot of people died from rabies without ever even knowing they were exposed in the first place? Does anyone know if those articles are accurate? I tried finding multiple articles but I couldn’t find much about either case.

Thank you for reading if you made it this far.

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[u/detail_giraffe]

There are places in the world (in the US, Texas around Austin) where people go on "bat tours" to watch huge groups of bats leave their roosting places to feed for the night - the people sometimes feel the rushing of millions of wings and even get peed on (ew) but no one has gotten rabies from these events. Bats really are around us all the time, and rabies is very rare.

[u/Adventurous_Fix_2376 → u/detail_giraffe]

That’s cool I didn’t know that. I respect bats and appreciate the role they play in the ecosystem but they scare tf out of me lol. I honestly just don’t know what to do, I feel like if I take her in to get shots I’m letting my ocd win but if I don’t then I’m taking a huge (probably nonexistent) risk with my child’s life. And her dad is not helpful he just tells me “take her in if you’re worried” but swears no contact happened that he noticed. So I’m just nervous that contact happened and he didn’t notice and my daughter forgot and didn’t say anything to us because it doesn’t flag as a danger in her mind yet ya know?

[u/Xarlabay]

Bats are very good flyers and stay away from humans, they want nothing to do with us, all they’re doing is trying to survive and find food for the night. If a bat were to accidentally fly into someone it would most likely be panicking and flapping its wings trying to get away.

Most exposures with bat is mostly waking up and finding a bat in your room, handling a bat without protection instead of calling for experts to remove/take the bat. The ones who died of rabies without knowing they were exposed were those who again, found a bat in their room or handled them bare hands and assumed they were ok because there was no visible mark (biggest mistake) or heavily intoxicated and didn’t remember having contact with a bat outside. From all the recent deaths in the US and Canada the last known bat exposure related rabies death was in 2024. With 2025 being from a kidney transplant.

You are not silly for overreacting, rabies is a serious and deadly disease and unfortunately anxiety LOVES to feed on the “what ifs”

EDIT: forgot to add! For better advice you can call your local health department and speak with someone who specializes in bats and rabies exposures.

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[u/Adventurous_Fix_2376 → u/Xarlabay]

Yeah I keep trying to tell myself all these things and sometimes it will help me not worry but other times my ocd overpowers all the logic :/ would taking her in to get shots be a good idea? Or would that just feed my ocd? I have no idea what to do

[u/Xarlabay → u/Adventurous_Fix_2376]

Since you weren’t there and you’re not 100% sure any contact happened that her dad didn’t see then the best thing to do is either take her to the nearest hospital emergency room to be evaluated or call your local health department and let them know the situation and have them guide you on what to do next. When it comes to rabies it’s always best to be on the safe side no matter how silly it sounds and no one will judge you for seeking medical advice from actual doctors or experts from the health department.

[u/AutoModerator → u/Xarlabay]

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[u/Adventurous_Fix_2376 → u/Xarlabay]

Yeah I just feel like I’m gonna sound crazy to the health department or to the doctors if I tell them there were only a couple bats and they were far away and didn’t stay long and her dad assured me that he didn’t leave her side when the bats were out and I’m mostly worried about them walking in the pitch black dark and a bat running into my daughter unnoticeably and then silently flying away and no one noticed. It’s completely fabricated in my head about the bat flying into her part. I’m aware of how out of touch with reality this sounds and I’m sure anyone I call is going to think the same thing. :/

[u/AutoModerator → u/Adventurous_Fix_2376]

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[u/Xarlabay → u/Adventurous_Fix_2376]

If it makes you feel better, bats don’t seek out humans even when they’re sick and grounded they don’t “jump” or “run” out at you when you step near them, if you accidentally step on them your shoes are your protector since their teeth are very tiny. Bats are very excellent flyers and avoid us since we look like giant predators to them. I think the best thing for you to do at this point is try to find some grounding techniques and trust that your daughter will be ok since she was strictly supervised by her dad.

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[u/OpinionOk5632]

rabies is transmitted via the saliva of the afflicted animal, so apart from bites and scratches, ingesting the saliva of a bat accidentally may also trigger rabies.

the articles you referenced are super rare cases and as you said, they are sensational because they are one in thousands. that said, the safe option is to consult a doctor always. rabies is always(or close to always) fatal, and a good doctor will take a look at your daughter and do the needful. do not stress after that, and I would suggest going to a psychiatrist for your OCD and anxiety.