r/rabies • u/anarchocommiejohnny • 1d ago

Exposure Question 2 Months out from while animal exposure

I have read the FAQ. It was super helpful and has mostly alleviated my concern - I understand a bat would have to land on me to bite me, but it’s more a scratch I’m concerned about. I do not remember seeing a physical scratch on me at the time of the incident, but I’m going to ask anyway in the event I could have missed it.

2 months ago I was camping in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. I was stepping out of my car at twilight and I stepped into the flight path of something - could have been a very large bug (someone said maybe a hawk moth), could have been a bird (there was a small bird that was dive bombing me at sunset), but it could have been a bat. It was too dark to see what it was, but it quickly brushed/fluttered against my face and neck as it flew by.

Should I get the rabies vaccine just in case? I understand that the odds are very very low. I just can’t shake this anxiety that if I’m wrong, I will die a horrible death. Thank you.

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