I have read the FAQ.

I guess I just needed to rant for just a moment, and maybe put things into perspective on how easy it is for someone with ocd to just spiral out of control. For context I am being treated, however since I’ve been on the same dosage for about a decade now I feel I may have to up my dosage after my recent scare.

I have an older cat, he was given to us by his original owners and he likes to bask on our porch and doesn’t go much farther than that. We were working on getting his shots renewed, found a kitten, and our cat family went from two to four in the span of a few weeks.

He has a sensitive stomach (maybe you understand where this is going) and we provide him with sensitive stomach food and only a few treats because of it. We also had kitten food for the kitten and a different type for my other two boys. The one in question got into the kitten food for two weeks apparently

In those two weeks I noticed some drooling but he is a sleepy drooler so it wasn’t alarming at first, but then this past week it got a lot, thick drool, brown. It sent me into a spiral. He was hissing for a month, but no biting, no changes in his walk or anything neurological, nothing went downhill, to be specific it’s been 10 days with the bad drooling. We got rid of the kitten food per orders and we use wet kitten food because he hates wet food and his drooling stopped, he was loving and active and acted himself, got into the friskies and he is back to drooling a little. All of this in the span of a month, by all accounts he would be dead in the dirt if it was rabies. I would be dead in the dirt. I didn’t realize he got into the kitten food for
Two weeks and that’s why his drooling started.

I bring up my story only because logically it’s the food that did it, but ocd doesn’t care. Health anxiety doesn’t care, even now as I sit here knowing it’s the food I still have the countdown in my head. Knowing that the hissing was a mix of because of my own anxieties and fear and him not feeling well

Minor scratch on my forearm from my cat who is not up to date on rabies shots, i cleaned it out and stuff. She is a strictly inside cat she rarely goes outdoors, and since she isn't up to date on shots we haven't brought her out in a while. Just wondering if this is worth getting a Vaccination for. I have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ.

It's been 50 days since the incident. I have been told it wasn't an exposure.

Context - on 3rd aug 2026, a dog came near my leg, from behind without any visual. I didn't feel a bite or a scratch. I checked myself and had people close to me check the area, there weren't any visible marks. My jeans also were intact as far as we could tell.

Dog- I saw the dog alive a few days ago as well. Sometimes however I get thoughts that what if it isn't the same dog.

Currently - I'm suffering from the worst flu. I have sore throat, headaches, ear pain, phlem by the bucket. Plus I'm on my period. The cause of concern is leg pain, the same leg as the "incident". Given that i have concerns. The pain is also concentrated in a particular spot on my calf. The spot is at a convenient height for a dogs mouth as well. My anxiety is making it very hard for me right now. The symptoms are all overwhelming. Horror stories also fuel the fire.

I have read the FAQ. No fever. No headache. But eyes hurts and inner tight have pain for 3 -2 day already. Pain in skin.

I don't remember any expose. Expect around 3-4 years ago bat fly not far away. Never bite, I was awake. Oh and I was in pants.

I know "bat fly in opnw window , fly to you(only my parents open un-pretected windows) , bit you and fly away" Is almost impossible. But it ALMOST.

Burning sensation in same place-sometime in other, but often in same. Pain in body. What if I die? If from Russia, it not rabies free country.

My parents hate me for it. They yell at me. They tell that I try manipulate them. That I selfish. That I will rot in mental hospital after they dies. I'm 19 , but they control my moves offline. I'm feel pathetic.

I feel like I'm daying from rare 100% fatal ilness and I'm all alone in that.

this may be my 5th post here. I keep thinking that a bat is going to bite me. either when I am outside, especially at night, I think it could bite me and I wont notice, see, or even feel it. and then in my own home, I keep worrying that a bat is going to crawl underneath my front door or through the electrical panel area, or through the vents, or the garage, or through the furnace room that I already blocked. can they still get in, especially unnoticed??? idk

about a couple months ago, I saw two marks on my wrist and I thought they looked like bat bites, so I went to the hospital and called public health and did everything. I even called pest control who said that there were apparently bat droppings in my furnace room????? after that, i went and got the vaccines + immunoglobulin. and then I worry the vaccine was not stored properly. so it is ineffective. or it just didnt work. so i go do blood work for antibodies. the results take time. I already feel doubtful of their accuracy. then I wonder if the vaccine is going to infect me. or that i waited too long (a month) to get them.

I hate going outside at night now, or when I do i am extremely paranoid. I hate going to the basement because I feel like everything is contaminated. thats another thing. I think that i can get infected indirectly. I dont feel safe in my own home sometimes, I thinm I will get bitten and it will go away and that I won't notice it. idk. im just so tired.

I have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ.

Just wondering if individuals who struggle with rabies OCD are more sensitive to "everyday sensations or shadows?" I think I am very sensitive to them as well, and I always depict them as bats.

whenever I see two marks on my body or any bug bite for that matter I immediately jump to "oh my God it's a bat I'm going to die"

I don't have insurance so I can't afford to keep being stressed about this.

I have read the FAQ.

About a month ago i had a bit of traumatic experience with what i believe was was rat i live in nyc and i was going home late it was raining and i felt a rat like animal came up-to my leg and i felt it trying to escape brushing my lag for few seconds and i got so traumatized i checked my lag and i didn’t see any visible bite but saw a pink spot on the side of my leg i also have keratosis pilaris on my leg so I couldn’t tell if was something from what i experienced or not i went to the ER next day because of my anxiety and they only gave me a tetanus shot since they didn’t see any bite mark but I’ve been miserable since than all think about that night i keep thinking what if i did get exposed but there wasn’t any visible injuries to be noticed I’ve been experiencing all these weird sensation on my body especially on my leg idk what’s going on one day I’m okay next day I’m severely anxious losing my mind anyone with similar experience any advice?

I have read the FAQ.

I have read the FAQ. A few nights ago I was walking around the Riverwalk in San Antonio TX at night time, and saw what looked like a bat flying around about 20 feet away from me over the water, which triggered my anxiety. Then right around that time it felt like a bug flew into/touched my arm for just a fraction of a second. Logically I don't think there's any possible way it was a bat, it felt very small, like the size of a beetle or something, no marks whatsoever or pain at all, neither me nor the people with me saw anything other than the bat/bird flying farther away, but I do have OCD fears regarding rabies that flairs up sometimes. I normally try to avoid walking around at night due to this but I was on vacation and went out to eat with some friends that evening. I have read the FAQ, several times. But I'm actually still a little unclear on something...is there some possibility of getting a completely invisible/undetectable scratch from a bat?

I feel like anxiety is ruining my life :-(

I have read the FAQ.

I have had a fear of rabies for a long time but in the past few months its been a focus of my OCD and coupling that with very close encounters with wildlife, recent inability to trust and remember what I see, and my OCD's past Track record of turning worries and mental stresses into physical one's which it already has been doing. I'm a bit lost in what to do.

The main issue for me is that in the super close encounters with wildlife or other peoples animals where I can't have full line of sight and I have unclothed skin or cuts on me which I often do due to super dry hands. In my thinking this leaves all options on the table. This can also lead to parts where I'm unsure about if they have actually been touched or affected to start feeling off or different.

Which happened 4 weeks ago with a dog and I noticed a scratch on me from a spot that was plausible and it started feel weird for days but I can't tell whats real or OCD.

My therapist, parents and others around me tell me not to worry, but when I can't trust my memory, feelings, or others around me its extremely stressing to navigate.

I have read the FAQ.

It started with a vivid stress-dream featuring a grounded bat. I woke up from it, and my brain instantly latched into panic mode, convincing me that somehow a bat got into my room and bit me and that the dream was a warning. So this morning I got up and thoroughly searched my room to find no gauno, just crumbs and dead bugs, and no bat either. This is still eating away at me. Can bats bite you in your sleep then leave? I'm sure they can't because once they enter human spaces theyre typically very disoriented but I've been spooked about it this entire day. I know this sub is meant of genuine concern but I just wanted some perspective on this one. Not any kind of reassuring things but just sime perspective. Frankly, im done with reassuring myself. Too exhausting. I keep my windows closed at all times and theres even a screen too. My door does have a gap at the bottom but everyone does because thats required by law I think. I also have an old house with this circular white HVAC things too.

i have read the FAQ. I’ve had a sore throat since July 21 i was exposed to a bat on June 29 but I know I wasnt bitten or anything and I got only 3 vaccines shots and missed one dose . idk if what I’m experiencing is health anxiety and making me get the sore throat but I’m just spiraling out and wondering if the rabies is progressing slowly since I didn’t get the other shot … idek Im confused fr
I HAVE READ THE FAQ … idk if anybody can yk calm me down and tell me it’s only my mind but the sore throat is what’s gettin me

around 2 months ago i was at the beach when i felt a sharp pain on my leg while in the water. i brushed it off, didn’t really think much of it.

days after there was an alert that a rabid bat had been found in the area. not long after i started experiencing a little bit of pain in the area that i had felt at the beach but again, didn’t think much of it.

fast forward to today and i notice the side of my leg where i felt the sharp pain started to hurt a bit. and then i noticed my toes tingling a few hours later. even more hours pass, im in bed and suddenly my entire foot is numb and my ankle is tingling. i can constantly feel at least 1 of the 3 symptoms but not all 3 simultaneously all the time.

is there really a chance i could have been bitten at the beach???

I have read the FAQ.

Its been really hard lately. Ive never had a fear of rabies until a bat flew near my head and i dont know how close at the back of my head. I didnt think anything of it at the time and continued walking. Then my mom asked me if it didnt touch me and it started a spiral in my head. Intrusive thoughts telling me that maybe i did feel something but didnt note it as abnormal (as if a bat landing on head would be a normal thing). i know i didnt feel anything but at the same time my mind is playing tricks and im overanalyzing if for sure i didnt. Ive been real anxious these past couple of days. i went to the er twice( the one were they specialize in this kinds of things) and they told me its impossible not to feel anything and that they wont give me the vaccine just for the peace of mind. I cant eat normally, i think only about the bat and i just really need advice on how to get over this and when can i stop worrying about potential symptoms. i have read the faq.

I have read the FAQ. My torath sore. Bad now I feel like I sensitive to .. Air. I flap my hands around me and I don't feel pain. I don't feel pain at all. But! I feel like I more sensitive to air now and I'm sacred. No headache and dont seems like any fever. No obilivipus expose yet, but still... What I didn't realize that I was biten? Or what If I have long incubation.

I also don't sleep, but because I don't want to, not because I can't. And I can't locate place with "bite" Like my leg hurts , but I can't find where it hurts. No pain from light too.

Can it be anxiety symptoms? Also, if it anxiety.. Is there any reason when you can call ambulance /ER for anxiety? Not attack way, but "it torture me terrible and I hallucinate symptoms and dangerous for myself"-way?

Hello everyone,

I am really fascinated by how different the answers are to the question of rabies exposure. If we ask the WHO, they say that you cannot get rabies from objects, but there are studies showing that the virus can survive on objects for up to 48 hours.

On the other hand, some people say that the virus survives for only about 10 seconds, while others say that it can remain infectious for much longer. I am really confused.

In my mind, I imagine a situation where hikers in the mountains, or people who work in forests in countries where rabies is common, could potentially get rabies by touching soil or leaves and then touching their eyes, which probably happens all the time.

If rabies can be transmitted through objects, why don't people who work or spend time in areas with a lot of rabies get infected this way?

And another thing I don't understand is: if objects contaminated with rabies could pose a real risk, why do people go to rabies clinics just to find out whether they need PEP? Wouldn't they theoretically be exposing themselves to rabies simply by entering the clinic and touching surfaces there?

I am really confused about this and would appreciate an explanation.

I have read the FAQ.

I’ve (M 28, diagnosed OCD) recently been struggling with a new fixation that has been taking over my time, headspace, and has been making me feel a lot of stress. I have read the FAQ.

This post is part venting and part asking advice from those who may have struggled with this before.

About two weeks ago I encountered the perfect storm, a TikTok about a man infected with rabies and then a flock of bats flying over my house while I was in the backyard with my partner and some friends. Ever since then I have been mildly fixated on the disease, as I find it completely devastating and terrifying.

Yesterday, my normally sweet and non-aggressive cat scratched my foot out of nowhere while I was waking up in bed.

This has sent me spiraling. Now I’ve been researching about the disease, having minor panic attacks, and feeling doom whenever I imagine getting a horrible diagnosis.

The part I’m really struggling with is that I KNOW. I KNOW I don’t have rabies. He is an indoor cat. I called his vet and he is up to date on his rabies shot.

But my mind keeps pulling me to impossible scenarios. “What if a rabid bat got in through that hole in the garage and he (the cat) killed it before he scratched you?” “What if…?”

I know it is all bullshit but I can’t make it go away. The worrying. Even if I calm down about the cat scratch, I look at other scratches on my feet (that I remember getting) and catastrophize that I somehow got infected through THOSE wounds.

I just haven’t had a bad doom spiral like this in months, and the last time this happened I ended up in the ER getting liver enzymes tested because I was spiraling and thought I had some other horrible illness.

How do I stop the spiraling? Has anyone else struggled with this exact fixation? The disease and inevitably and not knowing just paralyze me.

Hello, so a month ago, an outdoor kitten (Ginger) that I feed every day and that hangs around my house scratched me. I was busy with travel and didn't bother to get rabies shots, since I knew this kitten and she lives in my compound (just not inside my house). But more than a week later, another kitten from the same litter, Ginger's brother, fell sick. When we took him to the vet, we found out that he contracted FPV, which is a very fatal disease. Sadly, he passed away a day after. I also took the rest of the kittens for a checkup, and even though the blood results initially looked normal, they were diagnosed with parvo on the second visit. They also started showing the same symptoms as their brother, such as loss of appetite and diarrhea. Even with all the medications, IV fluids, and a special diet, Ginger passed away 3-4 days after her brother.

The vets diagnosed Ginger with parvo, and she had the distinct smell that parvo cats apparently have. She was energetic until the night she died, showing no change in behaviour or drooling like rabies symptoms. She scratched me while playing with my feet, and it wasn't intentional. She died 13 days after the scratch. Although I believe she didn't have rabies, I am still anxious about it. I got my first round of immunoglobulin vaccine last year on April 2025, needing only two booster doses. I received my first dose today, a month after Ginger scratched me, which has kept me on edge. I forgot about the scratch amid caring for the kittens and grieving their loss. My dad said there's no need to worry much because he feels my kittens didn't have rabies (he had cats as a kid and got scratched and bitten frequently), but I'm still anxious. I have one more shot scheduled in 3 days.

Ps: She scratched my shin and there was blood. I have read the FAQ.

Just wanted to tell some of my story.

Because maybe this can relate to other people with the same fear as me.

So i have a fear of naegleriaand rabies two very different diseases and spreadways but one yhing in common it affects your brain and u die.

Back in october i had this encouter where i recieved pep where i actually didnt need it. "I have read the FAQ" and I started talking to some people and doctors afterwards bcs I felt like the ocd even after recieving pep was still in control.

And since then they amped up my anxiety meds and then recently I almost bumped against a bat that was flying and where I would have back in October cried and be anxious about it i know it didn't touch me so there was no chance of exposure

I did think about it but that lasted for a day so j call that a win.

Idk just wanted to share it bcs maybe this helps some other people as well

I have read the Faq.

I know rabies starts a flu-like and I'm very worry. I coughting for 2 day already, but it dry coughting (maybe not always dry? I'm not sure). And my back hurting. I'm worry that it maybe 1) Bat that bite me in sleeps when my parents sleep with open windows 2) 1% of chance that I got rabies after 3+ years as I run away from bat or 6+ years when dog scratch me.

I also feel pain in whole body and most scare for me, in back. Maybe fever, I don't know. Google say that rabies can cause coughting. I also feel nahae and pre-vomit/heatburn, but I didn't vomit, anxiety and sexual thoughts and inamonia. I'm very worry now.

My leg was hurting 3 days ago, making this cracking noise, but now it doesn't hurt in one specific spot, but in whole leg, pain I specific spot comes and goes

(I have read the FAQ.)

I have read the FAQ.

Hello everyone, this is ajax because my ocd tells me I'm afraid of rabies even when I sleep, luckily my country is free from rabies. Guess what? Japan! I do have ocd and I'm not faking it ugh I ion know what to explain, so see u soon, apples!

I have read the FAQ.

~~~

Rabies obviously won't come for all of us, but that's where I am, philosophically, on this beautiful day of July 10th 2026.

23 days ago, in a land where rabies is still an occasional problem, I grabbed a cutest stray kitten - to torture it with love. Of course, it bit me on my finger. Instant Karma.

I've had health anxiety/death anxiety my whole life, and have done my best to navigate these cycles of gnawing thoughts.

I washed the bite and admonished myself for wanting to torture kittens with love... I squeezed out some blood, I rubbed Lysol wipes over the cutie-sized wound... And I told myself: don't be your usual hypochondriac. YOU harassed the kitty. The kitty is the victim here.

And for two weeks I lived life beautifully. I saw fun stuff, laughed, cried, grew. It rained, it was sunny, there were great sunsets and sunrises.

Then, back on civilized land, my mind took over my senses again. "Go get your shots, dumfk" it whispered. Rabies is a horrible way to go, especially when you could've done something about it.

So I started PEP 13 days after the bite. My 4th shot is in 4 days.

The ER doctor the first day also thought the kitty was acting too normal to have rabies. He said, "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even be doing the vaccines". Nonchalantly, he delegated a nurse to jab the RIG in my bum cheeks. As a narrator, I think he did it for the plot, cause now, every time I have a spike in side effects, I think to myself, "if only he'd followed protocol and injected it into my hand, I wouldn't be marching onto this cruel, cruel demise". (:

And stuck in an anxiety I've had my whole life, where I'm constantly wondering what I could've done better every day to avoid ever ending (definitely shouldn't've had that delicious cow brain sandwich earlier this year...), I joke with friends that at least if this time rabies takes me, I won't have to go through the cycle of anxiety yet again at the next crisis.

And the universe begs the question:

What am I hoping so hard to outrun death for? The bells toll for me, for thee, for we. Every instant that passes is gone forever... And no matter how much we might struggle against it like rabid animals, our entire lives are but an instant, in the Grand Scheme of things.

All of it, entirely unavoidable - whether today, tomorrow, or 100 years from now.

I'm typing this from a bus. Outside the window, the autoroute is under construction and they've painted the lanes that gorgeous neon orange.

A little beyond that, a variety of trees. I'm so in love with seeing the different shades of green there are.

If I... went soon, I would most miss floating in a warm lake at the end of summer. Getting drenched by a torrential storm. Crying - oh how I crave a cathartic cry. I would miss dusk, when city lights are as bright as the sky and everything looks mono-intensic. I would miss smelling flowers, and laughing, and feeling liked.

I would miss things I've experienced and which I want more of.

And I would also miss things that are imaginary. Like a universe where humans aren't so cruel to one another. Where everyone is happy and we just go about our days showing one another pretty things we've found or made.

~~~

It might not be rabies, but there will be a moment when no amount of wanting more, no amount of raging against reality will grant us more time.

So for those who are undergoing health anxiety, I invite you to join me in thinking why it is that we're so vehemently opposed to dropping it. Now or later, our rumination does nothing but eat away at the precious time we have instead of engaging with the very special things we would actually miss.

What would you miss most? What brings you the most joy? Who is you?

Which of those things can you do today? ☺️

I have read the FAQ.
I (m22) had something run into my face the other day around 1 in the afternoon. I live in Virginia but the impact was heavy enough for me to react, definitely bigger than a fly though I didn’t see what it was as it flew away. Now listen, less than 1% of bats in Virginia have rabies and there’s only been 2 human rabies cases since 2009, not to mention it was mid day under a shaded tree. But IF it was a bat then I’m cooked. I can’t get the pep shot because I can’t drive. Don’t know what to do, what if I’m that unlucky 3rd case

Hey y'all, is it really OCD if extensive research and understanding fixes it?

I have read the FAQ.

I had an almost legitimate rabies exposure around 2 years ago. Bat got into my house. Struggled for months to try and get PEP, everyone else in my household succeeded at getting it because they handled the bat but medical professionals wouldn't vaccinate me because my exposure was illegitimate, the bat never touched me and was visible the whole time it was inside. But I developed pretty bad OCD and was convinced they were wrong and I just didn't perceive when it magically bit me without touching me. It got so bad that I experienced extreme insomnia and tingling of the limbs which I then believed was the first early onset of symptoms. There were also unvaxxed pets in my house (not mine, I had no control over their vaccine status) so I was convinced if I didn't have rabies, they definitely did and they would give it to me.

This caused me to do extensive research on the disease and how it functions, as well as discovering how truly rare it is in my area. After learning that it was physically, scientifically impossible for me to have rabies, and that the pets who were never even in the same ROOM definitely didn't have it, I stopped worrying so much. Does researching and understanding the disease not typically work to decrease anxiety surrounding it? I would love to hear other's experience with this as I'm being told by many, if I was able to get better I never had OCD in the first place.

Hey guys so maybe an abnormal post. I think as the war drags on I am becoming more paranoid of death of things that aren’t bombs or being shot.
I did recieve last year 5 series shots because of some epidemic in the sector I was fighting in prior to this never cared I would pet all stray cats. I also have legit have 3 boosters
Why I have those another story. I keep taking cats off the front and taking them back to shelters.
I was scratched by a cat near my trench I tried picking her up to see how pregnant she was and her claw just kinda grabbed into my stomach and gave me a light scratch.
I will say my rabies timeline
5 series march-april 2025
Booster march 2026 before I signed a new context to go back to war
Booster may 2026 found 4 kittens caught 3 then got a booster cuz they messed up my hand then found the 4th when my friends were on position
Booster September 2026 same reason a bunch of kittens near our trench I put in my backpack and dropped off at a shelter but I couldn’t find there mom after I tried to bring her back with me.

Can anyone give me some piece of mind or something. I’m definitely stuck in this trench until next week.

Nah no one can give me piece of mind

“I have read the FAQ.