rabies series DH got bit by a racoon - help!

[yukookoo]

We dont vax at all. Poison control dr said that the risk of rabies from the bit is 0% BUT donto risk death and go get the series.

HE got bit last night and its now 6 the next day. He refused to go to the hospital, we dont really have insurance only er insurance with 8000$ deductable.

I am reading about rabies and getting really scared. Info says that it can be transmitted to other people through spit. Say DH did get it, has exchanged spit so to say with DD and I, do we need the vaccine too then?

What would you do?

I think i may have convinced him to leave work and go to the ER to get the first shot in the series then we will see where to get the other shots for cheaper at some travel clinic etc.

The shot is actually rabies right? to help the body build immunity? I should give him lots of vitamin c? anything else echanacea?

Im just freaking out. The whole thing was crazy. Racoon came in our yard to eat out garden, our 2 dogs tiny chihuahuas went after it, it attacked one of them and as it pinned him down, dog screaming for dear life, me with DD in arms screaming for dogs dear life DH grabs the racoon and hold onto him so dog can escape, racoon digs teeth into dh's finger dh throws racoon over fence basically.

It was so so scary. Dog got a bit scratched but nothing major. DH has a major bite, bled but not as much as id expect. Its a deep wound several of them but after peroxide, soap, alcohol, and neosporin and asprin he is doing better today

He is my hero

Just really worried about rabies. Even with 0 chance at 100% death rate why risk it.

[emma1325]

Originally Posted by yukookoo

We dont vax at all. Poison control dr said that the risk of rabies from the bit is 0% BUT donto risk death and go get the series.

HE got bit last night and its now 6 the next day. He refused to go to the hospital, we dont really have insurance only er insurance with 8000$ deductable.

I am reading about rabies and getting really scared. Info says that it can be transmitted to other people through spit. Say DH did get it, has exchanged spit so to say with DD and I, do we need the vaccine too then?

What would you do?

I think i may have convinced him to leave work and go to the ER to get the first shot in the series then we will see where to get the other shots for cheaper at some travel clinic etc.

The shot is actually rabies right? to help the body build immunity? I should give him lots of vitamin c? anything else echanacea?

Im just freaking out. The whole thing was crazy. Racoon came in our yard to eat out garden, our 2 dogs tiny chihuahuas went after it, it attacked one of them and as it pinned him down, dog screaming for dear life, me with DD in arms screaming for dogs dear life DH grabs the racoon and hold onto him so dog can escape, racoon digs teeth into dh's finger dh throws racoon over fence basically.

It was so so scary. Dog got a bit scratched but nothing major. DH has a major bite, bled but not as much as id expect. Its a deep wound several of them but after peroxide, soap, alcohol, and neosporin and asprin he is doing better today

He is my hero

Just really worried about rabies. Even with 0 chance at 100% death rate why risk it.

Too bad you couldn't have caught the racoon. If there is really zero percent chance that the animal had rabies, I wouldn't get the shots. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this concern!!!

[alegna]

I would research rabies in your area. Call animal control and ask them.

If there is *no* rabies in your area- I wouldn't worry. Animal control should know or know who to refer you to.

-Angela

[BaBaBa]

That's soooo scary!
Rabies has been a concern around here lately and a friend had a really bad experience on her farm last winter.
How can they say zero chance of it having rabies without taking brain tissue from the raccoon?
Or has rabies never been anywhere near your area?
I guess you read that there is no cure for rabies and once symptoms appears it is too late.
Personally, I think I'd get the shot.

[yukookoo]

Rabies symptoms in humans appear an average of 4 to 6 weeks after exposure to a rabid animal but can appear as early as 5 days and as late as 7 years after exposure. The typical symptoms include a sense of apprehension, headache, fever and malaise. The disease progresses to paralysis and spasm of the muscles used for swallowing, which leads to fear of water (hydrophobia), confusion, convulsions and eventually death. Unfortunately, once symptoms have developed, no drug or vaccine will improve the chance for survival. Only a few patients with human rabies have survived with intensive medical care; all other patients have died despite treatment. Thus it is critical to contact your health care provider immediately after contact with a rabid or potentially rabid animal.

From animal control website

So that helps me feel better. I still think he should get the series. WHy risk it, it's just crazy to risk him dieying over something so easily prevented.

[SunshineJ]

I tend to be very selective and hesitant about vaccination type shots, but honestly this isn't one to fool around on. I'd have my DH get it in a heartbeat - in this case the disease is definitely worse than the cure imo. I'd be particularly concerned since raccoons are known rabies carriers in general. I'm glad he wasn't injured worse though!

K.

[uptowngirl]

I'd get the shots. Rabies is a terrible death.

[loveyourohana]

Honest opinion from a girl who grew up around wildlife, we even found two baby racoons and nursed them back to health after the mother was hit by a car. Your husband was not attacked, rather the racoon was protecting itself, honestly, I would prob. not worry about it, unless your area has med. To high numbers of the disease documented.

[Crazybean]

I too would get the shot. Every case of rabies starts with an animal somewhere.. who's to say that this animal isn't the 1st one to start the spread? I wouldn't chance it! Instead, I would get the shots and load up on key vitamins to help offset some ingredients..

[katiegrace]

I am a registered veterinary technician in NC, and I have been vaccinated against rabies...GET THE SERIES!! I am delaying my dd's vax,and have mixed views on vaccines in general but this is NOT something to play around with! I am not sure about rabies in your area, but racoons are a HIGH carrier of rabies in NC. Unless you cut off the head of the racoon that bit your husband and send it in to be tested, you can't know if it has rabies or not, so I wouldn't chance it. Rabies can remain dormant for quite a while, so it's definately not something to mess around with. Also, the closer the bite is to the brain, the faster it travels and symptoms can show. I would get the series right away! Hope this helps.

[angelpie545]

Since rabies is always fatal (I think there is only one case of a survival-I saw a television program on it), and you have no way of knowing whether or not the animal was rabid, I would get the shots.

[katiegrace]

Also wanted to add...racoons that come out in broad daylight and attack things should be considered suspicious of having rabies! The sooner the post exposure series is started, the better the effectiveness at preventing the disease. I would also go to the vet and get a rabies booster for the dog that the racoon got ahold of as well since you don't know the racoon's rabies status. It is possible to get rabies through a scratch, but not very common at all...mostly through saliva contact.

[yukookoo]

it was at night, we dont have lights in our back yard so it was dark

God my dogs arent vaccinated either, no ok thats not a choice really its just bad dog ownership

we need to get them vaxed too i guess

[PGTlatte]

I was bitten by a racoon in TX in a high rabies area, and I went through the series.

First you get a very large injection of rabies immune globulin.

Then you get a series of shots of the vaccine that start close together and gradually spread out. They are not in the belly like they used to be...just shots in the arm.

I did run a low fever after each of the vax injections.

I don't know if the RIG has thimerosal or not, but I'm pretty sure the vax does.

We are non-vaxing for our kids, and have chelated a child, so I take vax risks seriously. However, if there is rabies in your area at all, since the disease can't be treated and is pretty much fatal, I would go for the series.

If your dogs were bitten and are not vaxed for rabies, they may have to be quarantined until they either show symptoms or don't. I don't know if vets can give RIG to dogs but if they can that might be something to check into.

[cadydid]

Your local health department or state vet's office can give you better information about the risk. The statement from the poison control person is absurd.

I would get the shots. Actually, I have gotten the shots. Never hesitated.

You need to contact your vet or animal control ASAP. Laws vary, but your dogs are likely going to need to be quarantined either at home or at animal control. If the raccoon is rabid, anyone coming in contact with your dogs is at risk, which is unfair to them and would open up a liability nightmare for you.

Off the rabies subject, your husband should get the bite looked at by a doctor, anyway. I imagine raccoon mouths aren't terribly clean and I'd be worried about infection.

[nicolebeth]

Raccoons are one of the groups of animals that carry rabies. I learned that the smaller mammals tend to die during attacks/bites that might give it to them (chipmunks, rabbits), but that raccoons are tough and can be carriers.

I would definitely get the shots, without question. I think they need to be within 48-72 hours of exposure. I did have the whole series seven years ago. I don't recall any specific reaction, though may have been a little lightheaded one day (but it was also a hot day and we were driving very far in the car).

Unlike other vaccines, this one has been proven to work--since people have been bitten by known, rabid animals and lived after having the vaccine. Also, it's not there as some vague preventative thing. It's there to protect someone after an exposure to a wild animal. Even as come more and more to a viewpoint that I don't agree with mandatory vaccination, and want my kids to receive fewer and fewer, I feel like the rabies vaccine is a completely separate thing.

Good luck!

[mamadelbosque]

I don't know. I think I'd probably get the series. Rabies just isn't worth it to play around with, you know? My DH had the series when he was a kid (got bit by a feral cat or something), and said it was horrible - 5 shots all at once (each arm, each leg, buttock), seriously, in tandem.. sounds horrible, but whatever. Least he's here to tell us about it, you know?

[PGTlatte]

When I had the series about ten years ago it was not horrible at all. The RIG dose was very large and the nurses split it into two, one in each buttock, but really it looked worse than it felt and was not bad at all. The vaccine shots were small shots in the upper arm. No horrible painful subcutaneous shots in the belly like they used to. IMO the disease (and dying from it) would be way worse than the experience of the shots. I too don't go for preventive vaccines for diseases that aren't very likely or aren't very dangerous. But for something like rabies, following a very possible exposure, I would definitely get the series for myself (I did) or one of our kids. To me this would be a situation where the risk of the series is worth taking.

[k9sarchik]

I agree with what Angela said, find out about rabies cases in your area before getting the shots.
One of my coworkers recently got bit and there have been no rabies cases in the area. Her dog killed the raccoon and the raccoon tested negative. So she was happy not to have to get the shots.

If the raccoon was out at night doing what raccoons do then most likely it was not rabid. If was acting out of the ordinary, like out during the day.....then there would be some concern.

[loveyourohana]

I completely agree with Angela and k9sarchik as well...

Find out what the Rabies count is in your area. Raccoons do come out in the day time sometimes, so don't discount that as normal behavior either

Hope the count is non existent for your sake