Rabies shots sure sting!!!!

[greyhounder]

It might have been a feral kitten — them suckers bite hard!!

But on a serious not — ouch. Glad you’re okay!

Bec

[3 Hawks]

Two doses down and only three more to go!! After doing a little research on bite patterns, I can now say I was bitten by a small carnivore such as a raccoon, skunk, fox, or opossum. As such, the bite could have been much worse.

Today’s injection was not bad at all. Just a quick shot in the shoulder. I wish the first set of injections had been so painless. Then again, the only injections that hurt were the bite site injections.

The worst part about all of this is that the last three injections are scheduled on Mondays at 1:30pm, and that falls smack in the middle of normal Monday caching time.

[pharmteamK]

The injections at the bite site were 1/2 the amount of the rabies immune globulin, the other half given IM. The RIG is dosed on the weight of the bitten person and many times even before the shortage more than the hospital stocked was needed and had to be obtained. The remaining doses should be like the one yesterday.

Karen (hospital pharmacist half of pharmteam)

[furfool]

A couple of years back I had gone to the walk in for some stitches from a knife sharpening mishap. I had read of people, mainly animal control, getting vaccinated against rabies. I asked the doctor about it, and he almost laughed at me. I told him that I do some trapping and with skunks and ‘possums being big carriers of the disease, I wanted to know more about it. All he basically said was that we don’t give people rabies vaccinations. I figure they give it to animals, why not people? It’s my understanding that skunks and ‘possums are big carriers, but seldom develop the disease. I don’t know how true that is.

[brkster]

I’m not too sure about opposums, but skunks, bats, raccoons, and foxes are the most common spreaders of rabies in this area for sure. On occasions, other animals such as wolves or coyotes can get the disease (as do dogs and cats, when bitten by rabid animals), but surprisingly, smaller rodents like squirrels, chipmunks, and mice rarely if ever become infected. 50,000 people world-wide die of the disease, largely in under developed countries where the vaccine isn’t readily available (without the vaccine, the disease is fatal). In the US, the CDC reports an average of about 7,000 cases of rabid animals each year. Another thing I’d be concerned about is tetanus. I hope your tetanus shots are up to date there, Matt.

[puzzlerandburrgirl]

Sorry to be so late extending my condolences, but I hadn’t heard about this incident until 3 Hawks gave me a call while I was out of town. I want to express my deep felt sympathy….. to the rodent! Imagine his surprise and disgust to sink his teeth into a succulent chunk of flesh only to be left with the awful taste of Matt in his mouth. The ASPCA has issued warnings to all wildlife out there to avoid Hawkins consumption, but apparently Matt encountered an illiterate beast. It’s not often that you find 2 similar creatures in the same area at the same time. What are the odds? I hope both parties survive this trauma in the best of health.

[Author]

Posts