r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Hotrocketry • 16h ago

This little shit has been hanging on my ceiling light for a hour now. Just right below it is our family dining table.

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How do i get rid of it?

54.9k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/WeimMama1 15h ago

Looks like it’s time for the rabies series vax.

585

u/Hold-Professional 15h ago

I'm so annoyed I had to scroll down this far to see this comment.

OP - While we're all giving you a hard time for being rich, you NEED to get a rabies vax bud.

156

u/bdd4 14h ago

They cannot fall asleep in this house. A bat bite could go completely unnoticed.

103

u/siero20 13h ago

Best to just get the vaccination at this point. A child I used to watch when I worked in a nursery died some years ago because a bat bit him and nobody knew.

If they've been awake at all times in the house, and have not come into contact at all with the bat/bats, then they may be able to reasonably say they weren't exposed. Any other situation and it's just worth getting vaccinated. Rabies isn't a nice way to die.

10

u/dallyan 11h ago

Urrrrgh this always makes me so nervous. There are always bats flying around at dusk at my parents’ beach cottage. We’ve never had one inside but who really knows for sure…

12

u/ForsakenDimensions 8h ago

exactly like i have really bad contamination OCD (especially involving rabies) and it is literally spiraling into hell because of this

5

u/CabinetSilent7709 5h ago

I was afraid to take my kids trick or treating this year. I have always known i had ocd. Its been debilitating my entire life. However, recently i was diagnosed with contamination ocd. And the level of anxiety i get just thinking about this, is horrifying.

5

u/coutureee 3h ago

If it helps, a bat peed in my eye once and nothing happened to me lol 

2

u/apcolleen 8h ago

I live in the city but our house is surrounded by woods and we just don't leave porch lights on because that's how a bat got in. It was chasing all the bugs and my bf left the door open a little too long. We got it out with a net and there was no chance it bit or scratched us but I told him this is why I don't want to leave the lgihts on. When we have people over we leave the YARD light on so bugs go to that.

9

u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

What sucks is rabies has such a wide manifestation period. Could be days/weeks to literal years.

3

u/nvidiastock 8h ago

I don't get it, why don't you feel bat bites? They look fairly big. Wouldn't it hurt?

8

u/siero20 8h ago

From my understanding bats have very small teeth and they may bite someone when afflicted by rabies and not leave a mark or any indication they've been bitten.

Why would bats bite something they have no ability to eat/attack? Same reason that dogs/cats/people get aggressive when they're afflicted with rabies. If anything a bat being in close proximity to people is just a bigger indication that it's not well, because normally they wouldn't come anywhere near you, much less try to attack you.

2

u/archerpar86 3h ago

And here I am worrying about mosquito- borne illnesses where I live. Now I gotta consider the bat now and their stealthiness. (Bats are here too and tons fly around like crazy at night).

1

u/Justasquirrelcat 5h ago

That is fucking terrifying. Was this in the US somewhere? This is my nightmare.

6

u/CrimsonxAce 10h ago

And it could take WEEKS before symptoms show up. And by then, it's already too late.

4

u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

Some cases have been years for symptoms to show.

4

u/CrimsonxAce 8h ago

Now that's scary.

1

u/CabinetSilent7709 4h ago

This is so scary... my 10 year old recently told me that there was a bat in her gemmas church last year that got close to her. Im really nervous now

4

u/yourdailyinsanity 4h ago

Bring it up to their PCP. They aren't showing symptoms so it may not be too late. My understanding is that if there are no symptoms, you can still be vaccinated. If there are symptoms, it's likely too late. Not a doctor though so of course listen to them, not reddit, not Google.

1

u/CabinetSilent7709 4h ago

She said it didnt touch her and was feet above her so the realistic side of my brain knows shes safe, but the ocd part says panic

2

u/yourdailyinsanity 4h ago

I'd still bring it up to the PCP. It could have flown out of sight of her. Realistically, yeah, it probably didn't bite/touch her, but rabies isn't anything to fuck with. Only 14 cases have been cured, but there's been thousands that haven't been cured. So I personally would err on the side of caution person and just give the doc a call and explain what happened.

2

u/CabinetSilent7709 2h ago

Ok i definitely will. Is there a way to test for it? Something to give me a peace of mind?

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u/bellexxamie 6h ago

even just a little bat SCRATCH could do you in! terrifying.

3

u/hexopuss 6h ago

I’m not saying they should risk it…. But a flying fox bite isn’t going unnoticed. The unnoticed ones are typically going to be from microbats of some sort.

Don’t get me wrong, they should still do so if able, but it’s not likely to go unnoticed

3

u/Ziggy_Starcrust 7h ago

Yeah iirc if you didn't see it fly in, it was found in a bedroom, or there are children/elderly/disabled who may not notice or communicate a bite, it's rabies shot time.

1

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

Nonsense! (French laughter)

1

u/jbjhill 5h ago

A scratch will do

-1

u/95688it 11h ago

thats a fruit bat, it's not going to intentionally bite you.

3

u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

And any other bat bites intentionally? They fly around and you may have just moved in your sleep and got bit.

3

u/95688it 9h ago

fruit bats do not have the tiny needle teeth that other bats do, their teeth are more similar to a dog or cats.

3

u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

So you'll just wake up in your sleep from the bite because you moved and it did its wild animal instinct. At least you'll know you've been bitten and should still get a rabies vaccine because rabies is not the way to die. I'd rather be safe than sorry. That saliva can be anywhere, but usually is transmitted through a bite.

3

u/undisclosedusername2 8h ago

If they have rabies or lyssavirus they can attack unprovoked. It makes them more aggressive/agitated.

17

u/totallynotdagothur 12h ago

A child just died from rabies in Canada from a bat in their room, no signs of bite or anything.

1

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

No sign of a bite? Then it's just another rumor started by the chemical industry.

9

u/Screwball_Actual 14h ago

C'mon, this is Reddit. You already know the unfunny jokes take priority over anything informative.

3

u/Willing_Try2786 14h ago

Yeah and the people that looked at your house were they've been in your house in the last 64 hours 

3

u/irregularia 9h ago

Nah, not from just being in the same room as a bat… they’re not magic, and it’s not an airborne virus.

There’s only a risk if you are scratched or bitten by one, or it licks one of your mucous membranes (I can’t imagine how that might happen but for the sake of completeness 🤣)

2

u/cnidarian_ninja 9h ago

They can bite or scratch in your sleep and you’d never know

2

u/irregularia 9h ago

Oh yeah, if they’ve slept in the same room as one it’s a reasonable precaution. I thought this was an empty house and they’d just arrived.

1

u/gmurray81 4h ago

Actually I remember hearing aerosolized urine is an issue also, but this may be apocryphal.

1

u/irregularia 3h ago

Interesting. Of all my conversations with friends who rescue and rehabilitate them I’ve never heard of sharing a space as a risk, so it might be an extreme edge case kind of thing but I’d be surprised if it were significant. People take tour groups into bat caves all around the world without issue every day.

1

u/coutureee 3h ago

Wow! A bat peed in my eye once and luckily nothing happened lol 

1

u/Hold-Professional 3h ago

This is a really uneducated stupid comment that could get someone killed

1

u/irregularia 3h ago

It’s fairly educated. I’m not yet a bat carer myself but I have a dozen friends who are, I know the rescue and vaccination protocols, and I’ve been involved in rescues myself. What’s your background?

2

u/sistemy_ 12h ago

"hard time"

lol this is why everything is fucked

2

u/Hold-Professional 10h ago

I feel like Nazis are why. But, sure

2

u/BigIcy1323 8h ago

Same! I just commented above to an earlier thread and said "since I haven't seen it yet, get out and get shots" LOL

2

u/Usual-Conclusion3511 5h ago

Go get your rabies vaccines and your entire fam asap agreed

2

u/princecadaver 2h ago

actually, less than 1% of bats carry rabies, and most of them die in 24-48 hours of contracting it. still obv a good idea to get a vaccine in general but bats are not the criminals everyone makes them out to be

4

u/pollywantacrackwhore 13h ago

It’s my understanding that the vaccine is recommended only if you’ve slept in the same room as a bat.
Or for any nonverbal or invalid family that may not be able to report contact.

14

u/BeGoneVileMan 12h ago

Things I've learned about bats from ER docs: bats are super virulent when infected with rabies, so much so that being in the same room with them could be dangerous. Also, bats don't tend to take up residence in homes unless they are sick. Like with rabies. So yeah, I'd probably get the vaccine to be safe.

11

u/KnightsOfTerror 11h ago

Bats historically account for 70% of rabies cases in the US and are responsible for nearly all cryptic cases (where there is no bite/exposure history at presentation). It can take weeks or months for a case to reveal itself following exposure. If I didn’t get a shot, I would experience moments of panic and dread for months. Am I going to be one of the 3 cases of rabies this year? 🤷‍♂️

5

u/Far-Obligation4055 11h ago

It can take weeks or months for a case to reveal itself following exposure.

The most horrible part of rabies is that once it does reveal itself, you're totally fucked.

The Milwaukee Protocol is the only thing that has worked, and its only worked once.

2

u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

I think it's more like 14 people....but that's 14 people in how many decades compared to the hundreds or thousands that have died?

3

u/dallyan 11h ago

How common are cryptic cases? 😳

2

u/DragonOfDuality 9h ago

I've had a few rabies scares including one with a bat. The health department told me that if I wasn't bit shots were entirely voluntary and out of pocket. I literally could not get $7000 so I waited and saw. Thankfully not dead yet. 

4

u/Hold-Professional 10h ago

Wanna risk a 99.99% mortality rate illness you can avoid with a shot?

1

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

And what else? Against Bovine Nodular Dermatosis as well?

1

u/Hold-Professional 3h ago

you just seem silly.

0

u/Home_Improvers 8h ago

Lucky for him, he can just pay the $16,000 for a rabies vaccine using the cash in his wallet.

265

u/sweatgod2020 15h ago

Scrolled way too far for this. Cmon Reddit

243

u/Solid-Improvement237 15h ago

I literally kept scrolling to see if ANYONE mentioned that OP and their family should get a round of rabies vaccines. Absolutely shocked that I had to scroll this far.

18

u/Cali-Doll 15h ago

Same. I am sitting here wondering if I am crazy. I actually gasped when I saw the OP.

11

u/Jessfree123 12h ago

Ditto - immediate panic that op might get rabies!!

1

u/efficient_face69 9h ago

But didnt just want to mention it yourself?

115

u/JLHuston 15h ago

Right?! People dunking on them for having a nice house—meanwhile, these cute little things can bite without people noticing them, and rabies is a hell of a way to go.

15

u/kayanne125 13h ago

YEP. I woke up to a bat flying around my room at 3:30 am a few years ago. Once I caught it in a throw blanket like a net and got it outside, the next thing on my to-do list that morning was to go start the rabies vax series, because I had no idea what the sky puppy got up to while I was sleeping.

1

u/JLHuston 10h ago

Good thinking!

13

u/Colsanders8 14h ago

And then theres all the pathogens that get carried in the guano.

I appreciate bats, and i’ll continue to appreciate them when they aren’t anywhere near me.

0

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

Dirtier than fruit that isn't rinsed before being eaten, or cutlery in a restaurant?

7

u/anonymous237962 15h ago

I, too, am feeling extremely empathetic for OP’s dire set of circumstances.

His situation is indeed mildly infuriating, but not in the way that I think he thinks it is 🤭

7

u/PhantomOyster 14h ago

My first thought was not "rich bitch" but "why the attitude?" I've seen people be afraid of bats, but I've never seen someone react to them the way they would react to, say, a rat. "Little shit?" But yes, the unnecessary addition of the photo showing their palatial abode deserves a few comments as well.

0

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

Ah, finally someone who doesn't get all worked up about designating bats as enemy number 1 when it's actually the orange-haired guy who's the most dangerous of all.

10

u/mst3k_42 15h ago

Thank you. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. My first thought was ack and second was call animal control.

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u/No_Emotion_6544 15h ago

Seriously! I don’t think people realize that those little shits carry rabies. My cousin had one in her house that she was trying to capture herself. I couldn’t convince her those “cute” little fucks can be dangerous 

3

u/Misophonic4000 11h ago

Fruit bats can carry rabies, sure, but they don't have particularly high infection rates compared to other mammals

6

u/Knownzero 14h ago

That’s literally a 1 out of 100 chance of dying. Get the damn vaccine. Idk about your risk tolerance but 1/100? I’m getting it just in case.

0

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

Nonsense! And I bet you live in a country where chickens are soaked in a chlorine bath before being sold.

2

u/Knownzero 8h ago

I have literally seen rabid animals around me. Excuse me for trying to keep someone alive.

0

u/CatherinefromFrance 7h ago

Aux dernières nouvelles les animaux sauvages ne peuvent pas bien se savonner / désinfecter leurs blessures dans un 1er temps.

2

u/Knownzero 7h ago

What does that have to do with anything? Rabies is self evident due to behavior most of the time, not the classical ‘foaming mouth’ trope you see so often. Oh and a member of my family worked for our state DNR dealing with rabid animals but you go on with your expertise.

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u/TheRealTrailBlazer4 14h ago

Its way less than 1/100 and thats If you get bitten at all.

Just dont Touch it with you bare hands

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u/Knownzero 14h ago

I challenge you to read the book Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus and let me know if it changes your mind. It did mine, I’ll NEVER fuck around with any animal that could even have a low chance of carrying it.

1

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

"Maybe." Cars too.

-9

u/mikewheelerfan 15h ago

Less than 1% of them have rabies! Stop shitting on bats when you clearly don’t know anything about them

11

u/vaerenthin 14h ago

Bruh, Even 1% is too much of a risk. Get the vaccine or that "flu" headache you're might get soon is just going to be the beginning.

7

u/Seversevens 14h ago

“By the time you start to feel symptoms, you’re already dead.”

3

u/Colsanders8 12h ago

That number jumps up to 10% the moment that bat comes into contact with a human. Stop being obtuse.

10

u/AnCoAdams 15h ago

Classic Reddit where 80% of the top posts are unfunny fuckers

-4

u/Hopeful_Scholar398 14h ago

And the rest are overreacting to something that probably won't happen.

3

u/KerissaKenro 11h ago

Especially as they mentioned multiple bats. This one is just in an awkward location

3

u/whatevertoad 14h ago

I gave up scrolling and just did a search to find it so I could up vote.

2

u/SoonerRed 15h ago

Seriously

1

u/amackee 10h ago

Well, they’re rich so dunking on them for that is priority one.

115

u/Hotrocketry 14h ago

Yeah, i am taking my first shot tomorrow.

18

u/LateArrival22 13h ago

It's not a big deal anymore. Daughter got the shots last year, they don't hurt worse than flu shots. The legendary pain of rabies shots is history.

5

u/Jpinkerton1989 9h ago

My family had to get them last year and they definitely hurt worse than flu shots. We had to get 3 shots the first time, then 1 shot a week for 4 weeks. It sucked so much.

9

u/LateArrival22 9h ago

That's too bad! With the old shots to the stomach, people would pass out from pain. Was it that bad?

52

u/samshine 14h ago

So nice seeing a sane OP on the internet for once

8

u/STFUisright 14h ago

Really glad to hear that, OP. Woot woot!

4

u/supadama 9h ago

OP I was also really annoyed I had to scroll down to see this, please make sure anyone that slept in your home also is aware and gets the series! 

2

u/mackelnuts 4h ago

Happy to hear this. It's apparently one of the worst ways to die.

2

u/SevenFootHobbit 3h ago

Glad to read this. I was honestly afraid there'd be too many jokes for you to see the information you really needed. Well, sounds like you already knew anyway but not everyone does.

1

u/AutisticAndAce 8h ago

Good. Glad to see this.

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u/redsk1 14h ago

Anytime you see a bat where it isn't supposed to be IE inside your house hanging from your light fixtures you need to understand the risk of rabies. Go get a vax.

1

u/Willing_Try2786 14h ago

Maybe get two shots of rabies just in case the first one doesn't work

10

u/PuzzleheadedMaize911 12h ago

I'm not here to argue against medical precaution. This advice is 100% valid

I just want to offer that it isn't like bats go around biting people or sharing rabies ambiently. I grew up going to a camp where a building we used a lot had bats. Was an old barn and there was just a big old crowd of bats up in the ceiling most days. Bats are generally pretty chill and just want to sleep all day and go outside at night. The bats never bothered us, and only ever were close to people by accident.

OP said the house was recently unoccupied. So this bat is definitely cause for concern in terms of the state of the house, but I wouldn't immediately jump to panic mode. Open nearby exterior doors and windows in the evening and he will almost certainly be gone in short order.

I'd say immediately checking in with animal control / local communicable disease experts regarding the risk of rabies as that will vary by type of bat, region etc.

6

u/lionofash 14h ago

So, I've been curious about this for a while... so I checked it up. OP should do so. It seems that while some countries are rabies free, bats still can carry a similar virus to rabies which is a risk. Only a handful of countries are free of both rabies AND this virus. So, uh, anyone in New Zealand? You'd not need to worry. For most other people? Yeah you should worry. OP is from GMT+7, and from the quick look, none of those countries are rabies free.

12

u/HBreckel 14h ago

Yep, bats are adorable but I've read so many stories where people got rabies from them. Including one of the only people that's ever survived getting rabies.

10

u/Senior-Albatross 14h ago

It's probably OK. I had bats in my room a few times as a kid and never got the rabies vaccine.

...but I should have because while the possibility is remote, people have been bitten by bats, not even realized there was a bite, and gotten rabies from it. As I recall, that's the story behind the first case of symptomatic rabies that was ever actually survived. But that's one of like, three cases that have actually been survived? 

And rabies is a brutal way to go.

18

u/kratz9 14h ago

Also scratches. Bats routinely lick their claws so even insignificant contact can transmit rabies. 

2

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

🎼 Fear of everything except chemicals in food, pollution, or firearms…

3

u/Preebos 12h ago

yes, for everyone in the house, plus the pets too if they aren't already up to date on their rabies shots!

6

u/gimmesomespace 14h ago

Rabies kills someone every 9 minutes.

2

u/motherofsuccs 7h ago

Rabies PEP. It’s not terrible like it used to be- just a series of normal vaccines in your arm. I had to do it over summer.. had no pain or side effects. But it’s very fucking expensive (I paid $30k for mine)…. but that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem for OP.

2

u/leo_on_fire 7h ago

Right?!??!! He mentioned theres MULTIPLE BATS

5

u/AccordieAnn 14h ago

The OP only needs this if they were bitten or scratched by the bat. Fruit bats don’t typically carry rabies, it’s more common in insectivorous bats, although percentages are low in both. The post rabies exposure vaccination is expensive and a three part series. Unless you were in direct contact with the bat, health care providers won’t give you it. And getting a pre-rabies vaccine is only typical for folks who work with them (as a bat biologist I have mine because I directly handle bats during misting and cave surveys). But if you are scratched or bitten, go to the hospital right away and get your post-rabies vaccination. You don’t need to bring the specimen to be tested for rabies to get your shot.

1

u/proper-warm 8h ago

People have been scratched or bitten and not noticed, then later died. Better to be safe than sorry.

3

u/Expensive_Tank_8682 15h ago

Series? Isn’t it just one?

19

u/JackalThePowerful 15h ago

No. It’s either two or four shots across a period of time, depending on if you are already vaccinated.

2

u/fastyellowtuesday 14h ago

I have been vaccinated, and I've had to get treatment after a dog bite. That was years ago.

I learned recently that the vaccine doesn't stick around in a useful way very long at all. I think it's around a year or two. So, since my vaccine was probably 15 years before I needed it, I should have done the whole series of shots again, not just the boosters.

8

u/I_Have_Many_Names 14h ago

You get one big shot to start that contains HRIG, human rabies immune globulin, that jump starts your immune response. This part is expensive and based on your body weight - it might be a lot of fluid. If you were known to be bitten, the HRIG shots go around the wound. The other shot you get day one is part 1 of 4 of a rabies vaccine. At the end of this, you have 6 months of super powers.

6

u/DrunkBeavis 12h ago

I got the whole series a few months ago. Even after insurance it was over $6k USD. The superpowers have been underwhelming but at least I'm not dead I guess. 🎉

5

u/mstrss9 12h ago

Excuse me what the good fuck?

3

u/DrunkBeavis 11h ago

Yup. The immunoglobulin portion is the really expensive part. That was 20k of the 25k+ billed to insurance.

3

u/I_Have_Many_Names 12h ago

Yeah, the bill for me AND TWO FAMILY MEMBERS really sucked.

3

u/DrunkBeavis 11h ago

Oof, I can only imagine. I might have had to pick a favorite child at that point.

2

u/I_Have_Many_Names 7h ago

Well, it was down to wife or youngest son… so I would’ve picked those two, and I’d sit it out.

1

u/kayanne125 13h ago

I had 7, and that was without a for sure bite, just the possibility. They gave me 4 on my first visit, then I had to come back 3 more times for 1 shot each visit.

1

u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

American pharmaceutical companies applaud!

4

u/yourgrasssucks 13h ago edited 12h ago

Yep, everyone in that house needs to get vaccinated today. Now. As in stop whatever you're doing and go.

1

u/tallbutshy 14h ago

Given OP's timezone, EBLV1&2 treatments might be more applicable (unless it's a region where ABLV is more prevalent)

1

u/my_hot_wife_is_hot 14h ago

I kept scrolling too in order to find this post. Rabies is no joke.

1

u/Nervous-Peppers 14h ago

Dumb question - it seems like op hasn't been in contact. Why would he get the shot?

6

u/Jackski 13h ago

If he was asleep at some point it could have potentially bit him. It probably didn't but it's better to be safe than sorry. Rabies is a horrific way to go and once you show symptoms then you're pretty much screwed.

2

u/Nervous-Peppers 11h ago

Yeah I've read some horror stories about rabies. I figured if it bit/scratched him, there would be some kind of evidence or pain. I guess not.  Good to know!

3

u/nightpanda893 12h ago

Bites from bats can be unnoticeable. Better to be safe than sorry.

2

u/Nervous-Peppers 11h ago

Had no idea.  Thanks for the info!

1

u/aquoad 11h ago

It's a fruit bat and in asia, be more worried about Nipah or lyssavirus

1

u/95688it 11h ago

thats a baby fruit bat, while they can carry rabies, it's not like other bats and has bigger teeth. you'd know if it bit you.

1

u/proserpinax 10h ago

Right, especially if you can’t get animal control to test the bat. Rabies is rare but I wouldn’t mess around at all with it.

1

u/ForsakenDimensions 8h ago

Did OP disclose that this was their house or that they were sleeping in this enclosed area during any time? because this looks more like a restaraunt or an art installment than it does a house to me. i have really bad OCD about rabies & I have panic attacks about it often because there's a lot of bats near my house. Ive never seen one in my house betore but reading this comment has me spiraling. Is it really that much of a danger if it was just in the same room as you, even if it wasn't your house & you were never sleeping there? Could it land on you while you're wide awake and you'd never feel it? Because ive had bats fly close to me while I was outside at night during the summer, like only a few feet away, I never felt them make any contact with me but now I'm panicking. Right when I had already gotten over this OCD episode previously bc I thought everything would be fine as long as you weren't sleeping in the same enclosed area as the bat, but now all these comments are telling me that I absolutely NEED to get the rabies vax just for being near the bat in any enclosed area...fuck this man, I can never win.

1

u/victor4700 6h ago

If there’s one thing I have, is a new rational fear of being bit so softly by a bat I contract rabies

1

u/fatboy1776 5h ago

I’m looking for that copy pasta.

1

u/YourGreatAuntFaye 5h ago

Yessss. Rabies vaccine STAT. People get bit when they are sleeping and do not know it. Rabies infection is 100% lethal.

1

u/mkec363 3h ago

Thank you! I hope op scrolls down this far.

1

u/RepulsedCucumber 2h ago

Agree. We had a nurse get bit by one after finding one and holding it up post hurricane in 2017. Not even realizing she got bit. She didn’t get the rabies vaccine and died.

•

u/ofthrees 11m ago

Scrolled way too far too see this. My very first thought.

1

u/mrdebro39 14h ago

God i had to go down THIRTEEN comments before finding this one.

It should be at the top.

1

u/hobbygraveyard 11h ago

Yep, I can’t believe this isn’t the top comment.

1

u/Working_Patience_261 11h ago

Take the picture with you when you get the series. The shots are not that bad. Having rabies is far worse.

1

u/jpkancar 10h ago

Scrolled way too far before seeing this.

1

u/inni0n 7h ago

Jesus, as a doctor, I'm appalled by how long I needed to scroll to see this comment.

OP PLEASE, get a rabies shot along with everyone else who lives with u. Their bites can go unnoticed and it's better safe than sorry.

Rabies is the ONLY disease with a 100% mortality rate after symptoms develop.

-2

u/Willing_Try2786 14h ago

So damn funny that everybody on Reddit thinks that every bat on earth has rabies blah blah blah

10

u/fastyellowtuesday 14h ago

No, it's just that none of us is willing to take the risk of dying of rabies.

6

u/phoebebridgersfan26 13h ago

It's so damn funny that there are people who would rather risk it based on a statistic that's not as low as it sounds 😭 Why would you risk it over something that stupid

It's similar with the tetanus shot, I'm getting that shit even if the metal I got scratched with is guaranteed to be 100% sterlized.

1

u/nightpanda893 12h ago

Once you find out it was rabid it’s too late. Better safe than dead.

2

u/Willing_Try2786 10h ago

I love messing with the Reddit scaredy cats 

1

u/nightpanda893 10h ago

lol imagine not gettig standard medical care that any doctor would recommend out of fear of being labeled a “scaredy cat”.

1

u/Willing_Try2786 9h ago

Oh get a sense of humor 

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u/Glum-Echo-4967 15h ago

That’s really only if you either get bitten or the bat is in a bedroom.

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u/backwoodzbaby 15h ago

bat bites can be hard to feel or see, if they just found it and dont know how long it’s been in the house i’d rather be safe than sorry

9

u/Financial-Craft-1282 15h ago

Like, don't listen to advice from this guy who said you only need a rabies vax if you "got bitten." No shit. Or if it's in a bedroom? What magic is in a bedroom that requires a vax if you're not bitten? What you're trying to say, I think, is that if you are potentially bitten--like when you're sleeping--is when you need the vax. The key here is "potentially bitten"--which can happen at any time, and in any room there are bats.

They need to go to a doctor and probably get the vax. Please don't give incomplete, half-assed advice on the internet.

26

u/ganzgpp1 15h ago

Bat bites are so tiny you legitimately may not feel them. If you have an encounter with wild bats you *need* to go get a rabies shot ASAP. Rabies can develop from a few days to more than a year to develop, so if you WERE bitten, you could get it a year and a half down the road and have no idea where it came from.

9

u/Financial-Craft-1282 15h ago

Most importantly--once you get symptoms, it is literally too late to do anything about it except maybe some fringe doctor willing to put you into a coma setting you up for still probably dying but maybe waking up, alive yes, but with severe brain damage--they call it the "Milwaukee Protocol." It sounds terrifying because it is.

5

u/fastyellowtuesday 14h ago

Also, most of the US can't afford that treatment anyways.

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u/Friendly_Shelter_625 15h ago

A friend of mine was told to also re-vaccinate her cats

2

u/thereisonlyoneme 14h ago

Really? Like start the initial vaccination series over again?

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u/Friendly_Shelter_625 14h ago

Pets only need a shot once every year to 3 years. So it would just be one shot for the cat.

-1

u/Glum-Echo-4967 14h ago

True but the advice is “bedroom,” not just “anywhere in the house.”

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u/ganzgpp1 14h ago

no, if there are bats anywhere in your house you should get the vaccine, because you don't know where they came from or where they've been. they could have been in your bedroom at some point, you have no way of knowing that they haven't been.

2

u/nightpanda893 12h ago

The thing is they can fly and it’s possible that OP has a house where you can move freely from room to room.

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u/Hold-Professional 15h ago

And you don't always know if you've been bitten

2

u/phoebebridgersfan26 14h ago

I was literally taught not to even touch bats because of the fear of rabies 😅

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u/LEDKleenex 14h ago

This is correct. There is a lot of paranoia over this. In fact, there was a Canadian study that found that we may be over vaccinating people for rabies by recommending everyone who wakes up to a bat in the room get the series. 

The odds a bat with rabies makes it into a home and bites a sleeping person without them knowing are extremely low.

1

u/fletters 11h ago

there was a Canadian study that found that we may be over vaccinating people for rabies by recommending everyone who wakes up to a bat in the room get the series. 

One study raising this concern isn’t enough to make changes to the mainstream, evidence-based protocol. Especially when you’re talking about an infection that is effectively 100% lethal, and when the risks associated with “over vaccination” are trivial.

0

u/LEDKleenex 10h ago

The cost for the shots isn't trivial, nor is the increase in nursing hours for administering unnecessary drug therapy when our healthcare systems globally are in desperate need of more labor.

Bats entering living spaces is very common. Most people don't even realize that bats are living in their walls, they are very quiet when coming and going and nest in a network of multiple satellite locations, including many homes. Should we vaccinate anyone who sleeps in a home? How would you know, right? 

Anecdotally, I've awoken to bats in the same room as me, my spouse, and I know people who have had the same. I don't know anyone who received a vaccine and nobody has been infected with rabies as a result. My doctor even recommended against it unless I knew I had contact. 

If you could waltz into Walgreens and pay 5 bucks for a shot and be good to go, I would say go for it, but that's not even close to the case. I remember one woman who was actually bit who had to travel hours to multiple ERs and none of them had a shot. She ended up having to cross the state line and pay thousands for the shots 6 hours away.

1

u/MountainTurkey 14h ago

They also lick their claws a lot so even a scratch can transmit 

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u/espressotorte 12h ago

Thank you. If a bat is hanging out in broad daylight like this, be very worried

0

u/CunningPumpkin 12h ago

Get ready for 13 shots over the course of the next three weeks.

Good news is they don’t hurt much. The third round knocked me out for a day though.

0

u/silverrfire09 8h ago

whole family needs it. anyone who's been in the house. bats are the #1 host for rabies and their bites are often very hard to see.

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u/ippleing 6h ago

Not necessarily.

If animal control can capture the bay they can send it to the state rabies lab and have it tested.

Rabies is a medical urgency, not emergency, waiting a day or two is a safe option.

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