I was at the humane society the other day, walking dogs. One of the dogs was attempting to bite the leash and knicked my arm. The wound did not appear to puncture, there was no blood, and everyone has told me not to worry. I did clean the wound just in case, but the hydrogen perozide did not even burn, which seems to be another indication that there was no puncture. Am I wrong for being paranoid, is there really no rabies risk to worry about?
Hi, Thanks for posting in Chat Doctor. I understand your concern. Rabies is caused by a virus that affects the central nervous system. It is transmitted by bites and scratches from an infected animal. Fever and tingling at the site of exposure are early symptoms to appear. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Once such symptoms appear, it results in almost always death. The time period between contracting the disease and the start of symptoms is usually one to three months. What wound care you have taken should be alright. But, it would have been better you would have taken anti-rabies vaccine to be on the safer side. You can undergo fluorescent antibody test (FAT) to know whether there is active infection are not. Accordingly, you can get it treated within 10 days of infection after exposure. Hope the information provided would be helpful. All the best.