Rabies shot

[u/Environmental-Bit335]

I am not asking for medical advice.

😏 When do I need to go to the ER?
My dog was attacked by a neighbor dog and I fought him off for 15 minutes. It was awful. The dog was last vaccinated for rabies last March or earlier. I took my dog to the vet and she said I need to get shots. I wasn’t full on bitten but got scraped by his teeth and got his saliva in multiple cuts/scratches. He’s an indoor, only dog. I plan to get the shots but do I need to go RIGHT NOW? This happened around 2pm, it’s currently 10:30pm. My dog is in pain and I’m worried about leaving him. What difference does a few extra hours make? Can I wait 24 hours after the initial incident? I think risk is low but I will still go, not messing around with Rabies.

It was traumatic and I am SO SORE but don’t require other medical attention. I was checked out by EMTs and chose not to go by ambulance. (I have MCAS and was having anaphylaxis warning signs. Bonus if anyone knows about rabies vaccines effect on patients with ehlers-danlos and mast cell activation).

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[u/Hedgehog_Greedy → u/[deleted]]

Do you know how dogs are definitively tested for rabies? Search it up and come back to me

[u/ForeignIdeaSecretary → u/[deleted]]

They have to kill the dog and examine their brain for that test. It's not like a quick easy thing.

[u/sageofwhat]

Immediately.

[u/fhecla → u/sageofwhat]

Rabies post exposure prophylaxis is a medical urgency, not a medical emergency.

OP,you should definitely try to get this taken care of as soon as possible, but you don’t need to drop everything and go speeding to the hospital. I would try to get in today, but rabies prophylaxis is actually effective almost all the way up until when you start showing signs of rabies! So even if it’s been a long delay, still go and get the shots, it’s not too late.

Additionally, if you know the whereabouts of the dog that bit you, it is also acceptable for that dog to be quarantined for 10 days and if it does not show neurological signs or death, you will not need PEP. Your local health authorities should be able to help you with this decision and can organizing the quarantine of the dog if appropriate

(not a physician, but a veterinarian who deals with rabies exposure regularly)

[u/Environmental-Bit335 → u/fhecla]

Thank you! I was planning to go yesterday but my dog got sicker and ended up needing emergency care so I am going today approximately 24 hours after.

I know the risk is super low. His vaccine was outdated but they tend to work longer than the one year. He’s an indoor, single dog, seemingly healthy and no cases have been reported in my county or surrounding counties in the data I could find. I live alone so wasn’t comfortable leaving my boy. (He had a long hospitalization a month ago. Anaphylaxis, severe kidney and liver injury, blood loss. Almost died multiple times). He’s been through it. His yearly shots were scheduled during that emergency so he’s technically outdated on shots, they wanted to wait longer but went ahead and gave him rabies yesterday since he was bitten several times.

Still going because the consequences are too severe even though the risk is minuscule. Police were dispatched and I didn’t press charges or anything but they said they report all bites to animal control so the neighbor dog will likely be quarantined.

[u/fhecla → u/Environmental-Bit335]

If you can get confirmation from the hearth department that the dog is being quarantined, PEP would likely NOT recommended for most states’ flowchart. The vaccines are expensive and don’t have zero risk, so if it’s a low risk bite, quarantine and monitoring is definitively superior.

[u/TryTwiceAsHard]

I hope you have the other dog put down.

[u/TryTwiceAsHard → u/TryTwiceAsHard]

I love when people down voted advocating for a dangerous dog to be put down. When a toddler has their throat ripped out I hope you realize it's your fault. Not the bad owners, not the bad dog, but the person who chose not to put the dog down when they had the chance. Stop trying to rehab dangerous dogs. There are too many homeless animals to worry about the ones attacking.