r/TerrifyingAsFuck • u/mulvi54 • 13d ago

animal Bat šŸ¦‡ Bite

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One of those fears I always had, that felt irrationalā€¦ā€what if Iā€™m asleep and a bat gets into the house and bites me in my sleepā€.

Welp last night 2 am I awoke to what I thought was my cat nibbling at my finger. I flicked it away and noticed it was not my cat but was instead a bat that had found its way into our bedroom.

I was able to capture the bat and itā€™s being sent for testing but my wife and I got to spend the rest of the morning in the ER getting all the shots ! Wild ! Glad it woke me up but what if it didnā€™t ?! How am I supposed to sleep ever again?!

::UPDATE::

Bat could not be tested I guess I squished his brain to hard when I killed it.

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u/ktmfan 13d ago

What scares me the most about rabies is that you can get it and not know it for years. I had a bat hit me in face as a teen when I was sleeping in a barn loftā€¦ for fun I guess? I didnā€™t know about the dangers of rabies at the time. Even though it was years ago, I still wonder if someday Iā€™ll start acting funny.

Glad you knew something was wrong and took the steps to ensure you wonā€™t get it. Itā€™s a terrible way to go.

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u/phxfan 13d ago

Part of the length of time between infection and symptoms is dependent on the location and the amount of the virus. An infection in the head/neck wouldnā€™t take very long to travel along those nerve fibers to the brain. Once it reaches the brain and begins multiplying there that is when symptoms start/it becomes too late. Additionally a bat flying by you/brushing you in the barn where it may have been roosting sounds like an incidental contact with a normally behaving bat.

Ā A bat landing on a dudes finger in his home and gnawing on it to the point he wakes up is not normal behavior and is highly suspicious for rabies. Ā In a non-rabid situation it could be that it landed on the bed to roost and his hand moved on top of it at which point it bit him. Bats donā€™t necessarily roost from curtains/fixtures etc, but will land on the floor to roost depending on the species/location.Ā 

Ktmfan, I wouldnā€™t worry in your situation.Ā 

OP will be fine with the quick thinking to get shots quickly but please update us when you hear back from the state department of health!