And when do they show? I was just scratched by a stray cat's claws and I think its teeth, ( I'm not sure). I think I'm getting nerved out!!! Should I go to the doctor? I don't know if it had rabies... it was just a feral cat who had visited our house for quite some time. I need to know, I'm like totally freaking out now!!! Do I need to go now?!
~Thanks
2007-11-26 13:37:18 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
First of all, you don't want to wait until you develop symptoms. It's too late when that occurs. Check with your local health department if there are any cases of rabies in cats in your area. You can call yourself or your doctor can make the call for you.
Next, is there any possibility of capturing the cat and observing it for 10 days? If the cat remains healthy, you are at no risk.
Was your skin broken? Did you wash the wounds well immediately after the bite or scratch?
Your doctor should then be able to advise whether or not you get rabies shots. The newest vaccine available is no longer as painful as former preparations.
Start the process of determining what action to take now!
In answer to your question, symptoms of rabies average 4 - 6 weeks after the bite, but may be as short as five days, and sometimes as long as several months or more. Symptoms include anxiety, difficulty swallowing (often referred to as hydrophobia), seizures and advancing paralysis. Rabies is almost always fatal. There have been only a few survivors. Prompt immunization after bites from infected animals is successful in prevention of disease.
2007-11-26 14:02:22 · answer #1 · answered by greydoc6 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You likely do not have rabies b/c you should be running a low grde fever now. There should be alot of pain at the bite site and streaking up the area even if you got bit. Whta you should look for is if you could have cat scratch fever. I have had that it is a bad infection at the would site. It takes alot of antibotics and a couple of weeks to heal. You also need to have a tetanus shot if you have not had one in the last 5 years.
2007-11-26 21:50:09 · answer #2 · answered by spanky28688 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just let your parents know and if you are not a teen or a kid, then go to the doctor and tell them what happened and what your oppinion is on it.
2007-11-26 21:41:53 · answer #3 · answered by layanne1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋