First time, long time

[SSK]

Hi all.  I've been suffering from HA for some time now.  Just last Saturday I was on vacation at the beach and I went outside late at night to make sure my car windows were up as a storm was coming in when I stepped on something and got a small puncture wound on my foot.  The next morning I couldn't get it out of my head that maybe I stepped on a bat and now have rabies.  I'm embaressed to even be typing this but I can't get the thoughts out of my head.  Any thoughts?

[sixpack]

you didn't step on a bat.  It could have been anything like a nail, piece of glass or wood or metal.  A bat?  I hardly think you should put any worry into that at all.

I would just keep your booboo cleaned up and you'll be fine.

[MJF]

First of all, I am not going to minimize what you wrote, HA or not.  Because bats DO transmit rabies.  So let's assume all bats are potentially rabid for now.  But your potential exposure would depend on whether there were bats in this beach area - did you see any around?  If you did not see any, then I would think it is highly unlikely that there would be a dead or living bat on the ground.  Many species of bats are communal - so you probably would have seen some flying around at some point during your visit.  

So, if you did not observe any bats during your stay, then I would think your chances of stepping on one is quite low.  Especially if you did not see the bat on the ground the next day (I am sure you checked again when it was light out).

Now, you need to account for the fact that only <1% of bats are rabid.  This makes it really very unlikely.

You can always call the local health department.  Although I truly think this is HA (many people on here, myself included, have had rabies "exposure"), if you really could have had contact with a bat they will help you further assess whether you should get medical attention.

[SSK]

I've had a "rabies" thing for some time now.  I'm not sure how it all started.  No, I didn't see any bats flying around and no there wasn't one lying around the next day.  It didn't even occur to me until the next day that it might have been a bat.  After that, however, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

[MJF]

If you do not feel the need to call the health department or see a doctor, then your gut and *true* mind (as opposed to the HA-driven mind) is telling you that you are not at any risk.  If that is the case, then you need to impose some control on your thinking at this point.  Do not allow any more thoughts on the matter, with a bit of effort you can push it out of your head.