Raccoon update

[distantearlywarning]

32. Just want to add my voice to the chorus here, having had some personal experience

I read your story in the food poisoning thread. PLEASE go to the doctor and tell them you were bitten by a raccoon. This is actually an extremely critical situation, although it may just seem like to you that you got a little nick or scratch.

People die from rabies every year because they were slightly scratched by an animal, or in some cases, were bitten so lightly by something like a bat while they were sleeping that they didn't even realize they were injured. I have seen recommendations that if one so much as finds a bat in a room they have been sleeping in, even if they have no obvious wounds, that they go get prophylactic rabies shots because of the potential danger.

Raccoons are a MAJOR carrier of rabies in the US, much like bats, and by the time you start to have symptoms it's too late. Rabies is invariably fatal, and the death is prolonged and torturous. It is one of the worst deaths anyone could possibly imagine. It is a strange virus which can hide in your nervous system - incubation times can range from a week and a half to years, so even if you decide to chance it (please don't!!!), you are not out of the woods if you make it through a month or so. I also agree with the others who said that the fact that the raccoon ran up and bit you is an especially bad sign - this is behavior typical of a rabies-infected animal.

A couple of years ago, my husband (the Good Samaritan) tried to rescue a teenage kitten from the side of the highway. The kitten was self-rescuing, however, did not appreciate his efforts, and bit and scratched him slightly. The wounds were nothing special and healed instantly with a little Neosporin. I convinced him to go to the doctor anyway. They immediately started him on the rabies vaccine, and it was reported to our county health department, EVEN THOUGH kittens are rarely found to carry rabies (unlike bats and raccoons). The potential consequences of leaving an animal bite untreated are so serious that they won't take a chance with anyone who's been bitten by an animal they couldn't catch to observe.

I don't think you need to go to the ER tonight, or call an ambulance or anything like that, but if it were me, I would be on the phone with an urgent care or my PCP first thing in the morning. ERs are also expensive - I would try an urgent care with a flat fee or just a basic doctor's office that might take walk-ins. Make sure to tell the receptionist that you were bitten by a wild raccoon so they understand that it's urgent. You have a limited time to safely start the shots, and it is a matter of only a few days. See a doctor first, and they will likely notify County Health for you. AFTER you get your first series of shots, then call Animal Control and let them know that you have a raccoon problem and that one of them bit you. Shots first, then worry about Animal Control.

According to my husband, the shots are no more painful than getting a flu vaccine. The days of the painful rabies shots in the stomach are over. Now they put them in the bite location and I think the later ones go in your arms or butt or something. Yes, it may cost a bit of money if you are uninsured. But if you get rabies and take 10 days to die in the hospital, you will leave your loved ones with hundreds of thousands of dolllars in medical bills after you are gone. It's also possible that your city or county health department will pay for it if you are uninsured, but you won't know until you ask.

I know this all sounds really scary, but none of this is hyperbole, I assure you. Being bitten by a wild raccoon is very serious business. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go see your doctor first thing tomorrow. This is no joke, and washing and disinfecting is not enough. You need rabies shots as soon as possible.