Hit by a bat while riding!

[owlice]

The bat didn't bite me; he's not my cat, after all! He just hit my leg and I brushed him away. Last death in Maryland from a bat bite was in 1976 or so, so I'm sure I'm okay (except for this little bit of froth around my mouth).

Ouch, westtexas, a baseball bat would hurt!!! I'm glad I didn't get hit by one of those!!

And I have to amend my statement that this is the first time something has flown into me; I've certainly had bugs fly into me, usually into my eyes or mouth, which has helped me learn to ride with shades and keep my mouth closed when I bike, or at least, when I inhale!

[pll]

Checking with your doctor might be something to do, anyway (the Maryland department of health suggests reporting any animal exposure -- see the post exposure information). A bite is not necessary. If the bat's saliva came in contact with any wound or mucous membrane... you get the idea.

[Owlie]

I love bats, but I wouldn't like to run into one.

[Karma007]

I just don't even know how I would respond to that.

[CycleTherapy]

CALL YOUR DOCTOR ASAP!! Around here rabies is endemic in bats and ANYONE WHO COMES IN CONTACT WITH A BAT GETS RABIES PROPHYLAXIS. That includes whether or not they have been bitten. You need to know whether or not that's true for your area. You may need to get treated.

Ditto Roadie gal.... I had a friend who unknowingly slept in a room with one under her bed. Even though it was dead, she had to have the rabies vaccination. You do not have to be bitten and you did come in physical contact with the bat.

[owlice]

I had a friend who unknowingly slept in a room with one under her bed. Even though it was dead, she had to have the rabies vaccination. You do not have to be bitten and you did come in physical contact with the bat.

The fear there is that the bat may have bitten her -- bat teeth are really tiny -- and then died while she was sleeping. If she'd seen the dead bat before she went to bed... well, she probably wouldn't have gone to bed!

Seems to me the bat, already dead, could have been tested before someone decided she needed to have the rabies series. I wonder why they didn't do that?

[CycleTherapy]

It was due to time. It was going to be a period of 4-5 days to determine whether or not the bat was diseased. The County in which this happened had the bat sent to a laboratory in Atlanta. By the time they received it, the bat had been deceased for too long. Better safe than sorry, my friend had no problem complying with the recommendation for the vaccinations. She also had touched the dead bat... any contact with a carrier, dead or alive, can transmit rabies.