AIBU to worry after a possible bat hit my forehead?

this happened to someone last time i went to A & E, no idea what the result was

I've just seen this thread and came here to look for this! Once upon a time on Mumsnet, this would be the very first response to this thread
Sorry you got a fright OP, and hope you're feeling ok now.

Chicken Licken vibes ...

They carry a similar type of virus which is highly unlikely to be transmissible to humans.

I'd be more worried about foxes or people coming to the UK with unvaccinated dogs- unfortunately there are vets abroad who will sell you a certificate without a vaccine.

I do know what I'm talking about, my dad was a vet and the local area rabies officer.

Funny how I can see the marks left by a mosquito bite or horsefly bite when their mouthparts are around 20 times smaller than the teeth or claws of even our smallest bat.

You may struggle to find the wound if a bat climbed in your hair and scratched you, or up your back where you can't see but the idea that bats teeth/claws are SO tiny that you cannot see the wounds, there is no visible broken skin and yet the risk of infection is significant is RIDICULOUS.

I have handled bats on multiple occasions, had them chew on a glove etc, the hysteria here is absolutely astonishing.

And in any case the chances of a bat hitting you at all whilst walking around outside (vs say, squeezing through a cave full of bats all leaving en masse or through a loft space with a bat roost in it) is next to nil - the culprit will be a moth or a large beetle, not a bat.

Well maybe, oooo, I dunno, call 111 for rabies assessment? Or don't, and keep attention seeking. Up to you really.

You grow up, rude woman.

So many bat experts are on this thread.

It's a myth that bats don't bump into people or each other all the time. Humans are less likely because we're so big and obvious, but it's the season for youngsters learning to fly and hunt on their own, and it does happen.

(I am an ecologist and wrote another comment about bats earlier in the thread. The long and short is OP still doesn't need to worry even if she did get bopped.)

But can you not feel it if you're fully awake? The OP was awake and alert on a walk, and she hasn't mentioned having any condition that causes dulled sensation.

You wont know. Bats are tiny. You wont see the scratch

You cant see if youve been scratched by a bat. They are that tiny

You’ve got no cuts of abrasions and you don’t even know that it was actually a bat, it could have just been a big moth.
Calm down.

Monitor for signs of rabies?
Once there are symtoms, you are literally dead.
Nothing can be done for you

Maybe it's the number of bat threads recently where no bat was actually witnessed. Clearly I'm doomed to die of lyssavirus myself, because if I leave the window open overnight, I will assume that no bat came in. Same applies to car windows. If I didn't see a bat, I'm not worrying.

If something I didn't see bumped into my head on a walk, I'd assume it was a moth. Incidentally, the last time something like that happened, it was squirrel faeces from a squirrel on a branch overhead.

If someone was with me and could assure me they'd seen a bat, I would only concern myself with lyssavirus if I felt it bite me. Why would I get rabies from its wing brushing my head? Fortunately I have life insurance.

Amazing how many people on this thread are confidently giving advice that goes against the official uk recommendations.

Calmly phone 111.

A bat did not break the skin so Rabies would not be a factor.

Try to relax.

Have a shower then sit in a comfortable chair and chill out by reading Henny Penny. Then lie on the carpet and listen to Meatloaf - A Bat Out of Hell.

My cat actually caught a bat and brought it in once, I was amazed, how on earth did he manage that ! He is very strong and has huge back legs so I sort of imagine him leaping into the air ! I didn’t think about rabies but he’s fine !

I’m in the UK and am not remotely concerned.

Statistically, you are vanishingly unlikely to be at risk.

Apparently 0.3% of bats carry lyssavirus. So that is a 1/300 chance of a bat being infected.

You don’t even know if it was a bat, so let’s call it 10% chance of actually being a bat.

You don’t think you were bitten and there are no marks. So maybe 1/1000 chance of tiny hidden puncture.

Not sure what odds would be of getting rabies if it is a minuscule puncture wound. I am guessing low but I don’t know.

So, it is at least a 1 in a million chance that you could get rabies from your encounter.

Also the last bat case in the uk was 2002, the previous one was 100 years earlier. Personally, I would just ignore it and forget about it.

If your skin isn't broken then you are fine. The skin is an amazingly effective barrier. You are no more at risk than if your leg got a bit splashed by a muddy puddle - your forehead skin is no less effective a barrier than your leg skin, and there are no more germs on the exterior of a bat than in a spatter of mud. As soon as you've had a wash, any germs are gone.

I lived in a house with so many bats in the garden the bat preservation society ( or something similar) used to come and do surveys. Generally bats swerve you. They probably have a bat MN forum about how often they think they may have hit a human and what should they do. However if it's going to really worry you see if you can chat to your GP. As pp have said if there's no scratch or mark I don't think you have anything to worry about but double check for reassurance.

Apologies if this has already been mentioned (I've not read all the replies), but if it helps you feel any better...
The last recorded case of bat to human rabies in the UK was in 2002, and the man was a licensed bat handler.

We get bats in our garden every night and I've never seen them bump into anything, sometimes they fly quite low but never hit us.
I did have a bat shit on me at Chester Zoo in the walk through thing they had 😂😂

Your single solution to all bat-in-my-hair problems: