Woke up up with bite mark - bat?

[NorthWorried91]

Hello

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong thread for such a post. A few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I saw something small (but larger than an insect) briefly fly slowly in our bedroom. I should say I had just come back from a work xmas party so was a little more than tipsy so dismissed it as nothing and the bedroom windows were shut. A few days later I've noticed what to me looks very much like a small bite mark on my finger (two pin prick dots) - someone jokingly mentioned it could of been Bat - but this has got me very concerned (because of rabies). Has anyone got any advice what to do if I should book an urgent GP appointment to get it checked (or even go to A&E?) to see if I need vaccines as bats can carry rabies. Currently very anxious, as I was drunk so may not of noticed getting bitten, so any advice would be really appreciated? I know rabies is exceptionally rare in bats and I cant say what I saw was a bat but the thought of it incredibly scary.

Thank you!

Nope, the over the top shaming of people who are taking medical advice and seeking expert opinion needs to stop.

How could OP have been bitten by a bat when by her own admission, her bedroom windows were shut and there was no bat in her room when she woke up? Do you think it teleported through the walls?

This is a complete waste of NHS resources, I say that as someone who actually suffers allergic reactions to insect bites. You've not even had a reaction to the bite (it looks like a spider bite), and there hasn't been a case of rabies in the British Isles in about 100 years.

Yes I suppose so (or it’s hiding somewhere!)

but that’s good to know about 111, I’ve never used the service before - I suppose it makes sense they would go on the side of caution though if they can’t see you directly

That’s not a bat Lol, I have bats, first of all they aren’t coming near you sleeping,never mind bite your thumb, and secondly they fly fast. There is no way to escape it, they swoop round and round, and thirdly it would still be in the house.

it is a udi . An unidentified drunken injury. The sort you do when you’re drunk and wonder what it is next day,

You'd know if you had a bat in your room. You'd see and hear it. And how do you think it got in when your windows were closed?!

That looks like a problematic spider bite to me, but I don’t live in the UK. Most spiders here are not friends.

You do not have rabies.

Bats in the UK do not bite people unless being handled. In any case, they will all be hibernating at this time of year.

It doesn't look like a spider bite either. The marks are too far apart. I got bitten by one on the ankle once, the marks were only about 2mm apart, and looked like scratch marks, not punctures. That'll teach me to wander about on a golf course in sandals!

Well we do have an issue with people leaving the bathroom window open which is right next to the bedroom. But understand your point totally (and everyone else’s), bats are not stealth bombers or ninjas that strategically wait till people get home and in bed to strike. So I probably saw nothing and this is a drunk injury/scratch I did not notice. Probably too big to be a spider bite.

You could always book yourself a post exposure rabies vaccine at your local travel clinic if you are worried, I doubt you will get the vaccine at A&E but you can pay for it privately. I woke up with a bat in my room and I booked the post exposure vaccine myself as I didn’t want to take the risk (UK) also it comes in handy if you are travelling abroad anytime soon.

Do bats (in the UK) bite? I’ve never heard of it. Surely vampire bats live in South America or somewhere exotic like that?

Much more likely to be the dreaded Largely Toothless Cobra of Surrey. Or the Gummy Wild Leopard of Yorkshire.

Okay good to know. I imagine they would tell me I don’t need it though judging by the majority of responses I’ve got, as I can’t say for certainty there was a bat in my room!

Unfortunately if it is a bat bite it’s likely too late for the rabies vaccine anyway, immunoglobulin and the first dose ideally needs to be given within 24 hours or at least within 72 of the bite. If this was a few days ago may be too late to have the vaccine now and have it actually work, although luckily the chances of catching rabies from a bat are low. Most bats in the UK do not have rabies.

You can see the areas of the UK where rabies has been found in bats here, largely Dorset and southern England : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rabies-in-bats#if-you-are-bitten-or-scratched-by-a-bat

If you’re in an area not listed I wouldn’t worry as I’d have thought the chance this is a bat bite and the chance of it having rabies are infinitely low.

You are talking rubbish @MolkosTeenageAngst you can have the post exposure vaccine anytime after you have been bitten/licked/scratched, months or even years, it only doesn’t work if you have rabies symptoms then it is too late and won’t work as the virus has already reached the brain.

Thank you for the information, yes I don’t live in any of those areas I am based in London.

@WhatsTheUseOfWorrying they are capable of biting. Have quite the set of tiny knashers. Tend to only use them for eating moths etc. I’ve only known them bite a person if the person is holding them. I’ve held them and never been bitten so it’s not like every bat would bite if held either.

You can have the post exposure vaccine anytime but it is not guaranteed to work the longer after the initial bite you wait. All the rabies treatment guidance says that vaccination should happen as soon as possible and ideally within the first 24 hours. When I was bitten by a rabid dog abroad there was no rabies vaccine available locally and I was rushed to a hospital in another city to ensure I could start the treatment within 24 hours as the doctors were very clear it was risky to leave it any longer and that the chance of it working greatly reduces the longer after the bite you wait.

If you google 'bat bite photo' - it looks like yours.

My mum had a bat in her bedroom. It didn't bite her but nor did it make any noise, she just woke up to it flapping around. If you've got any little gaps (around beams, door frames, behind wardrobes etc) they can squeeze into quite small spaces.

Nice to see the usual shaming crowd out

111 advised ED

As a health professional I would prefer to see you well with a funny tale of a drunken night then ended in you avoiding garlic and crucifixes, triaged quickly , observations completed , team consulted , safety netting advice given and off you go ..

Than you being brought in 10 days later with sepsis

As does a spider bite, or two little insect bites close together. If he had a bat in rhe house, trust me, he’d know it.

thanks that’s reassuring, I’ll see what the doctors say but I suppose the consensus seems to be if i haven’t actually seen or confirmed what I saw was a bat - then there was no bat.

Thank you. That is genuinely enlightening.

Your job sounds fascinating. I’m assuming you’re not a vet: I can’t imagine people rocking up at a vet’s with a bat, waiting with all the dogs, cats and hamsters.

You said in your first post that it was ‘likely too late’ you should not have said that because it is incorrect and someone who read that and took you at your word may not bother to get the post exposure vaccine.

We have bats, sadly for me, they come in the house regularly. They get confused if I leave the windows open, and it’s dusk, or they come down the chimney, they stay well away, they would only bite if attacked or provoked, when they panic they fly round and round really fast . If you’ve not seen a bat, it is highly unlikely it’s a bat bite. Honestly,

it’s more likely something has bit you twice. My husband got about 5 mosquito bites in a row last month on his foot.