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Original poster

Woke up up with bite mark - bat?

131 replies

NorthWorried91 · 20/12/2023 14:45

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!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Carpediemmakeitcount · 20/12/2023 19:06

Op have you seen this mysterious bat???

Original poster
NorthWorried91 · 20/12/2023 19:10

Carpediemmakeitcount · 20/12/2023 19:06

Op have you seen this mysterious bat???

I believe I saw something but I indeed can not confirm it was bat and everyone here has explained why it was very very unlikely to be based on what I’ve said

OP posts:
Carpediemmakeitcount · 20/12/2023 19:14

Do you have a hole in your ceiling it may have come in through a hole in the roof and he is living up there. Do you have a brave husband or partner to take a look?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
Original poster
NorthWorried91 · 20/12/2023 19:15

No holes in bedroom ceiling and not that I’m aware of elsewhere.

OP posts:
PostOfficeInTheCoop · 20/12/2023 19:22

With the greatest respect OP I'm joining the I can't believe you are going to A&E camp, surely if you were bitten by a bat you would wake up and realise? How much did you have to drink? Surely you would notice a bat in your home? I do genuinely hope you are ok though.

WhatsTheUseOfWorrying · 20/12/2023 19:23

NorthWorried91 · 20/12/2023 19:15

No holes in bedroom ceiling and not that I’m aware of elsewhere.

Ask Alfred. He’ll know.

DumpseyDaisey · 20/12/2023 19:23

It's just a slight graze surely? The higher bits of skin take the brunt of the impact....this is my thumb currently.....a and e is madness, surely....particularly during a doctor strike

Woke up up with bite mark - bat?
MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 20/12/2023 19:39

I've got three tiny wounds on my hand in a space about an inch long - I assumed I'd scratched myself somehow. I can't say 'OMG I've been bitten by a bat!' was my first reaction, let alone go to A&E with them.

Are you generally anxious or was it just the post party beer fear?

Nitesaredrawinin · 20/12/2023 19:42

If it’s not red swollen or hot and throbbing I would just leave it be.

BodgerSparkins · 20/12/2023 19:44

Bats don't ordinarily bite no, animals with rabies do regardless of species. However I think Bats may just be carriers without ever becoming symptomatic? I would personally seek advice from a bat expert, they are out there and likely the best versed on the realistic risk. I also know the advice if you wake up in a room with a bat is to seek preventative treatment, regardless of whether you can find a bite mark, so you are not wildly off base and just because it's an unusual situation people shouldn't mock.

Also I believe you don't always feel bat bites, so all the people mocking on that front can put their scoffing back in their pocket.

If you didn't definetly see a bat it is unlikely that is what it would have been, of course it's possible, not likely, but possible as anything is possible and this is where your brain has taken you. Unfortunately that may now mean you receive the treatment as it's felt best to act with an abundance of caution. I can see why that would be sensible.

Do you live alone, would someone else have seen it? I would check any nooks etc.

A marginally more likely scenario : Op, check the seams of your mattress as bed bugs tend to bite in lines and many people don't react to the bites themselves like ordinary insect bites. I.e. a red lump.

Original poster
NorthWorried91 · 20/12/2023 19:46

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 20/12/2023 19:39

I've got three tiny wounds on my hand in a space about an inch long - I assumed I'd scratched myself somehow. I can't say 'OMG I've been bitten by a bat!' was my first reaction, let alone go to A&E with them.

Are you generally anxious or was it just the post party beer fear?

Hi I was but lots of the people here have helped calm this anxiety. A combination of seeing something in my bedroom combined with anxiety generally about health (plus the 111 call)

OP posts:
MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 20/12/2023 19:50

TBH I think you've taken a joking remark from someone and run with it because of some anxiety, alcohol carry over and thinking you saw something when you were tipsy.

Calmdown14 · 20/12/2023 20:20

Have you cooked anything that could splatter tiny specks of oil?
Could be tiny burns which you wouldn't necessarily notice at time if turning bacon, sausages etc.

Easily done on a finger.

Calmdown14 · 20/12/2023 20:22

Or taken a staple out at work!

Agapornis · 20/12/2023 21:31

Balloonhearts · 20/12/2023 20:22

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.uvahealth.com/2019/10/09/bats-and-rabies-what-to-do-if-you-find-a-bat-in-your-house/amp/

Guidance on what to do if you find a bat in your house. Clearly stating that if a bat has been in the room while you were sleeping, you should assume that you may have been bitten or scratched.

The University of Viriginia, USA, is not a relevant source when it comes to UK bat behaviour.

GellerYeller · 20/12/2023 21:38

We had a bat in the house overnight once. No one was bitten. DH woke up in the night and thought there was a big moth in the bedroom(!). We found it nearly 24 hours later doing circuits of the kitchen.

ElFupacabra · 20/12/2023 21:41

It took my father in law with cancer 11 hours for a call back from the nhs with a further 12 hr wait for an appointment… but this gets seen within hours. What a joke.

grayhairdontcare · 20/12/2023 21:58

IT's December
Doctors are striking
A&E times are through the roof
People can't get ambulances
And you have an appointment because you saw something that wasn't there, whilst pissed up and have no injuries.
This is not an accident or an emergency.

MummySS22 · 20/12/2023 22:01

Any update OP? I'm dying to know if you've got rabies 🫣

TheYearOfSmallThings · 20/12/2023 22:05

It was the speckled band!

IHS · 20/12/2023 22:05

That's a house spider bite.

MummySS22 · 20/12/2023 22:09

IHS · 20/12/2023 22:05

That's a house spider bite.

The thought of having big house spiders crawling all over me in my sleep gives me the heebies. Id prefer the bat tbh

SD1978 · 20/12/2023 22:18

@2jacqi - it was 21 years ogo, 2002 more than a 'few' unless you mean a few decades, and he was bitten by a French bat, at a rescue, offered treatment, knowing the risk, and declined it. Bit different to a potential British bat situation in a house

WhatsTheUseOfWorrying · 20/12/2023 22:19

IHS · 20/12/2023 22:05

That's a house spider bite.

It’s certainly a three pipe problem.

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