Hit in the eye by a bat!

[R0ca75]

A totally freak incident happened to me last night. I was getting the laundry in before the rain at dusk and a bat flew at full pelt straight into my left eye. At first I had no idea what had hit me but then saw the bat whizzing around in the garden.

There doesn't appear to be any broken skin but the area around my eye was red and my eye was sore from the impact for a couple of hours.

I'm not concerned anout the injury (eye feels almost normal this morning) but am I being a huge hypochondriac to worry about rabies seeing as the eye is a mucous membrane?

I rang 111 but they weren't very helpful. Would I be unreasonable to seek further advice seeing as the NHS is so stretched at the moment?

I think I would consider phoning a bat charity for advice about this tbh. I think it’s incredibly unlikely you will have contracted anything but I can also understand your thinking!

Tbh I would go and get checked out.

The risk would be extremely low, but feel free to seek medical advice. Rabies prophylaxis is horrendous and they won't make you do it 'just in case'.

AIBU for thinking this was going to be about a sporting injury of some sort?

I think rabies is a very low risk, OP, but it would be as well to get it checked out.

Just checked the guidelines (disclaimer - not an expert) and actually I think you should get assessed. It could potentially be a category 2 exposure which might justify treatment. It looks like it would be very low risk though so please don't panic.

I found an injured bat once in the garden and the bat people who came out to save it did tell me not to touch it - I recall when I looked it up the risk was v low unless I had an open wound. But there's some advice here from the Bat Conservation Trust which may be useful. www.bats.org.uk/advice/i-think-ive-been-bitten-by-a-bat I think I'd get it checked TBH

Thanks everyone for your advice. I guess the risk is really low, but it's that one in a million risk that is nagging at me! I will definitely ring a bat charity to ask their advice.
If I seek further medical help do you think A&E is warranted? I'm loathe to sit in A&E for 12hrs to be told to go away and stop wasting their time.
The 111 nurse I spoke to last night just said that there is no rabies in the UK and to take a painkiller.
Unfortunately I'm between GPs at the monent due to house move.

I'd be less worried about nasties from the bat than damage to eye pressure which can happen with an eye injury.

I agree with @KimmySchmitt

Bats don't usually fly straight into things... Being able to avoid objects in the dark is pretty much their USP 😂Seriously though, disorientation can be a clinical sign of infection.

It's very low risk but I would seek further specialist advice. Maybe try DEFRA?

www.gov.uk/guidance/rabies-in-bats

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases has an emergency walk in clinic, although that's not much help if you aren't in London. Maybe worth calling the clinic for advice though.

www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/our-hospitals/Hospital-of-Tropical-Diseases

I very much doubt the 111 algorithm can cope with rabies. I would also assume that neither your GP nor A&E will have much knowledge of rabies either so I would take the guidelines Kimmy Schmitt linked to with you.

Also this. Is there an eye A&E near you?

Go to an optician even if your eye feels fine, they can confirm any scratch or small burst blood vessel and that might affect whether you need treatment or not. They can also reassure you about any other eye damage. I'd also contact the Bat Conservation Trust and ask what their internal advice would be, it's a risk they would have to have assessed in detail, and they might advise on which hospital to call. They might also want to check up on the bat. I hope you and the bat are both well!

Agree - risk seems very low but bats don't routinely collide with things as far as I know so I'd get checked to be safe

This sounds like the worst origin story of a new superhero

@Agrudge 😂my dad said I'm probably going to be responsible for the next pandemic!

www.lstmed.ac.uk One in Liverpool too.

It's highly unlikely that you've caught anything from this bay, like others I'd be worried about the eye trauma if anything.
So ask a bat charity about the unusual behaviour, but don't let it unduly worry you as you've not been handling it, it didn't leave saliva or blood in your eye, and you have external defences too in your body to help prevent anything getting into your system so if there's no sign of damage you'll likely be fine

We dont have rabies in the uk

@Sugarplumfairy65 We do have rabies in the UK - but only in bats. It's not common, but there are a few confirm in bats every year. I think we've had about four or five this year. To handle bats, you are supposed to have some kind of licence I believe.

People who handle bats on a regular basis have to have a rabies vaccination first, just in case they're bitten.

I do think it's extremely unlikely that the OP will have caught rabies from a bat hitting her in the eye, though.

@Sugarplumfairy65 I've just come off the phone with a very lovely man from my local bat charity. He said he'd dealt with 20 cases of bat rabies in the last 30 years in the local area. One case of rabies was confirmed only last year a few miles from my house.

Er….you might want to better inform yourself

www.gov.uk/guidance/rabies-in-bats

and 6 cases in humans between 2000 and 2018. Yes extremely rare. Rabies free in almost every species.

except bats.

What did he advise??

It's highly unlikely you'll contract rabies from a bat strike, though it is theoretically possible. Bats do occasionally collide with moving objects - they're generally very agile in the air, but shit happens. I've had a few bumps from bats in the dark and I've not had rabies yet!

I did enjoy the imagery of a levitating baseball bat shooting around your garden though!

@Felixfriend He called the UKHSA and they asked me to call them, which I will do shortly. I also spoke to the Hospital for Tropical medicine and they are calling back in the hour. Both seem to be taking it a lot more seriously than I expected given my 111 brush off.

And the point being alluded to her, but admittedly not spelled out, is mentioned in the uk.gov link…bats don’t normally fly into things, they just don’t. But rabies causes bats to become “disoriented and difficultly flying” as per the “signs a bat may have rabies” section of that same site,

Most posters are trying not to be alarmist - but a bat flying into you is not normal and she needs to be checked over.

the gudiance on Gov site clearly states, if you have been bitten or scratched by a bat is “contact a doctor immediately “

How unusual! Glad you’re getting some specific advice.