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When Bitten By A Rabid Dog

Although known to be a disease in dogs, the rabies virus may attack any animal or human. There is no known cure once the rabies symptoms start appearing, and so, in many instances, rabid dogs are killed, and their human victims die in so few days.

In humans, symptoms begin with fever, restlessness, depression, or fatigue. This will be immediately followed by great excitability, excessive salivation, and convulsions. In the late stages, the rabies human victim ultimately loses control over his nervous system, particularly his brain functions. The victim dies due to paralysis and suffocation.

Surprisingly, the virus is easily destroyed when exposed to sunlight or when boiled. Thus, when bitten by a suspected rabid dog, bat, or any animal, the victim must have his wound immediately cleaned and disinfected. It is always best to see a doctor. At the same time, if possible, the animal responsible for the bite must be observed for rabies signs.

If there are no rabies signs, the treatment of the wound ends in cleaning and disinfecting it. Anti-rabies treatment should not be given in “just-in-case-only” situations. If still uncertain, the suspected animal may be sacrificed and its brain and spinal cord are investigated in a laboratory.

If round or oval bodies, called Negri bodies (named after the scientist who discovered them) are found among the brain cells, then the animal is infected by the rabies virus. After this positive test or once the dog or cat which bit the victim shows rabies symptoms, the doctor would start giving rabies shots.

The rabies shot may be an injection of HRIG (human rabies immune globulin), a substance that offers immediate but temporary protection against rabies. The amount of this vaccine that will be introduced into the human body would depend on the exact body weight of the victim. This means that if the victim needs a lot of the vaccine, not all of it will be given in one shot. Some of it will be injected into the tip of the finger, some in the arm, or in the leg and the rest will be in the buttocks.

And then, the patient will be injected with a series of vaccine doses. The first one will be given on the day you arrive at the clinic or hospital with the wound, the second will be after three days, the third shot will be on the 7th day, the fourth shot on the 14th day, and the fifth and last dose will be administered on the 28th day.