Bats Are The Bane of My Existence

It's official. I hate bats. Really hate. Hope they all die. I don't even care that they eat bugs. Neither do my babies who now have to get five shots each on the off chance that the bat from their room had rabies and potentially bit them. It's a long shot, but, since we were not thinking straight at 12:30 am when we caught the bat and neither kid seemed to have bites, we let the bat go without having it tested. And since rabies is 100 percent fatal once symptoms show, we decided that it was better to err on the side of extreme caution (with the advice and agreement of our doctor and a friend who is also a family physician). So... our kids have had 1 of the 5 rabies shots they will be getting over the next few weeks. They did pretty good, all things considered. So here's hoping they do okay on Thursday when they get the next dose.

It was a nightmare getting the vaccine - a true test of my patience. And I'm afraid my score would have been low, especially toward the end of it. I called the health department at 8:30 am, again at 1 pm, and finally about 1:15 got a call back and was told that our girls needed the vaccine based on their exposure to the bat last Wednesday night/Thursday morning. We were directed to the community walk-in clinic (I also checked with my family practice but they don't keep the vaccine on hand). So off we drove to the walk in clinic. But they can't start the rabies series there, so they sent us to the ER (we will be getting the next 4 shots there though). Thankfully, our family physician was covering the ER today, so I know we got good care. The downside was that we arrived shortly before 3 ambulances, so being non-critical we had a long, long wait. Like 4 1/2 to 5 hours. It got a lot trying since I came ill prepared to keep kids occupied for so long. And Olivia missed her afternoon nap, so that only increased the chaos. But it's over, they have the shot, and we can sleep without worrying about another bat ending up in their room.

So, here's what I know now that you should remember:

1. Always try to catch the bat or wild animal to have it tested. This is especially true if you get a bite or if the animal is around a child, deep sleeper, or a mentally incompetent adult who may not notice or be reliable in reporting a bite. And try to keep the animal alive to make testing easier and potentially faster.

2. If you don't catch the animal, you should seek treatment if: you or your child was bitten; if a child, mentally incompetent adult, or someone who was sleeping deeply (medicated or alcohol induced generally) was found to be asleep or alone in a room with an animal; or if you come into contact with bodily fluids or mucus membranes of an animal that wasn't tested.

Less than 5 cases of rabies are reported in the US each year. And my kids aren't going to be part of that number thanks to their immunizations. Yay for shots, even though they hurt.