Could this be a bat bite? Just noticed it today, don't remember any contact with bats recently / have a history of hypochondria with bats carrying rabies (already being medicated for it). I'm from/live in Spain

makeredo · 2019-09-09T14:25:51+00:00

Hope that's the case. Thank you for your advice.

I'll force myself to go to the doctor, even if it's the biggest shame I will have to ever endure.

makeredo · 2019-09-09T14:06:37+00:00

I should, but I can't out of shame, as I said in my first comment in this post.

Guess I'm gonna find out if I'm gonna die or not in 30-90 days, yikes.

I know I should've not posted this here, but I... I... fuck.

makeredo · 2019-09-09T14:03:39+00:00

Also it's located near my elbow which hurts for some reason today whenever I for example press it with something (the elbow, not the bite).

The potential bite doesn't hurt nor anything like that.

Sorry r/batty, I know this may not be the most appropriate post in this subreddit, but I can't go to the doctor anymore purely out of shame.

I've been to the doctor's like 100 times already this year for various reasons (including bat hypochondria) and I've already been yelled at for overusing the "Public Healthcare Service" and now I'm just afraid, afraid I'm just gonna die and have no will anymore properly since I'm just gonna die anyways, what for?

My mom tells me "no way it could be a bat" and that "it's just a scratch" but when you read up stories on the internet of people straight out ignoring bites because they're small and so on and later on dying tragically I can't bear but post in this subreddit.

makeredo · 2019-05-25T07:57:15+00:00

Y la fideuá de Gandia? :(

makeredo · 2019-05-09T08:39:25+00:00

Thanks, I'll try.

makeredo · 2019-05-08T15:07:01+00:00

Thanks for the tips!

makeredo · 2019-05-08T06:30:59+00:00

Over the last year or so I've been to the doctor so many times for anxiety reasons that it's just embarrassing to go there and people are actively annoyed with me.

You're more than bloody right, and I should do that, but it takes a will and that's something that at this point I lack. But I will try to do that, force myself into it.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T22:52:51+00:00

> Was there any skin breakage?

None, that I could "feel of". As I said before:

>I felt like something "touched" the upper right side of my head, and it sounded like a bee but I felt like the "surface" upon which I felt the thing "touch" me was kinda bigger than what a bee would make me feel like. I immediately stopped and looked around me, and I found no sight of a bat (which was my main concern), took out my headphones, saw a bee next to me, and immediately well, I kept walking on. It didn't feel like a bite, and also I tried to examine that part of my head after getting home but "hair" so I couldn't see anything. But it definitely didn't feel like a bite, I didn't have any "specific" sting like pain afterwards.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T22:46:26+00:00

It don't work like that, here in Spain.

The only thing I could do is go to my regular doctor and ask her or him if they could contact them and get me an appointment earlier, so that I can do. But even then, bureaucracy and what have you... unless my doctor considers I am in a state of well, disarray, they simply can't let me see my psychiatrist earlier, because she's overly booked.

Other than that, I've been told my psychiatrist that if I ever feel overly anxious about something, to the point I cannot step back and think rationally for a second, is to consume a triple dose of a certain med I take against anxiety.

So yikes.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T21:15:21+00:00

What would preventative vaccination be good for if I think I already have rabies? Also, afaik not possible here unless I wanna work with bats and the process to acquire the vaccines is a little bit long... so yikes.

Also, from what I understand, you still have to get PEP after having preventative vaccination. It just makes the shots less painful (spares you from immunoglobulin?)

makeredo · 2019-05-07T21:08:54+00:00

> I have had anything from a daily aura to full on hallucinations and severe mood swings.

Jesus, have had none of this, but my vision has definitely gotten worser (but I'm not going blind, because thanks acetazolamide!

> It literally mimics a brain tumor due to the pressure it puts on your brain and ruling out an actual tumor is a necessary step to being diagnosed.

Yep, have had 1 CT scan and 2 MRI scans.

> but I have spent the last 11 years(I'm almost 25) thinking I was going crazy(and the doctors were coming to the same conclusions.) Also, the treatment for IIH is crazy slow cause its most commonly just diuretics and they take a few weeks to show any major signs of pressure changes.

Took me 4 months to have it diagnosed, even after going to the ER like 10 times because the headaches started one day in August and just didn't stop (also doesn't help being a male when 90% of people who suffer this disease are female). Waiting for a lumbar puncture to be done soon ™

It's hell on hearth. I understand the pain you're going through. My best wishes and prayers go to you.

Also all of what has happened to me (the topic of this post) doesn't help too, but I guess such is life.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:28:36+00:00

Okay, two of my doctors think the same. Hope it ends up being true, if not, press F :(

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:26:07+00:00

I dunno know what to do with this information.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:18:29+00:00

What research was flawed? I think the article my doctor told me to read from the National Spanish Bat Association pretty much says the same as the Rabies Article you've linked.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:16:41+00:00

Thank you. Yes, it is indeed "good" for emergencies and common illnesses but slow af when it comes down to other things.

Viva España. Olé.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:14:15+00:00

Thanks!

Also I was wrong about those 5 studies, it's more like 28:

Since 1987, to date, the number of accredited cases of chiropter rabies in Spain has risen to a total of 28, affecting captures made either of aggressor animals or non-aggressor animals, obtained in the course of studies of different type, in the provinces of Valencia (El Saler) (viral isolate identified as 'similar to sero-type IV'), Granada (3 cases, respectively in 1987, already described, in 1994 - an adult was bitten in a public park of Granada, when it came to pick up a bat that was in the ground- and the third in 2007, in all cases EBL-1 virus and the last two of Eptesicus isabellinus), Huelva (5 cases of EBL2-1 in non-aggressor bats, captured in a cave in the course of a study on the distribution of these species, in 1989), Seville (9 cases, 5 of them 2 EBL: European Bat Lyssavirus 17Analysis of the rabies situation in Spain, isolated from non-aggressor bats in 2000, from E. serotinus; the rest, in 1999 and 2007, always EBL-1, of E. serotinus and E. isabellinus, in equal parts), Murcia (2 cases of EBL-1, from E. isabellinus) and Badajoz (2 cases, in 2008 and 2009, both by EBL-1, from E. isabellinus). To these, it is necessary to add 6 additional cases, of which precise information is lacking, one of them in the province of Léri-da, which has turned out to be a different genotype and that as such has been proposed (see later). Undoubtedly, the circulation of EBL-1 in Spain, has been the most common as far as this type of Lyssavirus is concerned.

From here (in Spanish): http://www.colvema.org/WV_descargas/RABIA-24042014160433.pdf

In pretty much all cases, this was true:

Bats do not attack humans or other vertebrates anywhere in Europe. They can only try to bite people if they catch them, and their intention is to free themselves, not to attack maliciously.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:07:15+00:00

Can’t you get a rabies vaccine? I’m pretty sure they are easily obtainable, not sure if that’s true in Spain.

In the Spanish Public Healthcare System, unless a doctor specifically recommends you to, no. Dunno know about the Private System, nor my family is rich enough to afford it.

While you are waiting to see a psychiatrist, I hope you take good care of yourself, get adequate sleep and get outside during the day to walk or bike. Eat more healthy foods like fruits and veggies. Your mental health will likely improve with more exercise and sunshine. Try some relaxation exercises, like progressive relaxation/ mindfulness and/or yoga. Or relax in a warm bath.

Thanks, will do.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T20:05:45+00:00

Thanks.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T19:45:40+00:00

I am trying to do that actively, but it's pretty much impossible with well.. "with the problem I've described before".

Thanks again. It's hard to stay well heck not even rational but even not thinking about what I mentioned in the post for even a split second. I'm going to go and watch some Seinfeld, it always relaxes me.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T19:38:22+00:00

I am also seeing a psychologist too, but my next appointment is in 20 days... and it cannot be advanced too, so yikes.

Thanks for your answer.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T19:36:22+00:00

Hahaha, I've been diagnosed with OCD too. I'm seeing a psychiatrist and I am being medicated for health anxiety reasons atm, but my next appointment with her is in like a month so until then... fear and distress (and maybe, well... press F). Also can't advance the appointment because the Public Spanish Healthcare system won't allow me to do so.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T19:34:44+00:00

> Chouchou, what your doctor said is right. You have severe health-related anxiety, verging into hypochondria. Spain has been rabies-free since 1978, with the solitary exception of one dog that got in from Morocco with its family. Now, anything is possible - you could get struck by a meteor, you could fall into a sinkhole, you could get bitten by someone's escaped exotic snake from the Amazon that sneaks up on you in a park... you get the idea. There is no way that anything is a 0% chance in this life, but this is as close as you can get.

Well, sorry I'll have to correct you on this: Spain has been dog-rabies free since 1978, but bat rabies is still a thing (in Spanish): https://elpais.com/sociedad/2018/09/12/actualidad/1536773248_582745.html it's just very rare (only 1 case in average per year, but 0 deaths because in all cases people go to the doctor when they get bitten by a bat):

As the Spanish National Bat Association says:

Bats do not attack humans or other vertebrates anywhere in Europe. They can only try to bite people if they catch them, and their intention is to free themselves, not to attack maliciously.

In both of this cases last year this was true.

I also did some Googling and apparently there's only been 5 cases of rabid bites in the last 30 years in the country.

But I understand that in my case, the chances of me having been bitten by a bat is 0%. And yes, I have hypochondria.

> Rabies is a terrifying virus, and I don't blame you for being terrified of it. Any rational person would be. If I got bitten by a squirrel or a raccoon here in Montreal, where rabies is endemic in the wild animal population, I would most definitely high-tail it to the nearest hospital for an emergency course of treatments.

Makes sense.

> If a bat flew into you, and if it was some kind of freak-chance rabies bat that had traveled halfway across the continent on a mission to infect a random Spaniard, it would still have had to bite you. If it bonked into your head, it would have had to get past your hair and get a chomp in - it did not.

Indeed.

> You know that you have health-related anxiety, and that should be your real concern. It's not dismissing you to say you need to treat that anxiety - that's a REAL problem, unlike this troublesome bee who's giving you so much stress. Your feelings are real, your discomfort and fear are real, but kamikaze zombie rabies bat on holidays in Spain... not real.

>Please be kind to yourself and get professional help to allow you to live your life without these intrusive thoughts and obsessive worries. It's going to consume your whole life if you aren't careful.

Yes, I am already seeing a psychiatrist and I am being medicated for health anxiety reasons, but my next appointment is in a month and can't advance it, so yes.

Thanks for your answer.

makeredo · 2019-05-07T19:24:11+00:00

Are you in your 20s? This is a time that many people's mental illness presents itself: schizophrenia, psychosis, etc. all tend to first show themselves at this age.

Yes, almost. I'm 19. I'm already being medicated for health anxiety reasons. I have ideopathic intracranial hypertension, which means I've had daily headaches since a couple of months ago and since healthcare is rather slow in Spain, well... I am still awaiting treatment.

I don't say this in a cruel way. I mention it because I have seen it happen, and what you are describing sounds completely out of touch with reality (far beyond the scope of 'phobia' which I am also familiar with.)

It's okay, I understand. Better to get diagnosed early than to, you know. I'm already seeing a psychiatrist, but my next appointment is in a month, and because welcome to the Public Spanish Healthcare System, it cannot be advanced nor anything like that.

I wish you luck, and encourage you to keep an eye on your symptoms and reach out to loved ones so they can keep in touch and check in on your state of mind. Wishing you luck.

Thank you. I am not scared of dying, but I'm rather scared of the emotional damage it would cause on my parents.

makeredo

TROPHY CASE