Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

Anyone who has been bitten by a dog should clean the wound with soap and running water and see a doctor IMMEDIATELY. The doctor will determine if they need to be vaccinated. The recommendation is that if the person needs to be vaccinated, the vaccination schedule should be started "immediately". In addition to the anti-rabies vaccine, the person should also get another shot called "Rabies Immune Globulin" at the same time as the first dose of the vaccine shot. However, even if the person has delayed in reporting to the doctor, the doctor should still administer the vaccine when the person reports to him.

A person who is has had a significant dog bite and has never been vaccinated against rabies, should get 4 doses of rabies vaccine - one dose right away, and additional doses on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days.

So, if you have been bitten by a dog, and have not yet seen a doctor, please leave immediately and report to a doctor.

I hope this has been informative and useful to you.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

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Helo again,

Here are the answers to your doubts:

1) If the skin is not broken, that if there are no bite marks or scratches and no contamination of mucous membranes (like eye, mouth, etc.) with saliva, then vaccination is not necessary (this is according to the National guidelines and WHO recommendations)

2) When there is a doubt regarding the dog bite or if the person is unsure about the degree of exposure, then there is no harm in taking Rabies vaccination as a precautionary measure, that is, there will not be any side effects.

3) There is no test available to know the 'impact' of dog bite, but the only way of finding out if you could have been at exposed to rabies, is by observing the dog which had bitten or come in contact with you, for a period of 10 days. If the dog remains healthy, then you don't have to worry.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

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Hello again,

I can see that you are very anxious and worried about this. Like I had mentioned earlier, actually there is no need to worry if there was no bite or scratch, i.e. if the skin was intact and not broken (even licks on intact skin are not considered as an exposure).

So, even if you can't trace the dog, it is okay. If you are sure there was no bite, then you don't need to worry at all. Just for information's sake, the average period after which a person may develop signs and symptoms of rabies is 3 - 12 weeks. Symptoms may include drooling, convulsions, exaggerated sensation at the bite site, excitability, loss of feeling in an area of the body, loss of muscle function, hydrophobia, muscle spasms, paranoia, hallucinations, delirium, etc.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

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