I Asked This Question Previously, But I M Seeking A

Posted on Tue, 13 Aug 2019

Question: I asked this question previously, but I'm seeking a second opinion so that I can put this issue to rest:

Several days ago I met with a client at work, who disclosed that she was recently bitten by a stray dog and is now undergoing rabies vaccination. At the end of the interaction I shook the person's hand. She had been crying during our interaction and I noticed that I had small breaks in the skin on my knuckles from dry skin. My concern is that somehow her tears may have come into contact with the breaks in my skin, thus exposing me to rabies. I will say that I did not notice any body fluid on my hand, but I cannot be completely sure. Would this "exposure" warrant me getting a rabies vaccine, or should I not worry about this?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Monika Dede (10 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Please don't worry!

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome in"Ask a Doctor".
I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

Based on your history, having just hand contact (that had just small breaks) with the tears of a person under the rabies vaccination I think you shouldn't worry because there is no risk for rabies transmission.
You should know that transmission between humans is extremely rare and can happen through organ transplants, through infected human bites and blood to blood contact.
So, you don't need to get a rabies vaccination after this situation.

Hope I have answered your query.
Feel free to ask me further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng