Question: So I was on my porch late one night and had a bat fly at me and grab onto my head. I felt no noticable pain or bite and was able to smack it off and run back inside before there was, and my sister noticed no bite mark on my head after a quick check, and I was assured not to worry by my family. But as the week progressed I felt anxious and decided to play it safe, scheduling to get a rabies shot a week later.

I smoke cannabis nightly the past few months to help deal with anxiety and sleeplessness I experience sometimes, and am now on my second dose (day 3) of the rabies vaccine. I was wondering if smoking cannabis has any effect on the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine or affects how long it takes to become effective. Because while some stress relief would be great at a time as nerve wracking as this, it's not worth compromising my treatment and my health as a result

So I was on my porch late one night and had a bat fly at me and grab onto my head. I felt no noticable pain or bite and was able to smack it off and run back inside before there was, and my sister noticed no bite mark on my head after a quick check, and I was assured not to worry by my family. But as the week progressed I felt anxious and decided to play it safe, scheduling to get a rabies shot a week later.

I smoke cannabis nightly the past few months to help deal with anxiety and sleeplessness I experience sometimes, and am now on my second dose (day 3) of the rabies vaccine. I was wondering if smoking cannabis has any effect on the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine or affects how long it takes to become effective. Because while some stress relief would be great at a time as nerve wracking as this, it's not worth compromising my treatment and my health as a result

Thank you very much for your answer! I was also hoping to clarify symptoms that I've been experiencing as well.

After getting my first rabies shot along with the immunoglobulin, the next day I felt a slight sore throat that is now gone 2 days later. And then on the day of my day 3 shot I started to feel rather flushed and warm, but never with a temperature higher than 37.4°C at maximum (though this was in the evening). I have also been experiencing an off-and-on runny nose for the past 2 days as well.

After exposure to a bat to the bare skin of the head and a week between exposure to the bat and receiving the vaccine, should I be concerned about these symptoms? And is there anything I should be on the lookout for in particular?

One thing I have noticed the past few days is an on and off feeling of feeling very warm and flushed as though I'm feverish. But after taking my temperature it's always within normal range (such as this morning, feeling flushed and warm, but my temperature is only 36.4°C)

Thank you very much for your answer! I was also hoping to clarify symptoms that I've been experiencing as well.

After getting my first rabies shot along with the immunoglobulin, the next day I felt a slight sore throat that is now gone 2 days later. And then on the day of my day 3 shot I started to feel rather flushed and warm, but never with a temperature higher than 37.4°C at maximum (though this was in the evening). I have also been experiencing an off-and-on runny nose for the past 2 days as well.

After exposure to a bat to the bare skin of the head and a week between exposure to the bat and receiving the vaccine, should I be concerned about these symptoms? And is there anything I should be on the lookout for in particular?

One thing I have noticed the past few days is an on and off feeling of feeling very warm and flushed as though I'm feverish. But after taking my temperature it's always within normal range (such as this morning, feeling flushed and warm, but my temperature is only 36.4°C)

Thank you once again for your answer!

I have been feeling a great deal of anxiety lately over this whole situation, so it could very possibly be the cause of some of these symptoms.
Today I was feeling very flushed/hot and visibly red on the cheeks and forehead, but my temperature orally was never greater than 37.4°C, but it has been over 37°C for most of the day, even now it was 37.4°C at 6:00pm. I was also feeling a slight tingling at the back and left side of my head (where I believe the bat grabbed on 2 weeks ago) occasionally today, similar to a "goosebumps" feeling. I also developed a slight bit of throat discomfort. As well, while it's not pain or sensitivity to light in any way, my eyes have felt sort of tender, such as feeling dry/requiring more blinking, with the tenderness being more noticable when there's a breeze (this is all 4 days after the initial rabies shot/immunoglobulin shot in the thigh, yesterday at around 6 when I recieved the second rabies booster shot. And the contact with the bat occurring around a week before the initial rabies shot)

And finally, I was reading about the importance of cytokines in the immune response for the rabies vaccine, and was also reading that cannabis (especially CBD) can suppress cytokine production. Do you think this would be significant in this situation? Thank you very much

Thank you once again for your answer!

I have been feeling a great deal of anxiety lately over this whole situation, so it could very possibly be the cause of some of these symptoms.
Today I was feeling very flushed/hot and visibly red on the cheeks and forehead, but my temperature orally was never greater than 37.4°C, but it has been over 37°C for most of the day, even now it was 37.4°C at 6:00pm. I was also feeling a slight tingling at the back and left side of my head (where I believe the bat grabbed on 2 weeks ago) occasionally today, similar to a "goosebumps" feeling. I also developed a slight bit of throat discomfort. As well, while it's not pain or sensitivity to light in any way, my eyes have felt sort of tender, such as feeling dry/requiring more blinking, with the tenderness being more noticable when there's a breeze (this is all 4 days after the initial rabies shot/immunoglobulin shot in the thigh, yesterday at around 6 when I recieved the second rabies booster shot. And the contact with the bat occurring around a week before the initial rabies shot)

And finally, I was reading about the importance of cytokines in the immune response for the rabies vaccine, and was also reading that cannabis (especially CBD) can suppress cytokine production. Do you think this would be significant in this situation? Thank you very much