Have you ever been bitten by a dog or accidentally scratched by a cat? Do you think you can get rabies because of it? How is rabies spread and how to prevent it? This is what the doctor said... Rabies is an infectious disease that is generally transmitted by dogs Beside dogs, there are also other animals that can transmit rabies such as, cats, monkeys, bats and weasels Animals suffering from rabies are usually afraid of water, afraid of light So they usually hide in dark places or they can become aggressive salivate excessively convulse and usually they will die 7-10 days after the symptoms appear or after they bites human The rabies virus is transmitted from animals to humans through bites scratches or their saliva that enters through our injured skin or the virus can enter through the eyes or mouth (swallowed) The incubation period of the rabies virus from being bitten until symptoms appear can vary ranging from 7 days to more than 1 year, average about 1-2 months This depends on the amount of virus that enters the severity of the wound the distance from the bite to the central nervous system (brain) Humans who are infected with rabies, the initial symptoms that appear are usually non-specific the body can feel fever, headache, or tingling in the bite wound After the initial symptoms, the condition can get worse starting to be afraid of water (hydrophobia), afraid of air (aerophobia) the muscles of the whole body can be stiff, or paralyzed making it difficult to swallow so a lot of saliva comes out seizures and paralysis of the respiratory muscles So this disease is really deadly if it is not prevented from the start because until now there is no treatment method if the rabies virus has reached the central nervous system So it's important to it is important to vaccinate your pets at home with rabies vaccine so they don't spread the rabies virus But, if you are accidentally bitten or scratched by an animal that suspected rabies until it bleeds the wound must be quickly washed with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes so that the fat covering the rabies virus dissolves and the virus dies After that, you can use povidone iodine and go directly to the nearest health facility for further treatment For risky wounds, usually the patient will get 4 doses of rabies vaccine injections to build immunity against the rabies virus Besides that, it is also important to observe animals that bite / scratch you at least for 14 days if the animal suddenly dies, it must be reported to the nearest health care facility This is what the doctor said about rabies