Is Rabies Vaccination Required After Bruising From A Dog?

Posted on Sat, 15 Aug 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 15 Aug 2015 Answered on

Fri, 4 Sep 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : My son was bit by a dog in chile but there was no broken skin or bleeding but a small bruise. Does he need a rabies shot? He asked about the dog's status but no one knew who the dog belonged to

Answered by Dr. Swarnava Dattagupta (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes rabies vaccine should be given

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query in healthcaremagic.com
This is Dr. Swarnava dattagupta answering your query.

I have gone through your query and understand your concern.
According to the guidelines, if the status of the dog is not known, i.e. whether it is vaccinated or not cannot be proved by documents or so, and someone gets bitten by that dog, rabies vaccine should be given. There might not necessarily be bleeding or cut wound or skin crack. Even licking by a rabid dog can lead to rabies transmission. Hence, it is advisable to get rabies vaccination done as per schedule.

Hope i have answered your question.
If you have any further questions i will be happy to help.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad