Question On A Dog Bite: I Was Bitten On The

Posted on Mon, 26 Aug 2019

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

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Question on a dog bite: I was bitten on the hand yesterday by an unknown dog (it ran off after the bite). It is not a deep bite, just scratched a line on the surface of my thumb and bled for 10 to 15 minutes. I had a rabies shot in July 2018. Is that recent enough that I do not need to worry about whether this dog has rabies? Today the bite area is slightly red, but not swollen. Thanks!

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
No need to worry. No shots needed.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for trusting us with your health concern.
You had your last rabies vaccine almost one year ago. You need not have any rabies vaccine now. Just to be very sure you can get a booster single shot to maintain your immunity.
The mild redness at the site of bite can be due to local inflammation. This will gradually subside in next few days.
Please feel free to discuss further. I will be glad to answer the follow up queries that you have.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar