Hi there, I realize this concern may seem silly but I can't get it off my mind. I was driving along a main road when I came across a dead skunk in the middle of the road. I slowed to avoid hitting it again and I went around it, but as I did so I caught a strong whiff of skunk spray through the open window. This smell dissipated as soon as I drove off, so I wonder if it was indeed skunk spray after all (since I have heard it can smell for miles, and it didn't).
I know rabies mainly spreads through saliva and bites, but I have read that in rare cases gases emitted by decomposing corpses can contain the rabies virus. If the smell I smelled was not skunk spray, and instead gas from the rotting corpse, would I get rabies from the particles in my nose? Would it matter that I was outside? The day was warm-ish but I don't believe the skunk had been in the road long enough for the rabies virus to have died. (It was not there six hours before.)
I realize this may be a very silly concern, but I can't stop thinking about the possibility that I may get rabies. I cannot get shots easily, and I know if I told a doctor I would just get laughed at. Thank you for reading.