OCD and Rabies

[Montrose12]

Three weeks ago, I was hiking in Palm Springs & saw a hippy/hiker guy with a dog. The dog was friendly and behaved normally, so I pet him. He got playful but my hand grazed one of his incisors. He did not bite me. A few minutes later, I had a pin-prick-size spot of blood on my left index finger. The guy said his dog did not have rabies shots.  I went to a quick clinic where the PA recommended that I undergo the rabies series. They didn't have the series there so he sent me to the ER. When I saw the ER attending, he said that given the size of the wound, its location and the fact that there hasn't been a case of rabies in dogs in CA for a number of years, he "definitely" would not recommend the series of shots and sent me on my way. I felt good about that.  Then, the following week, I was doing some work in the kitchen and afterwards noted tingling in my left index finger (a symptoms of rabies).  A few days after that, I started feeling crappy...like a stomach bug.  The tingling in the finger is still there (but I'm preoccupied about it) and if anything, I feel less malaise than I did a couple of weeks ago.  My OCD is in high gear now.  It boils down to not being sure that I should have trusted the ER doc, despite his confidence.  From what I have read, if the symptoms I have been experiencing were, in fact, related to rabies, they would not get better and I would be dead (or well on my way).  I want to nip this in the bud, but previous attempts to manage my OCD are undone by the fact that one treatment provider recommended the shots and the other didn't.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

[JGF25]

Never hurts.....OCD people are always seeking reassurance and in some instances that is valid.  What you don't want to do is get in the habit of seeking reassurance for all the thoughts because that means you have not learned how to help yourself, or have the tools necessary, to deal with OCD irrational thinking.  

[JGF25]

Hi there....yes...stress will bring it all crashing down on us.  I'm not a rabies expert.  I think though that if you are doing internet searches, you are going to find all the bad things and attribute those onto yourself.  Rabid animals usually are aggressive.  It doesn't sound like this dog did anything other than let you pet him/her and you happened to scrape your finger.  You could always contact your primary care doc and see what he/she says but I also think three weeks...yeah...I'm thinking you don't have to worry about this.  

[Montrose12]

Thanks JGF25...I have to avoid looking at the internet and "re-checking" things.  But, I did make an appointment with my PCP, just in case.