One of the first things any medical provider will ask about if you suffer a dog bite in Alabama is if the dog is up to date on its rabies vaccination. This is an essential question because rabies is a horrible disease that often infects animals and is easily spread to humans through saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you get rabies, it will start to infect your central nervous system, which leads to an impact on your brain and eventually causes death. If are bitten by a dog who has not had its vaccinations or you do not know if the dog has been vaccinated, then you will need to get immediate medical care. Your doctor will give you medication to help stop the disease in case you have contracted it. You should clean your bite right away with soap and water and then see your doctor.
It can take months for the disease to start exhibiting symptoms, so even if the dog looks and acts fine, it could still have the disease. You could also have it without knowing. During the incubation period when the disease is not making you exhibit symptoms, it is still at work in your body. Even the early symptoms may not tip you off that something is wrong because they often mimic the flu.
Once the disease is fully running its course, you will start to become confused and act abnormally. Once you start having these symptoms, it is almost impossible to treat the disease and death is very likely. That is why seeking immediate care is so important. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
