Jakarta –
Viral on social media a child is said to have died after being bitten by a positive rabies dog. Before he died, the child allegedly experienced symptoms of hydrophobia or fear of water.
Rabies is a dangerous virus that causes inflammation of the brain. Animals can spread rabies to humans through bites and scratches.
Quoted from Medical News Today, Patients infected with rabies may experience hydrophobia or fear of water. The reason is that the infection causes a violent spasm in the throat when a person tries to swallow.
Even the thought of swallowing water can cause convulsions, so it appears that the patient is afraid of water.
Hydrophobia is characteristic of violent rabies. Another classic feature of rabies is fluctuating consciousness, altered mental state, aerophobia to seizures.
Rabies is experienced in different stages, namely:
Incubation
Incubation is the time before symptoms appear. It usually lasts from 2-3 months and varies from 1 week to 1 year, depending on where the virus enters the body and the number of viral particles involved. The closer the bite is to the brain, the faster the effect occurs.
By the time symptoms appear, rabies is usually fatal. Anyone exposed to the virus should seek medical attention immediately, without waiting for symptoms.
Prodrome
During the prodrome, initial flu-like symptoms occur, including:
- Fever 38°C or more
- Headache
- Emergency
- Feeling unwell
- Sore throat and cough
- Nausea and vomiting
- Discomfort at the bite site
- Acute neurological period
During this stage, neurological symptoms develop, including:
- Confusion and aggression
- Partial paralysis
- Involuntary muscle twitching
- Stiff neck muscles
- seizures
- Hyperventilation and difficulty breathing
- Hypersalivation, or producing a lot of saliva
- Foaming at the mouth
- Fear of water, or hydrophobia
- Hallucinations, nightmares and insomnia
- Priapism, or permanent erections, in men
- Photophobia, or fear of light
Towards the end of this phase, breathing becomes fast and inconsistent.
Coma and death
A person can fall into a coma, and most people die within 3 days. During the comatose stage, even with supportive therapy, almost no one survives rabies.
Watch Video “Exasperated! Cat Show for Zero Rabies and Zoonoses Movement Campaign“
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2023-05-11 00:32:10
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