Skip to main content

Dogs -> rabies -> not fun times



Let me start by stating—I have never been a dog person. Now, they are on my hit list.
 
In the interests of keeping my blog 'real' I will tell the following story, as it happened.
A few hours ago I was walking out of a coffee shop in Surin, then a large, silent (i.e. non-barking) dog ran towards me and bit me on the leg! I did not see and did not hear the dog running towards me, but then it did start barking, and I had to fight the animal off!

I immediately washed the wound (not serious), and then started panicking about RABIES. This is a fun disease, which can be contracted by a DOG bite or even saliva from a DOG. I took myself off in a tuk-tuk to the public hospital, which everyone told me was really good. Let me add here that I know five Thai people in Surin well. I phoned each one, no one answered. They were all: busy, sleeping, or not answering. Let me also add that my morning was not the best. All in all it was shaping up to be one of those days :(.

I got to the hospital, minimal English. I pantomimed being bit and said a few times 'Maaaa jeb' while pointing at my leg. The idea got across. I heard some Thai with a few 'farangs' included and then I filled out a few forms and was finally led to a Dr. He did speak good English, asked me a few questions about my health and so forth, took my blood pressure—a bit high, I wonder why?—and then gave me a form which purchased my medicine: vaccine and antibiotics. GREAT, I just love inoculations!

I went back to the Dr, he handed me over to a guy in a white shirt, presumably a nurse. Who then made my day perfect by giving me two inoculations, one in each arm. GREAT!
By this time I was feeling sorry for myself. I finally managed to get one of my Thai friends who said she would come around 'as soon as the seminar is finished'. GREAT.

What really really annoys me about this is that in Perth, Australia, before each of my trips to the 3rd world over the last 3 years I have visited the Travellers Medical Centre, where I received a few boosters and things, and listened to the latest travel advice. Each time I have asked if I needed a rabies inoculation. Each time these comfortable Drs, sitting in their plush comfortable offices, said 'No, no need. Most dogs are ok, no problem, no need, relax, don't worry' etc. 

Anywho—three more injections over the next 10 days GREAT. You remember my planned trip to Laos and my needing a new visa? Guess what, trip is delayed, and I will have to go to the immigration office, 40 min mini-bus ride away, to request a visa extension. GREAT.

I will keep you all posted.

Moral of the story: don't get bitten by a dog. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pattani — the ‘deep’ south of Thailand

First, some advisories: A. ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. In comparison approximately 400 people die every year from traffic accidents in the same region. You have been advised. B. Getting there. There seems to be a scam carried out by the local tour operators to persuade travellers to take mini-buses on journeys between the towns in southern Thailand. These mini-buses cost several times as much as a normal bus. For example, I was quoted 1000 baht (~$35) between Trang and Pattani ~250kms, as compared to 200 baht for a VIP bus. A clear difference. Take the l...
24 comments
Read more

The Sukhothai Kingdom—Si Satchanalai City

  Information plaque for the first temple. The first wat you will see. Wat Phra Si Rattana Maha That Chaliang. As described in my blog post on the Sukhothai Kingdom, this former Kingdom is survived both by the modern Kingdom of Thailand, and by three archaeological sites, which together form a UNESCO World Heritage site. These three sites are the former three, major cities of this ancient Kingdom. The first and largest, the ancient city of Sukhothai, was described previously, here I will describe the second city of the Kingdom, the city of Si Satchanalai ("C-sack-chan-a-lie"). This site is officially termed the "Si Satchanalai Historical Park". Si Satchanalai is found in the north of the province of Sukhothai. Reaching Si Satchanalai is easy enough. Buses regularly leave from the Sukhothai city bus terminal for the ~50kms, ~70min trip to the site of Si Satchanalai, this is along the route, Bangkok to Chang Rai, with the next major stop b...
1 comment
Read more

The Hardship of the Traveller.

Those folk, those who sit in front of the ‘big plasma screen’ (even though these days it might be an lcd), ‘back home’, in ‘the world’, most likely have a romanticised view of a life on the road—a life led by those who travel.  Most of these less informed people believe it to be an existence of ease and comfort, wandering care-freely throughout the world, however, while there is a sizeable element of truth to this, there is also a reciprocal degree of difficulty, and then some. A life on the road is a life of challenge, of the need to be constantly alert, to suffer alienation, to be surrounded, constantly, by those who regard you as an outsider, as different. In essence, to stay fleet of foot for an extended period of time, visiting new places, seeing new things, is demanding and difficult, tiring and challenging. It is not a life for everyone. To stay truly mobile one must cope with a constantly changing, and always different environment, where one is always one step behind, where...
Post a Comment
Read more