What to Do if a Bat Touches You
The sight of a bat flying through the sky may be harmless, but an up-close encounter is a different story. Just ask Krista Edelman, MD, a gastroenterologist in Virginia, who recently went viral after revealing in an Instagram video that she woke up to find a bat attempting to burrow into her mouth.
Dr. Edelman said in her video that she dreamed a mouse was trying to get into her mouth, only to wake up and discover that it was a bat. "I went from thinking I was dreaming to realizing very quickly that this was, in fact, happening," she said.
Edelman's video comes just a few weeks after an 11-year-old boy in Canada died after waking up to find a bat on his face. Initially, his family didn't seek medical care for him because there weren't any visible bites. But he developed symptoms of rabies about 19 days later, and died after two weeks in the hospital.
If you come into contact with a bat, it's essential to get proper medical assessment and treatment. Doctors explain the health risks of touching a bat.
Can Touching a Bat Make You Sick?
Rabies, a serious viral disease, is the biggest health concern from bat encounters. These flying mammals are the leading source of human rabies cases in the United States. Of the 60,000 Americans who get rabies shots each year, two-thirds do so because of a bat exposure. Among rabies fatalities, at least 7 out of 10 are caused by bats.
But the type of bat exposure matters. "Touching a bat's fur, or contact with bat blood, urine, or droppings, is not by itself considered a rabies exposure and does not require treatment," says Zoe Weiss, MD , a clinical microbiologist and an infectious disease specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The situation is different and far more dangerous if the bat's saliva enters the body through a bite, scratch, or via contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth, she explains.
The problem is that it can be difficult to know if a bat has bitten or scratched you, says Neil Modi, MD , an infectious disease physician at Northwell Health Primary and Specialty Care at Chappaqua Crossing, New York. "Because bat bites and scratches can be easily missed and wounds can often be minuscule, many people do not realize they have been scratched or bitten," he explains.
As a result, "any direct physical contact with a bat should be evaluated by a health professional rather than dismissed," Dr. Weiss says.
Rabies is almost always fatal in humans if it's not treated promptly after an exposure. But the virus that causes rabies cannot be transmitted from person to person.
How to Know if a Bat Exposure Is High-Risk or Low-Risk
Healthcare providers typically categorize bat exposures as high-risk or low-risk.
High-Risk Bat Exposures
Common high-risk exposures are waking up to find a bat flying around your bedroom or a bat flying into you, according to John Crane, MD, PhD , a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In this situation, you can't rule out the possibility that the bat has touched, scratched, or bitten you, he explains.
It's also concerning if a bat flies into you, because it suggests something is wrong with the animal. "Bats have excellent echolocation and navigation skills - they are very adept flyers and are not clumsy when healthy," says Christopher Bazzoli, MD , an emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic. "A normal bat will not collide with a human, even if inside a home."
Finding a bat near an unattended child is also considered a high-risk exposure if the bat cannot be tested, Dr. Modi says. "As far as your pets, finding a bat near your pet does not necessarily qualify as a human exposure," he says. "It does qualify as a pet exposure. Your pet should be taken to your veterinarian for a thorough assessment."
Low-Risk Bat Exposures
If you see a bat outdoors, it's considered a low-risk encounter and does not require treatment, Dr. Crane says. "If you had a bat in your garage, opened the door, and the bat flew out, that would be low-risk," he says.
Touching a bat's fur is considered low-risk as well, as long as you can rule out a bite or scratch, Modi says. But you should never pick up a bat with your bare hands, he notes.
What to Do Immediately After a Bat Touches You
It is typically considered a high-risk exposure if a bat touches you (even if you can't see a wound), bites you, or tries to get in your mouth.
"Wash the site immediately and thoroughly with soap and water for several minutes," Weiss says. "Immediate wound washing alone substantially reduces rabies risk."
Consider Trying to Catch the Bat to Be Tested for Rabies
If you're indoors and able to safely capture the bat that touched you, doctors recommend trying to catch it so health officials can test it for rabies.
"If the bat can be safely captured and tested, and the result is negative, post-exposure treatment can be avoided entirely, or stopped if already started," Weiss says.
She suggests the following for safety while trying to capture a bat:
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Wear thick gloves.Do not try to touch the bat with bare hands.
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Use a box or coffee can.When the bat lands, cover it with a container, slide cardboard underneath to trap the animal and tape the container closed with air holes.
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Contact local animal control or your local health department.They can arrange testing and determine if treatment is needed.
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Preserve the bat for testing."Do not release it and try not to damage the head, which is needed for the test," Weiss says. "Never attempt to keep or relocate a live bat."
Should You Go to the ER if a Bat Touches You?
It is important to seek medical care quickly after a physical encounter with a bat. Weiss suggests contacting your local health department and going to the emergency room for a rabies shot and immunoglobulin, an emergency medicine made from human blood that delivers short-term antibodies to help neutralize the rabies virus.
Weiss says it's better to go to an ER than an urgent care facility, since ERs are more likely to have the treatment you'll need. "Not all locations will carry the rabies immunoglobulin, so it does also help to either call ahead to the location to check if they have it, or call your local health department. They can usually direct people to a nearby site known to stock rabies treatment, which is often faster than calling around," she says.
During a medical evaluation, your healthcare provider will assess your risk by getting a detailed history of the exposure to determine if treatment is needed, per Modi. "They will also assess the wound and provide local wound care," he says. "Often, a public health official will be contacted as well to assist with the assessment."
Post-exposure prophylaxis (or PEP), the shots you get to prevent rabies infection, "should begin as soon as possible after exposure, ideally the same day, although it should still be given even after a delay," Weiss says.
"Rabies is essentially fatal once the disease reaches the central nervous system," says Dr. Bazzoli. "That being said, the process of tissue exposure to infection, and that infection spreading to the central nervous system, takes days - our best data indicate a week or more. This is why we think of rabies exposure as a medical urgency, and typically not an emergency."
Are Rabies Shots Painful?
You may have heard that rabies vaccination involves a painful shot in the stomach, but those are a thing of the past. "That hasn't been the case for more than 20 years, and it's a dangerous myth," Crane says. "This is a regular injection in your arm, like a flu shot."
The rabies vaccine is often a series of shots in the arm, according to Modi. "Depending on if you have been vaccinated in the past, the number of shots can range from two to four," he says. "Additionally, your healthcare provider may determine you need locally administered rabies immunoglobulin, depending on your medical history, vaccination history, and the details of your exposure."
How to Prevent Bat-Related Illness
There are a few things you can do to lower your chances of a high-risk bat encounter.
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Try to keep bats out of your living spaces.That means sealing any potential entry points for wildlife, such as vents, chimneys, or windows, Modi says.
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Don't handle bats."Never directly touch or handle a bat," Modi says.
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Vaccinate pets against rabies.This "maintains a barrier between wildlife and people," Weiss says.
The Takeaway
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Bats are the main reason Americans are treated for rabies in the United States.
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High-risk bat exposures can be hard to detect, as the animal can bite or scratch without humans realizing it.
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It's important to seek medical care quickly after a bat exposure, as rabies can be fatal.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy . We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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Kristaedelmanmd. Instagram . August 21, 2026.
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Sreeram P et al. Fatal Rabies in a Child. Canadian Medical Association Journal . June 29, 2026.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . July 1, 2025.
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Kunkel A et al. Notes from the Field: Three Human Rabies Deaths Attributed to Bat Exposures - United States, August 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . January 7, 2022.
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