What should you do if you are bitten by a raccoon

Raccoons are commonly found in rural as well as urban settings and most of the times their presence in an environment brings different kinds of complications for inhabitants. In United States generally raccoons are considered as the main carriers of rabies so people normally get extra conscious after seeing them. Normally all warm blooded animals have the capacity of carrying rabies, but as for raccoons they are categorized as the Rabies Vector Species. This further highlights the fact that you have to be extremely careful while dealing with these kinds of animals. For your information it is important to mention that after contracting rabies a raccoon normally dies within one to three days and if you have received a bite from rabid raccoons then good thing is that effective treatment is available for this, but it is upon you to visit the nearest medical facility as soon as possible.



Seeing a raccoon during daytime doesn’t ensure that it has rabies. It is not necessary that such an animal will be sick or dangerous. For raccoons it is not entirely abnormal to be out during daytime. She can be out for search for food. However, if you notice the below mentioned behavioral patterns, then proper assistance should be taken from wild life control.

A raccoon unaware of sounds or movements taking place in surroundings

• Discharge coming from mouth and eyes
• Recurrent high pitch vocalization
• Erratic wandering
• Staggering gait

These are the warning signs and if a raccoon is being presented with these, then you should call wildlife control department.

Coming towards raccoons bites it has been mentioned above that for raccoons being out during the light of day is not something, which can be termed as uncommon, but if a raccoon is showing aggressive behavior towards a person, then it can be termed as unusual. Females don’t hesitate in attacking human, but only when they find them threatening for their kids. In rare cases a raccoon decides to chase an individual. From this point it should be realized that if you have received a bite from a raccoon that is disoriented or aggressive, then it is best to seek medical assistance because chances for rabies can’t be excluded. Even if the raccoon is not rabid you still need to visit the hospital for taking the necessary medication for bite. Remember this is not something, which you should take lightly because tough complications are associated.

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