Animal Bite? Wash 15 Minutes With Soap and Water, Get Care
If you are bitten or scratched by a wild or unfamiliar animal, CDC says to wash the wound immediately with soap and water for 15 minutes to flush out any virus, then talk with a health care or public health professional about your risk and whether you need rabies-related care. CDC stresses that rabies requires urgent medical attention; if you may have been exposed to an animal with rabies, contact your health department right away.
CDC says rabies is preventable in people, but you must seek medical help right away; post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is highly effective if you get it as soon as possible after exposure; PEP includes wound washing, human rabies immune globulin and rabies vaccine. This article follows CDC’s rabies prevention page: what to do after a bite, how to avoid risk and what to watch for when traveling abroad. Ask your health care provider if you have questions.
After a bite or scratch
CDC explains (CDC Rabies Prevention):
- Wash the wound: wash the wound immediately with soap and water for 15 minutes to flush out any virus.
- Talk to a professional: talk with a health care or public health professional about your risk and whether you need rabies-related care.
- Say what animal it was: tell them what kind of animal it was, and whether it was acting abnormally.
- If it was someone’s pet: ask the owner for proof of the pet’s current rabies vaccination.
- If you’re not sure about contact: if you’re not sure whether you had direct contact with a rabid animal, ask your health department whether you need treatment.
Why speed matters
- Urgent medical attention: CDC says rabies requires urgent medical attention; people who need the vaccine and don’t get it before symptoms start will most likely die.
- Professionals decide: rabies vaccination is complex, expensive and sometimes in short supply, so health professionals must quickly assess each possible exposure to decide whether vaccine is needed.
- Which animals: any mammal can carry rabies, and some are higher risk; your health department can advise whether you should be vaccinated.
Everyday prevention
- Keep away from wildlife: in the U.S., the best way to avoid rabies is to keep your distance from wildlife.
- Common rabid animals: common rabid animals in the U.S. include raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes.
- Don’t approach: don’t approach animals that seem injured, sick or dead; be especially careful with normally nocturnal animals, such as bats and raccoons, that are out during the day; call animal control when needed.
- Pets: keep pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date, and keep pets away from wildlife as much as possible.
Traveling abroad
- Check before you go: rabies in dogs is still common in many countries outside the U.S.; before you travel, check whether rabies is present in dogs or wildlife at your destination.
- While traveling: keep your distance from wild animals and unfamiliar dogs and cats.
CDC’s numbers
- Animal bites: over 4 million Americans report animal bites each year, and more than 1 million receive rabies-related care from health departments.
- Vaccination: each year, about 100,000 Americans get rabies vaccine after a possible exposure.
For checking for ticks after being outdoors, see Check Your Whole Body for Ticks, Shower Within 2 Hours; for where to go when you’re sick, see ERs Can't Refuse the Uninsured, Ask for Self-Pay Estimates; for choosing a primary doctor, see Pick a Primary Doctor First, HMOs Usually Need Referrals.
What this article doesn’t cover
- Reporting bites to animal control: the page doesn’t say to report bites to animal control, so this article doesn’t either; local rules weren’t checked.
- PEP details: how many doses and when are on a separate CDC page for health care providers that this article didn’t review.
- Cost: the page only says the vaccine is expensive; this article didn’t look into amounts or insurance coverage.
FAQ
An unfamiliar dog bit me and the wound is small. Do I still need to do anything?
CDC says that if a wild or unfamiliar animal bites or scratches you, wash the wound immediately with soap and water for 15 minutes, then talk with a health care or public health professional about your risk.
My neighbor’s dog bit me. What should I ask?
CDC says that if the biting animal is a pet, ask the owner for proof of current rabies vaccination.
I’m not sure whether a bat touched me. What should I do?
CDC says that if you’re not sure whether you had direct contact with a rabid animal, ask your health department whether you need treatment.
What should I watch for when traveling abroad?
CDC says to check before you go whether rabies is present in dogs or wildlife at your destination, and to keep your distance from wild animals and unfamiliar dogs and cats while traveling.
Sources and date checked
All checked on 2026-11-01.
- CDC, Rabies Prevention and Control (page updated 2025-07-01):https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/index.html