What are the post-vaccination precautions after receiving a rabies vaccine?

Mar 19, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health

Dr. Yang Ziqi

Introduction

In general, after receiving the rabies vaccine, it is important to follow dietary restrictions, avoid alcohol consumption, refrain from strenuous exercise, prevent wound infection, and use other medications cautiously. In daily life, it is recommended to avoid contact with stray animals as much as possible to reduce the risk of animal bites or scratches. If keeping pets at home, ensure they receive regular rabies vaccinations and maintain their overall health through proper management.

Generally speaking, rabies vaccine refers to the vaccine for rabies. Post-vaccination considerations include dietary restrictions, avoiding alcohol consumption, avoiding strenuous exercise, preventing wound infections, and cautiously using other medications. Detailed explanations are as follows:

1. Dietary Restrictions

After receiving the rabies vaccine, avoid eating spicy or irritating foods such as chili peppers, Sichuan peppers, and mustard. These foods may stimulate the body, causing blood vessel dilation, increasing the likelihood of adverse vaccine reactions, and potentially interfering with the immune response process of the vaccine in the body.

2. Avoid Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol can accelerate blood circulation, possibly triggering adverse vaccine reactions such as fever, headache, and fatigue. It may also affect the vaccine's ability to induce antibody production in the body, reducing the protective effectiveness of the vaccine.

3. Avoid Strenuous Exercise

Strenuous activities such as sprinting, playing basketball, or soccer can put the body into a state of stress, increasing the body's metabolic burden. This may affect the immune efficacy of the vaccine and could also lead to discomfort reactions at the injection site, such as increased redness, swelling, and pain.

4. Prevent Wound Infection

If the vaccine was administered due to an animal bite or scratch, proper wound care is necessary. Keep the wound clean and dry, avoid getting it wet, change the dressing regularly as directed by a physician, and prevent bacterial infection that could impair wound healing and vaccine effectiveness.

5. Cautious Use of Other Medications

During the vaccination period, if other medications are needed, consult a physician first. Some medications may interact with the rabies vaccine, affecting its effectiveness or increasing the risk of adverse reactions, such as immunosuppressants.

In daily life, it is recommended to avoid contact with stray animals as much as possible to reduce the risk of animal bites or scratches. If keeping pets at home, ensure regular rabies vaccinations and proper health management for pets.

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What should I do if a kitten bites me and breaks the skin?

In general, if bitten by a kitten and bleeding occurs, you should stop the bleeding, clean and bandage the wound, seek medical attention, receive a rabies vaccination, and follow up with proper wound care and observation. When playing with kittens, try to avoid actions that may provoke them, such as pulling their tails excessively or scratching them forcefully. Additionally, avoid feeding kittens directly by hand to prevent accidental bites.

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Do I need to get a rabies vaccine after being scratched by a dog?

Whether rabies vaccination is required after being scratched by a dog depends on the level of wound exposure. If it is a Level I exposure, where the skin is not visibly broken, vaccination may be withheld with close observation. For Level II exposure, where there is no bleeding but there are tooth marks or scratch marks on the skin, the wound should be cleaned and disinfected, and vaccination is necessary. In the case of Level III exposure, where the wound is bleeding, prompt vaccination is required.

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How many doses of the rabies vaccine are required for the initial vaccination?

The number of initial rabies vaccine doses depends on the injection method. The five-dose regimen requires five injections, starting on the day of the bite (day 0), followed by injections on day 3, day 7, day 14, and day 28. The four-dose regimen requires four injections: two doses on day 0, and one dose each on day 7 and day 21.