'There's a bat in my mouth’: Virginia doctor's bat nightmare goes viral - WRAL
A Virginia doctor went viral after sharing her experience of waking up to a bat attempting to enter her mouth while she slept. Medical experts are using the incident to emphasize the urgent need for rabies testing and treatment following potential bat exposure.
Why it matters
Bat encounters in homes pose a significant public health risk due to the potential for rabies transmission, which is nearly 100% fatal if untreated.
A Richmond, Virginia, doctor woke up last week to find a bat trying to get into her mouth — and her viral story carries an important warning for anyone who encounters a bat inside their home.
Dr. Krista Edelman, a gastroenterologist who lives off Grove Avenue in Richmond, was asleep in her nearly 100-year-old home when the encounter happened. She has since shared her experience on Instagram, where it has been shared more than 33,000 times.
"So brace yourself, this is a bat PSA," Edelman said in the video.
Edelman said she was dreaming when she first sensed something near her face.
"So I was dreaming, and in my dream there was a cute little field mouse. This is pretty vivid, the whole thing. A little field mouse trying to get into my mouth," Edelman said.
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