Diet taboos after dog bites

The first is irritating foods that will aggravate the body's inflammatory response or overlap with adverse reactions after vaccination. The second is foods you have been allergic to in the past.； Most of the taboos circulated on the Internet, such as "you cannot eat beef, mutton, eggs, soy sauce, and coffee," have no clear scientific basis and will not affect the protective effect of rabies vaccines. This is the current consensus conclusion in the field of disease control.

Speaking of which, when I worked as a volunteer in the vaccination department of a community hospital in the past two years, I saw too many people putting extra pressure on themselves in terms of diet. A young man had a spicy hot pot meal after getting the second dose of vaccine. He went to the emergency room in the middle of the night because of a sore throat and a fast heartbeat. He insisted that the vaccine had expired and needed to be re-injected. However, after a long investigation, he found that the spicy food was so spicy that he got angry. It was a false alarm. ； There was also an aunt who ate boiled vegetables with plain water for ten days after receiving the injection. She said she was afraid that eating "hair products" would affect her antibodies. She finally felt dizzy and went to test for antibodies. The concentration was more than three times higher than the qualified line.

Why are there so many different taboo sayings? In fact, there are historical reasons. In the early years, the purity of the rabies vaccine used in China was low, and the adverse reaction rate after vaccination was very high. Many people would experience fever, redness and swelling of the needle puncture, and fatigue. At this time, drinking alcohol or eating spicy food could easily aggravate the discomfort. Therefore, the older generation of disease control doctors would casually give a few words to avoid certain foods. This experience was absolutely no problem in the context of that time. However, the commonly used vero cell purified vaccine has long been upgraded, and the adverse reaction rate has been reduced to very low levels. In the 2021 version of the "Technical Guidelines for Rabies Prevention and Control", there is no mention of any dietary-related contraindications at all.

Don’t think I’m saying “you can eat whatever you want after the injection.” There aren’t many situations where you really need to avoid it. For example, if you have a slight fever the day after the injection and your arm is swollen due to the needle puncture, don’t show off that extra spicy butter pot meal at this time - it’s not that it will affect the production of antibodies, but spicy food will dilate blood vessels and aggravate the inflammatory reaction. The original fever is 37.5℃, but after eating it may directly jump to 38.5℃. You will be punished for two extra days for no reason, and you are not guilty. Also, if you usually get rashes after eating mangoes or have diarrhea after eating seafood, don’t touch them during this period. Otherwise, if you really have an allergic reaction, you won’t be able to tell whether it’s from what you eat or from the vaccine. You’d have to go to the hospital for a long time, and you’d be scared to death.

Oh, by the way, if you are seeing an old doctor who specifically tells you to avoid spicy food, alcohol, and strong tea, don’t go up and accuse him of being unprofessional. I am just reminding you based on previous clinical experience. If you are really worried, there is nothing to lose if you control your diet a little one week before and after vaccination. It is just a few less drinks and two less hot pot meals. There is no need to worry about this.

As for the rumors circulating on the Internet about not eating soy sauce, eggs, and beef and mutton, they are simply confused with the taboos about trauma. Last time I met a little girl who ate white porridge with vegetables for a week after her injection. She said she was afraid of scars caused by eating soy sauce. She was so hungry and dizzy that she asked if she could have a tea egg, which really made me laugh. The purpose of the rabies vaccine is to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies. It has nothing to do with the color of what you eat or whether it is "fat". As long as you eat it normally and there is nothing wrong with it, just eat it. Some people also asked if they could drink coffee. As long as you don’t feel flustered after drinking it, one cup of American coffee a day is perfectly fine. Don’t drink three or five cups at a time. I’m a little nervous about injections. If you drink too much, your heart will beat faster and you’ll have to wonder if there’s something wrong with the vaccine.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the most important thing to worry about after being bitten by a dog is never the diet. The first thing to do is to flush the wound with running soapy water and clean water for more than 15 minutes, and to get the full course of vaccine/immune globulin on time. This is the core of 100% prevention of rabies. As for what to eat, just follow your own body's feelings. Eat when you feel comfortable, and stop when you feel uncomfortable. Don't torture your mouth for some unwarranted taboos, it's not worth it.