A woman was urged to seek medical attention after waking up and finding two mysterious bite marks on her chest that were red and raised, with people concerned it could be an “emergency”
Jess Flaherty Senior News Reporter
14:53, 21 Apr 2026
The woman found a mark on her chest (stock image)(Image: Boy_Anupong via Getty Images)
A woman woke up to find two small marks on her chest, prompting people to urge her to treat the discovery as “an emergency” and seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Finding unexpected wounds or marks on your body can be an incredibly unsettling experience, with many people opting to photograph their scrapes, bruises and injuries before sharing them online in the hope that someone might be able to identify the cause.
This is precisely what one woman decided to do after waking up with two round, red and raised marks on her chest. She uploaded a photo of the marks to Reddit with the simple caption: “Woke up with these bite marks on my chest”.
Fellow Reddit users were quick to offer their theories and suggestions. It’s worth noting that any advice or comments made on the internet, based solely on photographs, will always be speculative.
If you have any concerns regarding your health, it’s best to book an appointment with your GP for a thorough medical assessment and any necessary tests.
One Reddit user simply said: “Spider” while another concurred: “My vote is also spider; I have also gotten spider bites in my sleep; need not be a wolf spider.”
A third drew a comparison to the beloved comic book and film franchise superhero Spider-Man, who was famously bitten by a radioactive spider that gifted him with supernatural powers. They quipped: “Do you wear glasses? You might not need them anymore”.
However, others chose to take a more serious stance on the matter. One person said: “Public health inspector here. Please make sure it’s not a bat. If there’s even a possibility, you need rabies shots.”
The original poster replied: “I looked all over my house and couldn’t find any signs of a bat. My apartment is pretty small so I would think I would notice it in the morning at least when I woke up. Should I still get it?”
She went on to add: “We didn’t have any windows open, and I don’t ever see or hear any bats in our area. I just saw a news story last year of a bat in our town that tested positive after biting someone”.
Someone else said: “That last part would probably take me to the doctor, just in case”.
Another was in agreement: “OP [original poster], I’m an ER nurse. You can ask your doctor about it since your town has had rabid bats.”
A further commenter urged: “Go get a rabies shot. Your town has bats and a bat tested positive. This is an emergency, do not wait. You only have a limited time to get a rabies shot. Please go.”
But one person highlighted how this might not be quite so straightforward. They explained: “Idk [I don’t know] where OP lives but if this were me, I would be refused the shots if I went to the doctor or ER with OP’s story. I’d be labelled a hypochondriac and sent away, potentially asked to follow up with a therapist.”
The original poster replied: “This is exactly it. I’ve gotten rabies shots before for an encounter with a stray dog and it took so much convincing to get it. Not to mention expensive even with insurance. I don’t want to have to go through that again if it’s not absolutely necessary”.
Another user added: “If you’ve gotten the rabies vaccine before you won’t get the immunoglobulin again which is the most expensive part. Just booster vaccines, current protocol is two booster doses of vaccine.”
The NHS advises: “Rabies is a rare but serious infection that’s usually caught from a bite or scratch of an infected animal. It’s almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but vaccination and early treatment can prevent it.”