Eli5: How / why do people with rabies become scared of water?

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I know a symptom of rabies is Hydrophobia, but I’m so curious as to how and why the virus can do that.

And I don’t know even mean unable to drink water – I mean those visceral & terrified reactions to even being offered water.

How could a virus make you afraid of water?

In: Biology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your amygdala is being eaten alive so there’s a bunch of sensory input that is responded to with abject fear and avoidance, including the ability to swallow.

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