In this day and age, survival in the traditional sense of the word is no longer a thing. Or, at the very least, its meaning has shifted from what hunter-gatherers considered it to mean to a less extreme version of getting by in the world.
But it is by no means gone as a concept. There is always a non-zero chance of any of us finding ourselves in situations that would require survival skills.
So, just to be safe, folks in this viral r/ask thread shared random first aid and survival facts.
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Had an elderly neighbor pass out in his yard last summer at the age of 96. Ran over while calling 911 and checked vitals, then ran back home after remembering from 30 years back in boyscouts that if someone is possibly heat strokin, stuff ice packs in their armpits and growing area. Paramedics said it probably saved his life and kept his heart from stopping. He was back home from the hospital 2 days later and back out mowing his lawn in 98 degree weather. He's a stubborn old man with a good heart
Trust your instincts. Don’t worry about “looking dumb” or “offending” someone by crossing the street, not getting into a lift, doing something because others dare you and a whole lot of other things.
Trust your gut! If it says that person is a creep they likely are and you don't owe them s**t. To much is on the line babe, so get!
if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, or in a snowstorm, stay with the car. It is a shelter and easy to see from the air. Whereas people who walk off to get help end up lost or frozen, fall into ditches, get covered up by snow, etc.
Also, in an emergency situations, do not take shortcuts through unfamiliar territory. If you know a sure way to get somewhere, use that.
Flashlight, blankets, bottled water. Never know how long you might be sitting.
Survival can mean a lot of things. Seriously, Wikipedia’s segment on survival alone suggests everything from survival of individuals, societies and civilizations as living organisms to physical, non-living things like engineering structures as well as concepts like legal interest holding, and political succession and even things like the soul and spirit.
Honey is a natural anti-biotic and can be applied directly to a wound.
Manuka honey is medical-grade honey, used to support autolytic debridment for traumatic wounds. I presently have a leg injury that resulted in a hematoma. The honey is helping the wound to debride and drain. Much better than going to a wound clinic to have a nurse physically cut away the dead tissue.
I went to medical school so I have a plethora of knowledge in this subject but here’s one thing that everyone EVERYONE gets wrong: you cannot shock someone who has no heart beat. That does not cause someone’s heart to start beating. Everything you learned on TV is a lie.
this is pretty well known, but if you get stabbed/impaled by something, leave it in until you can get proper medical attention!
This is besides side-concepts like reproductive success, i.e. survival of particular genes and even nominal terminology for a genre of film, video games, and other aspects of media entertainment.
So, you can imagine why the traditional concept of survival—as in a person just trying to stay alive—is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind.
Keep away from idiots.
They will drag you down to their level, and beat you with experience.
This isn't physical first aid, but if you experience a traumatic event, play Tetris as soon as possible. It helps to block the formation of memories that can lead to post-traumatic symptoms and flashbacks.
People have been found dead of dehydration with drinking water on them. If you end up lost or stranded don’t try to ration water yourself to make it last longer, your body is best at utilizing whatever reserves it has. Dehydration symptoms can come on quickly and it may already be too late before you realize.
Once you actually realize you're thirsty, dehydration has already started. Every bit of water counts at this point. And, in a case like this, almost any type of drink will do.
In an article by StudyFinds, it says that the average American thinks they can survive in the wilderness for roughly 16 days. This, however, seems very questionable because only 17% of folks are very confident about their ability to start a fire, let alone identify edible plants and berries (14%).
When encountering bears, remember this:
Brown = lay down (play dead)
Black = fight back
White = goodnight (you're f****d no matter what)
pine tree sap is highly flammable, and a ripped shirt soaked in it and wrapped around a pole is a fantastic torch
Take a first aid class. They're inexpensive and could help you save a life.
All parents and parents to be should know first aid and how to do CPR on infants and children
The upside of this is that nearly 2 of 3 people experienced a newfound appreciation for the great outdoors because of the pandemic. Nearly 80% of them started thinking more critically about their eco-friendliness with another near 80-percentile claiming that this appreciation also boosted their willingness to take more action about said eco-friendliness.
If you are bitten by a cat and it breaks skin, it is advised to go to urgent care immediately. This is not because of rabies but rather the nasty bacteria in a cat's mouth. Cats' teeth are so sharp and small that it is essentially taking a hypodermic needle of bacteria and injecting you. The puncture wound is usually so small that the skin heals very quickly and the bacteria in deeply, making it hard to clean properly. These bites more often than not result in nasty fast-spreading infections.
Getting bitten in the hand or finger are the worst spots.
Look for red streaks.
Luckily, oral antibiotics that are started on right away usually clear the infection...but sometimes you will need IV antibiotics.
The oddly cool thing, and I can speak from experience, when you get IV antibiotics for this kind of bite you can basically start feeling the infection stop spreading and your swollen wound site beginning to shrink. It was like instant relief. My cat bit me (by mistake, he was trying to bite a brush). I didn't think anything of it. The next day the infection was spreading up my arm and my finger looked like a cocktail sausage. The ER doc said I could have lost my hand if I waited just a little bit longer to go somewhere.
Same with humans, we have tons of bacteria in our mouths. If you get bit and it breaks skin then go to the doctor
I have yet to be bitten by a human. Cats, a dog once, a hamster, a mouse or so, yes, but never a human.
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happened to me.bitten by my own vaccinated indoor cat! been 4 months, used to weeks of amoxicillin and my finger still hurts/throbs when i try to squeeze something. the microbiota of the mouth of an elderly cat can be really dangerous.
Crikey! This is all quite worrying. I've been bitten by cats more times than I can count over the years (usually playfully but sometimes not) and just used antiseptic and a plaster (band-aid). Thankfully I've never had any lasting ill-effects but I'll definitely bear this in mind in future. My youngest cat is very bitey - I guess I taste really good. :)
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I second that, I was attacked by a cat 15 years ago and went straight to A&E (ER) after, tetanus shot, antibiotics, painkiller etc. Still have the scars and a little bump on my finger - the bite went through the finger joint.
Cats are not attack animals so what exactly happened to make s cat attack you that severely
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Off topic: but where it says look for red streaks does that only apply to those with lighter complexions? I read that many people who have more melanin go without proper diagnoses when skin reddening and rashes are the major indicators. (Like Lyme disease) Because most med schools use light complexions when illustrating the signs.
This is true. But, in the last few years a med student, Malone Mukwende, made/published a book on skin conditions on darker skin, called Mind the Gap.
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I've been bitten by cats so many times I can't count them and never had an inflammation or an infection. I know n=1. Let's just say, if you see or feel an infection, then get treatment.
I should be dead, then. I get nipped by my cats often. Especially Blanche. She's a snot.
Playful nips are completely different, if a cat really bites it'll get to the bone
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Can vouch for this! Have a friend who was bitten by her own cat and ended having to have surgery on her hand because of it!
Treat it immediately with topical antiseptic, plenty of it, trying to really flush the wound out. Seconds count. If you get it early enough you may be able to avoid an ER visit and antibiotics. Give it a few minutes, perhaps up to an hour, and if it's swollen or hurting more at that point then further treatment is advised. I've personal experience of this, with bad infections at least twice in the last few years, several occasions where the antiseptic did its job straight away, and once where slightly delayed antiseptic didn't stop localised swelling but stopped the infection from needing further treatment. Yes, one of ours doesn't know when playing gets too serious...
Totally with you on this one. I’ve had cats for the last 30 years, occasional (accidental) bites - they take time to learn the difference between fingers and treats and sometimes get over-excited and forget about the difference. I’ve never had an infection. Step one, wash thoroughly with antibacterial soap and hot as you can stand water. Step two, apply antibacterial & antiseptic spray while holding the puncture wound(s) as open as you can. Step three, apply antibacterial & antiseptic cream/gel, which will keep working in/on the wound. Don’t cover with a bandage or bandaid unless you have to. Keep a close eye on the wound for the next 12-24 hours. I do the same for scratches.
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Any animal bite really. I got bitten by my own dog when he was choking. One hour later my hand was swollen like a balloon. I got IV antibiotics, take home antibiotics and my hand was still swollen for about a month, as the swelling slowly went down a bruise covering my entire hand popped up. The bite barely broke a skin and closed up by next day. Doggo was fine.
One of my cats, Finnegan, is a sweetheart but he's skittish. Once, while trying to get him into the cat carrier to bring him to the vet he bit me so hard. I kept an eye on it and it healed fine without going to the doctor but I was prepared to go if it got the least bit infected. Poor Finny was just scared! He's a good boy!
I've gotta be weird or something. I got bit by a stray cat on the knuckle. It was tender and swollen for a few days and then started to heal just fine. We named the stray spookers and he lives at my moms. He no longer looks like he's knocking on deaths door.
I believe this because I have read it other places. But my personal reality is I have had cats draw blood many times over the years and it was never a problem. It's not that I actively ignore science. It's just that I've been bit a number of times when I didn't know this was a concern so I ignored it and lucky for me it all worked out fine.
FYI if you go to the ER with a cat wound (I had to break up a fight and got a tooth right through a vein in my wrist. Blood spurting everywhere!) they will call Animal Control. AC will tell you that your cat is probably rabid and should be locked in a room alone for a week just in case. And no, I didn't do that to my cat. She started a fight because she was a jerk, not rabid. ;)
A cat bit my wrist once and my parents brushed it off saying that nothing will happen. Nothing bad happened but I hate how they dismissed it
Been there, done that. I tried to keep my cat from jumping behind the half wall in the basement (he just had surgery). Bit my hand. I was so full of adrenalin I didn't realize how much it hurt until the next day when my hand looked like a baseball mitt. He was not sorry, but I still loved him. LOL!
I’ve read the same for cat scratches. They dig around in urine and feces in litter boxes or the dirt in their attempts to be fastidious and clean.
Can confirm, my sister got bit by our cat (cause she tried to give him a bath and he freaked out) when she was in elementary school. She didn’t want to get in trouble so she hid it from everyone. She finally showed someone when she noticed red streaks up her arm and ended up in the hospital with blood poisoning. It was a scary situation for all of us.
Yes, can confirm this through experience! I was given the wrong antibiotics twice, in a few days, finally put on IV, and was very sick by then! Immediately go to the ER!
Between 3% to 18% of dog bites become infected versus 28% to 80% of cat bites.
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I got bit working at a vets too. I was holding a cat for Dr. Sowa and it bit my little finger like three times - chewed on it basically. It swelled up really bad but did get better on it's own - guess I was lucky. I was just a kid and no grownups were worried so...
My work colleague was bitten by her own cat and ended up in the hospital with sepsis
This is true. I was bitten and got antibiotics and a shot. I still had red streaks up my arm. The doctor said If they went all the way up and into my body, I'd be in serious trouble.
Human bites are very prone to infection- even getting teeth scrapes across knuckles from punching someone in the mouth, for example, get infected. But that pasteurella bacteria is very nasty. the only reason why my spouse doesn't want a cat.
I can vouch for this - a friend's cat bit and scratched me once (I was trying to remove this very nervous animal before it scratched one of the kids), and even though I washed it with tons of soap immediately, the next morning it was completely swollen up like a glove balloon. I got an antibiotic injected into my arm at the emergency room, and had to take a dose of tablets - and a dire warning to always go to ER immediately if bitten or scratched by a cat, because they have zillions of bacteria in their mouths and claws!
Yup. Usually, it's better to be bitten by a dog than a cat because dogs typically tear the skin and this allows an exit for the bacteria as it flows out with the blood and other effluvia. Cats usually punch their teeth in and out creating a well or pocket for bacteria to pool in. I've been bitten by both when I worked at my grandfather's veterinary clinic and we always treat cat bites quite cautiously, even if they don't look like much. Best advice is to try not to be bitten at all by anything if you can help it! Bacteria exists in the mouths of every creature and it will cause you harm unless you properly clean it, get a health professional to look it over, and do both as quickly as possible! If you think the bite is painful, that's NOTHING compared to the wound becoming infected!
A bit extreme... Yes, it can happen. It depends on the situation, on how hard the cat has bitten you and on how healthy your immune system is. If you are bitten by an animal (or a human) wash and disinfect the wound properly. If you start to feel the area swells or gets red and feverish, then go to the doctor. There are extreme examples of every kind of accident, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen to you. A florist in my town got tetanus when she scratched her hand with some rose thorns. As most adults, she hadn't had an immunisation boost for years. So, my pieces of advice are: 1. Be careful but don't get paranoid. 2. If something looks or feels wrong, go to the doctor. Don't wait until you feel you are going to die. 3. Have your tetanus vaccines updated.
Dear friend got sepsis after a feral cat chomped the webbing of one of his hands. No joke!
Kids get "Cat Scratch Fever" alot. Makes Nugent's song even creepier.
Everyone please invest in topical antibiotic. You can buy it at any pharmacy, most grocery stores, and even at some dollar stores. The brand doesn’t matter, it will work no matter what. If you get ANY (I mean any!) cuts or scrapes simply wash them with soap and water, let them dry, then apply some topical antibiotic and a bandaid if needed. If it starts to swell and looks infected then go to a doctor. also just a tip, don’t buy the ones for kids as they are often diluted and may work worse.
if an animal has some part of your body in its mouth (actively being bitten) resist the urge to yank that part of your body out of it's mouth. Yanking away from a bite will cause more damage by ripping the skin. It's actually better to push against the bite, push farther into the mouth, the animal will open it's mouth wider and let go and give you the WTAF look
Can definitely confirm. Went to urgent care the next day for a bite on myself finger, I needed an IV of antibiotics.
My daughter was bit by a cat and the infection required surgery on the hand and weeks of antibiotics. Not an uncommon outcome at all
To be fair not all dogs eat poo, it's only a percentage of them. Still a much higher number of cat bites that become infected. It is 3% to 18% of dog bites versus 28% to 80% of cat bites.
Load More Replies... Cats by the way are cruel animals, to all of you who think they're the second coming of christ. They toy with their prey and play sick games before eating. Don't try to defend the behavior. They're sociopathic in a way
You really can't be running round as a human slagging off any species and calling it cruel. Humans torture people for years, have the dark web, commit genocide, have pedos, beat the elderly, abuse and torture animals for food and go pyscho if it's mentioned. Created atomic bombs...this list goes on forever, shut ya stinking pyscho ape mouth when you're tryna slag any other species
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I think this applies more to outdoor cats because they eat their caught prey and chew on other stuff
nope. I know someone who had issues for months after her indoor cat bit her. The infection was nasty
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I know lots of them, but my favorite?
Doritos. You can light then on fire and they burn a long time. They make great fire tender.
If you have to do chest compressions, do them to the beat of (ironically) Another One Bites the Dust at 114 bpm. Also, if you ain’t breaking ribs you ain’t doing any good.
Journalist and author Beth Winegarner discussed the idea of survival within the context of modern-day society.
A book that she read, but did not disclose, on survival essentially claims that today’s individual is generally not equipped with the skills needed in order to survive, say, a climate change driven apocalypse.
If you feel like you are going to throw up, get an alcohol swab or a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol on it and breath in the fumes. It takes away the need to hurl long enough to get some Gravol on board, or at least to get to a bathroom. 17 years as a nurse. Still use this trick all the time. Have seen it stop people from throwing up mid hurl(but it’s not long lasting and you don’t want to be breathing and alcohol fumes for hours so it’s just a temporary fix).
If your body is telling you that it wants to hurl, it's quite possible there's something in your stomach that needs to be gotten rid of. Give in to the urge...
Super glue can be a band aid in desperation
My face was glued following a dog attack 65 years ago. I have no scars.
Cobwebs contain coagulants. You can use cobwebs to stop a wound from bleeding
According to the book, the skills needed to survive include building structures, hunting and foraging, cooking food, and making as well as repairing clothing, among other things. Now, it would spell trouble in cases when the person is alone or, even worse, becomes ill or injured. However, if things do become so dire, i.e. there’s an apocalypse, being alone was never a long-term strategy.
Don't trust air pockets. Like you swim underwater and then pop out on the other side in a small cave with air. There's no way for new oxygen to get in there so it could just be full of basically poison. The oxygen may have already been used up leaving only something bad for you
Story of some kids who swam just 15 feet to reach one. But there wasnt enough air left inside the pocket for them to get a good enough breath to swim back out. All four drowned
In some instances all that is left is the carbon dioxide expelled by previous breathers.
The needles from a white pine tree are very high in vit A and C, and you can make tea out of it if you're at risk of a vitamin deficiency
That's how the Canadian natives fought scurvy during winter. It was also said that they saved new settlers by giving them white pine needle tea.
If you vomit looks like coffee grounds, go to the hospital immediately because that means you're internally bleeding somewhere in your upper GI tract.
Being alone won’t be the case this time around—folks have historically formed communities, and so communities will continue to form, no matter the calamity. So, in that sense, you don’t need to know everything, just enough for everyone within your group of survivalists to be able to fill in the gaps with their YouTube tutorial experience.
Not so much of a tip as dispelling a myth, but you definitely don't have to run zig zag away from an alligator or crocodile. Just run straight and fast.
If you punch a bear in the nose. You can say you did something cool before you die.
Before trying to administer first aid or CPR, the scene MUST be safe for you to do so.
No fire, no wire, no gas, no glass, no thugs, no drugs there are no dangers here. I was taught that in Highschool more than 15 years ago. It being in rhyme helped me remember.
Moreover, being disabled herself, Winegarner remembers how early in the pandemic, disabled and chronically ill folks showed an example through proper masking, socializing online and mutual aid. Besides that, disability activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha also put out a guide that essentially walked folks through storing two weeks of water, food, power and fuel, sanitation and medical supplies, among other things.
Three of anything is a universal signal for SOS/Mayday.
Three rocks in a row. Three marks on a rock. Three sounds in succession.
...---... is SOS in Morse code Edit: correction thanks to Zaphod😊
If someone is very dehydrated and vomiting, stop giving them water. They will just continue to vomit it up losing even more fluids. They need electrolytes fast.
If you are about to get buried by an avalanche, put your hands over your mouth forming a little pocket in front. It gives you room to breath and also you can spit to find out which direction is up to start digging.
This in turn means that, if anything, most if not all disabled folks are more or less already ready for the apocalypse. Mayhaps even more than the average healthy person. Now, it won’t hurt to scroll through this list (especially if you’ve come this far and have already committed), so keep it up and internalize it.
If you have asthma and without an inhaler nearby you can drink a strong cup of coffee to lessen the symptoms temporarily
It may help some for a minor asthma attack, but don't bet your life on it. Source: I'm a severe asthmatic and have had too many ER visits, even with a rescue inhaler.
You can tell the difference between a fracture and a sprain if the subject is nauseous when you apply pressure to the wound. Nausea is a symptom of a fracture
Stay on designated trails/paths. There's a good reason they tell you to do that. 🐍
Stephen King's novel, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, is an excellent tutorial on why.
So, don’t worry, in case of a calamity, just stay smart, get the basics down, and don’t forget that people are by nature social beings whose survival is mostly based on staying together.
Speaking of which, why don’t you also stay for the comment section and share some of your insights on survival down below!
If you find yourself in a situation where you might drown; stop thrashing, control your breathing, lean back and use gentle movements, and try to float before making your next decision. Saw so many PSAs about it growing up
If you're panicking you're not breathing. If you’re not breathing you're not thinking. If you're not thinking you can’t solve the problem.
Don't immediately offer water to burn victims until checked out by an EMT or authorized medical personnel. They could choke if their throat is swollen from breathing smoke.
You'll hear wheezing If they have throat swelling.. water will help wash and cool the mouth and oesophagus
If you sustain a serious (LIFE THREATENING) cut on your arms or legs and are bleeding heavily, tie a tourniquet tight above the wound (tourniquet should be closer to your body than the wound) and try to raise the injured limb above chest level to decrease the blood flow. The more quickly you lose blood the less likely you are to be able to take any further measures to ensure your safety. If you don't have a string, rope, belt to hand, use your shirt, pants, underwear, whatever you can effectively use to tie on your limb. In a life or death situation, it's better to be alive than "decent"
Be sure though. If a tourniquet is applied to stop bleeding, it will also stop blood flow to that part of the body below it. So if you don't get to a hospital very soon, it's likely you'll lose that part of your body. It's much better to lose an arm below the elbow than to die from blood loss, but that's the kind of emergency that requires a tourniquet. Life or death
If your blood pressure drops use caffeine and salty snacks to help raise it to more normal levels
I have used duct tape and electrical tape as a band aid. Just don't use carpet seam tape. I knew a carpet installer once that did that, and ended up with blood poisoning that almost killed him.
Turmeric is really good to stop bleeding, and help a wound clot. It does stain but it's widely used in Asia aside from cooking, for medical purposes.
It's also very healthy to eat, and is being used as a natural food dye due to its brilliant golden yellow colour.
Do not trust stagnant water in the wild if it's clear. The lack of life means it's likely poisoned.
You can eat all parts of all warm blooded arctic animals except their liver, which contains a lethal amount of vitamin A.
If you're choking and no one's around to give you a heimlich, fall on your stomach. It's the same principle and a lot easier to pull off than a self-heimlich.
Leaning over a chair back, quick and hard against your diaphragm, can work and is way easier than falling on your stomach.
Rubbing Vaseline or some type of lip balm up your nose can help with nose bleeds when in dry climates or high altitude.
Any time I travel out west I do this. I also do it basically when I turn on the heat in my house for the first time. I do it before bed and keep the practice up until I quit running the heat. It also helps me be less congested when I wake up. I use Blistex.
If you find a plant with berries, purple are your best bet, white or yellow are not. Roughly 80% of purple berries are edible, 50/50 on red, only about 10-20% of yellow or white berries are edible.
If somebody comes from behind and tries to strangle you, raise your hands high and twirl around
Birch tree bark makes great fire starter.
If you have a roaring fire in a woodstove don't put in birch as it can cause a chimney fire. After telling my friend NOT to do this in mine, I had to call the fire department.
You can do the heimlich on yourself using the back on a chair.
In my case, a wall did the trick. Shot a piece of raw carrot across the room.
Stay low escaping a fire smoke will up so stay low and get out asap
‘Stay low when trying to escape a fire. Smoke rises up, so stay low and get out asap’ for my friends who would have as much trouble reading that as I did.
If you cut off your finger put it in a baggy with milk not ice. Ice will kill your nerves milk will preserve it
Eh, not to be a Bluejay, but if I cut off a limb of my body, I’m going to scream bloody murder, not put it in a baggie with some milk.
You can get limited water by placing a bag over a branches full of leaves but keep it closed around the branch. Then after a little while you accumulate a gulp of pure water. Also, dig a hole with a cup in the center and place a similar film/wrap over the hole with a rock over the cup on the plastic. it will fill the cup over time due to humidity. It will only prolong the inevitable, but it's something.
If you're trying to keep a fire stoked or need to turn an ember into a fire, pinch your thumbs and pointer fingers together to create a diamond, press your lips against it and blow into the lower part of the fire or directly at the embers. This directed, powerful air will do wonders and keep you from wearing yourself out trying to get it going.
Never ever eat a bear's liver. Their livers contain so much vitamin a that you will quickly and painfully die of poisoning.
In a similar vein, if you suspect you've just ingested Deadly Nightshade, you need to quickly drink about 1 liter of vinegar to give you enough time to make it to the hospital.
OP is referring to the liver of polar bears. Seal livers have high levels of Vitamin A too, but polar bear livers have the highest level of any animal.
I hate threads like this, because there's always solid sounding advice, but the first comment is always (also solid sounding) counter-advice, and then I feel lost and stupid. I can only pray that I'll stay out of trouble...
Don't worry, you are not stupid. The advice with some of these scenarios is totally impractical. For example, if you're in a situation where you might "accidentally " eat deadly nightshade, how likely are you to be able to quickly find a litre of vinegar? Also, as for the first aid advice, it is constantly being updated and revised, so it will often depend upon where and when you were taught it. Please don't be so hard on yourself. My advice would be to download a reputable first aid app. Personally, I have the British Red Cross app on my phone.
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I have some: 1) if you are deep underwater and don't know which way is up then blow bubbles. Same with being buried by an avalanche you must dribble the spit will go down and the bubbles go up so you know which way is the surface. 2) if you need to start a fire and you have nothing else use a tampon they are highly flammable and it's so easy to light a fire with them.
A good metal whistle like what sports officials use. Carry one with you whenever you are on trails. If you are lost, or if you fall and break your leg, for example, use the whistle. Should be hiking 101, IMO
Not sure why you want a metal one - plastic ones just as effective, lighter and much better for cold weather. Some mountaineering rucksacks have them built in to the chest strap fastener,
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I have a foolproof life saving tip: don’t get your first aid or life saving tips from BoredPanda.
Serious note if you're at a beach (at an ocean) with waves don't swim in the calmer looking waters, this is probably a "rip', a dangerous under-current that can pull you out to sea or under the water.
Less exciting than advice on bears, but if you're planning to walk alone down a road in a town at night, take any important items (keys, phone, cards, coins etc) out of your bag and put them in different pockets so you can still get home if you're mugged. Also, don't walk around with your phone on display or wearing visible headphones; just makes you look like an easy target.
Invest in a ResQLink personal locator beacon. It's a sattlelite-based locator beacon that you can use to summon help from any locale, including out at sea. Battery lasts for 5 years and (unlike other beacons like SPOT), does not need a subscription. Everyone who goes into the wilderness or leads groups should have one. https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/
Here's mine: Don't take medical advice from listicles on the internet. You have no idea who is posting the advice, and what their qualifications are. The advice has an equal chance of being legitimate, or total bullplop that could actually cause more harm than good.
a condom holds 60ltr of water.. if car overheats and u have no bottle a condom works just as well, if lost in the bush and you find water fill up your rubber.. they not only prevent unwanted births they can also save you from unwanted death lol
If you are in hot weather don’t soak a hat or shirt in water to cool off. When night falls it will be cold and that wet bit of clothing will be freezing
Use regular soy sauce as first aid for a burn if you don't have water. Prevents blistering and eases pain.
If their own guns and opiods can't kill Americans off the vast majority of this BS won't do do it. Lol boredpanda please fact check before you post this c**p.
Some survival for when at sea in a small open boat. 1) if in hot tropical weather with insufficient fresh water, immediately soak your clothes in seawater and keep them wet, the evaporation will cool you down so you don't need to drink as much. 2) the knife in the survival kit on a lifeboat won't cut anything, if you're likely to be afloat for more than a few hours then grab a sharp knife before you get into the lifeboat. Use it to make a gaffe to catch fish. 3) a rowboat stays afloat for longer than a liferaft, because the constant motion of the rope against the rubber in a life raft abrades the rubber to create a hole, protect the rubber from abrasion as much as possible. 4) Turtles passing your boat make the best food, ignore the smell.
“I don’t think I’ll ever need this so I’m going to declare it ‘useless.’”First off, thank you for demonstrating dismissive arrogance. Second, if you are ever in one of these situations - no matter how unlikely you considered your being there to be - and use the advice to save your own life or that of someone else, it was worth five minutes of what I’m sure is you very valuable time.
Load More Replies... I hate threads like this, because there's always solid sounding advice, but the first comment is always (also solid sounding) counter-advice, and then I feel lost and stupid. I can only pray that I'll stay out of trouble...
Don't worry, you are not stupid. The advice with some of these scenarios is totally impractical. For example, if you're in a situation where you might "accidentally " eat deadly nightshade, how likely are you to be able to quickly find a litre of vinegar? Also, as for the first aid advice, it is constantly being updated and revised, so it will often depend upon where and when you were taught it. Please don't be so hard on yourself. My advice would be to download a reputable first aid app. Personally, I have the British Red Cross app on my phone.
Load More Replies... I have some: 1) if you are deep underwater and don't know which way is up then blow bubbles. Same with being buried by an avalanche you must dribble the spit will go down and the bubbles go up so you know which way is the surface. 2) if you need to start a fire and you have nothing else use a tampon they are highly flammable and it's so easy to light a fire with them.
A good metal whistle like what sports officials use. Carry one with you whenever you are on trails. If you are lost, or if you fall and break your leg, for example, use the whistle. Should be hiking 101, IMO
Not sure why you want a metal one - plastic ones just as effective, lighter and much better for cold weather. Some mountaineering rucksacks have them built in to the chest strap fastener,
Load More Replies... I have a foolproof life saving tip: don’t get your first aid or life saving tips from BoredPanda.
Serious note if you're at a beach (at an ocean) with waves don't swim in the calmer looking waters, this is probably a "rip', a dangerous under-current that can pull you out to sea or under the water.
Less exciting than advice on bears, but if you're planning to walk alone down a road in a town at night, take any important items (keys, phone, cards, coins etc) out of your bag and put them in different pockets so you can still get home if you're mugged. Also, don't walk around with your phone on display or wearing visible headphones; just makes you look like an easy target.
Invest in a ResQLink personal locator beacon. It's a sattlelite-based locator beacon that you can use to summon help from any locale, including out at sea. Battery lasts for 5 years and (unlike other beacons like SPOT), does not need a subscription. Everyone who goes into the wilderness or leads groups should have one. https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/
Here's mine: Don't take medical advice from listicles on the internet. You have no idea who is posting the advice, and what their qualifications are. The advice has an equal chance of being legitimate, or total bullplop that could actually cause more harm than good.
a condom holds 60ltr of water.. if car overheats and u have no bottle a condom works just as well, if lost in the bush and you find water fill up your rubber.. they not only prevent unwanted births they can also save you from unwanted death lol
If you are in hot weather don’t soak a hat or shirt in water to cool off. When night falls it will be cold and that wet bit of clothing will be freezing
Use regular soy sauce as first aid for a burn if you don't have water. Prevents blistering and eases pain.
If their own guns and opiods can't kill Americans off the vast majority of this BS won't do do it. Lol boredpanda please fact check before you post this c**p.
Some survival for when at sea in a small open boat. 1) if in hot tropical weather with insufficient fresh water, immediately soak your clothes in seawater and keep them wet, the evaporation will cool you down so you don't need to drink as much. 2) the knife in the survival kit on a lifeboat won't cut anything, if you're likely to be afloat for more than a few hours then grab a sharp knife before you get into the lifeboat. Use it to make a gaffe to catch fish. 3) a rowboat stays afloat for longer than a liferaft, because the constant motion of the rope against the rubber in a life raft abrades the rubber to create a hole, protect the rubber from abrasion as much as possible. 4) Turtles passing your boat make the best food, ignore the smell.
“I don’t think I’ll ever need this so I’m going to declare it ‘useless.’”First off, thank you for demonstrating dismissive arrogance. Second, if you are ever in one of these situations - no matter how unlikely you considered your being there to be - and use the advice to save your own life or that of someone else, it was worth five minutes of what I’m sure is you very valuable time.
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