“Don’t Expect It To Look Like The Movies”: 30 Lifesaving Tips That Might Save Your Life One Day
Safety should always come first, right? After all, everyone has seen the posters and heard the mantras that teach us to drive safe, keep away from hostile situations, and always be alert to our surroundings. But no matter how smart we are, no matter the amount of information we try to absorb, it’s impossible to know everything.
But fear not! A few months ago, Redditor drjallz rolled up their sleeves and set out on a mission to learn some of the best potentially life-saving tips everyone should know. Fellow members of the Ask Reddit community wasted no time in sharing their precious wisdom on how to act in some of the most dangerous situations. So if you ever pictured a harrowing incident and asked yourself "What if?", we bet this thread has the answer.
We at Bored Panda scrolled through the responses and wrapped up a collection of the most practical and informative replies for times you have to enter into survival mode. Hit upvote on the ones you found useful, and be sure to share your own advice with us in the comments below!
Psst! If you’re eager to learn even more safety tricks, check out our earlier posts about them right here and here.
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If a service dog comes up to you, *follow them*. Service dogs will only leave their owners as a last ditch effort for help.
Or, as in a colleague's case, their guide dog was being naughty. Either way, he needed his dog back!
If you get caught in avalanche and not sure which way you’re facing create space around your head and spit. Gravity pulls it down and you know which way to dig.
You should have a fire extinguisher in your home. You won’t need it until you really really do. 25 years ago my dad saved our house from burning down (and maybe our lives) because we had a fire extinguisher and when I moved out on my own he insisted that I get one which I’ve hauled around for years thinking I’d probably never need it.
Last weekend an electrical fire started in my building and I was the only one with an extinguisher. The fire department got there quickly so I probably didn’t save any lives, but I was able to keep it under control until they arrived. Buy one, know exactly where it is, and cut the safety tag off of it now so you don’t have to find something to cut it with in an emergency. You never know.
Going to repeat this as it is so worth it - get a fire blanket and a fire extinguisher for your kitchen. The advice to use a damp tea towel is NOT recommended by the UK Fire Brigade anymore so please don't rely on it! It is not easy to get the tea towel exactly the right level of dampness in a hurry. Too damp and it reacts with the grease, not damp enough it will just catch fire too. I know it might have saved someone but that was just luck, you don't always have time for judgement. Get the right tools for the job!
A person who is drowning doesn’t look like people drowning on TV. When someone is drowning, they rarely cry out, can’t wave their arms around, and will often just bob/sink at the surface for a very little while, often gasping, before submerging. Don’t expect it to look like the movies when you’re keeping an eye on swimmers.
Yup. Their lungs/mouth are too filled with water to yell more than maybe once if they're lucky.
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I nearly drowned, and two cousins did drown (in separate events). It was later discovered there's a congenital condition running through our family that can cause the brain to misfire during physical exertion. The three of us happened to be swimming when our brains failed us. The lifeguard that saved me said I was swimming, then just floating, then sank. Good thing he had is eye on me.
I was watching a bunch of clients at the group home we had with a pool. Well one guy we had was new and he promised me he could swim so he jumps into the deep end and just didn't come up. I waited a couple seconds then jumped in and he was so big he almost held me under the water but luckily I was able to push up with my feet on the bottom until he could grab the side of the pool and pull himself up. That was terrifying.
My son started drowning during swim lessons (swam away from the wall while the teacher was occupied with another escapee) I noticed because my friend had just almost lost her toddler during lessons and had to pull her out herself. Luckily just as I was about to scream the teacher saw him and got him back to the wall.
Always try to use a flotation device first, and be VERY careful about going in after them yourself because they can drown you too, in a heartbeat.
If you are trying to save someone drowning, and they start pulling you under too, swim down. Have to get them to stop drowning you to save them, they won't hold to something sinking...
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As we charge into summer and water sports, this PSA needs to be broadcast DAILY.
I never touched the surface when I drowned. Luckily the lifeguard saw me go under
Babies and toddlers can drop like stones. Growing up we had weekly pool parties with an assortment of families. One time and toddler fell in. One of the kids noticed yelled and the people flew into action. All the men were volunteer firemen and had knowledge on life saving. I don't know when the baby would have been noticed with all the people splashing around.
Also normally need to knock them out or wait for them to go unconscious because they will drag you down in their attempt to get air.
Yes, they can't yell, their lungs are filled with water, and their throat is closed
As a little kid, I almost died at a classmate's pool party. It happened so fast. Before I could call for help or even react, I was doing the ladder-climbing movement underwater. The next thing I knew, I was spending the night in the hospital.
Over ten years later (still a weak swimmer despite a lot of lessons), I was at a river-tubing event. I'm a smallish adult, so I couldn't reach the bottom, but that didn't matter because I was in a tube surrounded by people. At the spot where we were supposed to get out, I somehow lost my tube. I was very slowly making my way to the edge, using all of my energy to stay above the water, so I couldn't scream My siblings wondered why I was taking so long to swim to the edge, but luckily my mom noticed the fear in my eyes and came to get me. (She was tall/heavy enough to stand in the water)
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When my Graandma was 9, a kid pushed her off a dock when she couldn't swim. She said she sunk down to the bottom and pushed herself forward, got a gasp of air and repeated until she made it to the shallow end. She almost drown and no one even noticed. It traumatized her. She taught her kids and grandkids to swim asap.
110% I have saved 2 kids at our apt complex pool and they BARELY whispered a kids name close by (whos a kid incapable & not paying attention) 1x the parent was laying eyes closed, headphones in face away from the pool, the boy about 10 almost dragged his sister about 8 down as well. Other kids parent was just turned away for a sec. Also, remember the life saving devices around the pool. The 10 yr old was a bigger kid and my instinct was to dive in to save him. When you do this go behind the person, wrap ur arm around them from behind and swim sort of sideways/on ur back, them in front. Panicked drowning people will climb on you without realizing it and pull u down too. Another option is to keep ur cool, and sink down to the bottom of the pool if not too deep, and launch urself up for breath and closer to the shallow end. This is a good thing to teach kids too. Practice with them holding their breath sinking to the bottom and launching up for air and closer to the stairs.
Saved a baby a couple summers ago, mom was talking to friends life guard was watching others. Baby went under n didn't make a sound just kinda sat at the bottom. I ran over a pulled her out, mom noticed because life guard came running. It was really scary, little doll was all good
Yes, when I nearly drowned, I had no time to call out. Just enough time to gulp air before going under.
You don't generally drown in deep water- it's usually near the shoreline unless you can't swim or something. I'm overweight and I was trying to get out of the ocean and I kept getting knocked down by the weight of the waves hitting me near the shoreline around my knee area. You know how hard it is to walk in sand and water? there's a really heaviness to it on top of my own weight trying to stay upright. Walking out of the water is really hard, though, when you're overweight. So every time I stood up another wave came in and hit me and dragged me down. I really thought I was going to drown at one point. All these people were near me but no one could tell I was struggling so hard because it was so close to the shore. The best thing I did was swim back out into the deeper ocean to catch my breath. The deeper out you go the waves are more bobbing than hitting you. So I could tread water for a few minutes and get my energy back. I eventually got out but it was a struggle.
My mom made all 7 of us take swimming lessons and swim team. She wanted to make sure we didn't drown, she knew a few friends who lost their kids over not knowing how to swim or pool safety.
If you think you’re being followed, turn right four times. Since you’ll get to the same place, they shouldn’t be following you anymore. If they do, you might be in trouble. Since it’s a common warning that you shouldn’t go home when you think someone is following you, the smartest is to go to a police station.
In my teens, long before mobiles, I was in a car with 2 other girls and we were being followed by a car with 4 boys. We tried a few turns, panicked a lot trying to think up what to do. Thought about hitting a motor way and speeding but realized scared inexperienced driver should not do this. We remembered local college had a manned security gate so headed there. Turned out the boys had been trying to tell us about a broken light. The lovely college security gave them a long lecture in what not to do.
If you go on a long, overnight hike, take a jar of peanut butter. If you get lost, that can keep you alive if you’ve already finished your food. Also, take a BLUE tarp. It’s the only color that doesn’t mesh with the environment and can make air search easier.
If you or a person you’re with hits their head, briefly loses consciousness, but then becomes awake and alert again GO TO THE HOSPITAL ASAP.
You could have what’s called an epidural bleed in your brain, which classically presents as loss of consciousness followed by lucidity.
If you go home and just try to sleep it off, you likely won’t wake up.
It’s more important for someone else to watch you. I’ve seen small concussions get more and more confused. In the hospital, we wake people and do a basic neuro check every 4 hours for 24h.
In a nuclear explosion, most of the damage and death is caused by the shockwave the blast creates, not the fireball which has a comparatively small radius. One day you may find yourself outside or looking out a window to see an extremely bright flash. As bright as if you were staring straight at the sun. Do not attempt to locate the source of the flash. You have maybe 8-10 seconds to respond if you’re far enough away from the fireball. Lay face down on the ground and put your thumbs in your ears and fingers over your eyes. Breathe through your teeth. Since you’re laying face down the shockwave will mostly pass over you. (If you’re standing up it can cause your lungs, eardrums, and other organs to explode.) Once the shockwave passes over you, you need to find shelter immediately. I said before that most death from the explosion is caused by the shockwave. Well, FAR more death is subsequently caused by nuclear fallout AFTER the blast. Do not attempt to travel anywhere. Just get underground. If you’re next to a complete stranger’s house or a business, don’t hesitate to go inside and hide out under as much concrete and steel as possible. You need to remain in this location for the next 48 hours. This is critical. Even if you survive the blast if you attempt to go home and spend just 20 minutes outside traveling you will more than likely die of radiation sickness. Radioactive material after a blast decays exponentially, and you will be safe to try and find your loved ones after 48 hours. If you don’t wait this out, you definitely won’t be alive to find them. When you’re ready, you need to leave the city and get as far from the fallout as you can.
I think I'd rather die in the initial shockwave then diary of radiation sickness which is bound to happen in the next few days after experiencing something like this.
If you get caught up in an undercurrent and notice you’re getting dragged slowly out to sea, do not swim directly toward shore. Swim parallel to the shore until you don’t feel yourself being pulled out, then swim directly toward the shore.
Get a Carbon Monoxide detector with a ppm meter on it.
Recently, I was experiencing intermittent bouts of nausea and lethargy, so I suspected CO poisoning despite my detectors being up to code. I bought a new one with a meter to check if there were trace amounts in my apartment.
I discovered that my oven has a leak, so whenever I cook I get exposed to CO ranging from 35 to 90 ppm, which is pretty high. How come the detectors didn’t go off? Turns out that they only beep when there’s 50ppm for 8 hours, or 150 ppm for 5 to 10 minutes——I was just below the threshold while still getting smashed with carbon monoxide.
Expired epinephrine (epi pen) is better than no epinephrine
Studies show, if properly cared for, epi retains full practical potency for up to 5 years past expiration. Just dont leave it sit in sunlight, freeze, or heat it. All those things speed up its breakdown.
This is especially important to know these days, with epi being $600+, a lot of poor people with serious allergies may be throwing out epi that is in fact still good. When you dont need to replace it every year, its a huge game changer when youre poor and uninsured.
Just to let people know: epi pen costs 56 USD in Poland..... HOW 600+ USD is even legal?
If you see someone who may be unconscious and looks like they're about to vomit ROLL THEM ONTO THEIR SIDE. Also do this if someone passes out drunk.
If you are alone and start choking, you can use the back of a chair or sofa to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on yourself. Source: had to do it to myself when I was about 15
Pressure on the wound is more important than covering it. Ice can also stem blood flow.
Also, don't pull any object out of a wound, it is better to stabilize it than bleeding out when you pull it out. Leave the removing part to the doctors
If you've swallowed something wrong in a restaurant and it's blocked your throat, even if you aren't technically "choking" yet, do NOT go to the bathroom out of embarrassment. The majority of female choking deaths occur in the restroom because they excused themselves out of embarrassment for "making a scene"
Edit: the advice of 'don't go to the bathroom or isolate yourself when choking' obviously applies to both genders. I just don't know the statistics for where men are more likely to die when choking or why it's different than women. But I would imagine it has to do with: as women, we are more likely to stupidly be embarrassed and try to hide than men are.
I saved myself and my kid with this advice recently. If you get soemthing stuck in your throat, CALM DOWN and STOP breathing. do NOT inhale, that sucks it in further. Try breathe in, slowly, through your nose. Sometimes the air can get past the block that way. Once you have managed to get some air in, cough outwards as hard as you can, but do it facing downwards, e.g. sloping down from a bed or couch, so that the whatever object gets help from gravity as well. Inhaling in a panic is what kills you.
If you get stabbed, do everything in your power to keep the knife in. The knife is acting as a makeshift seal and it’s the only thing keeping you from bleeding out. Keep it in and get to a hospital immediately.
Plus, if it hurts like a b***h going in, it’ll hurt like a b***h going out.
Yup. I've accidentally punctured, definitely best to leave it in until a professional gets it out.
If you are lost in the desert, or a lot of places for that matter, the number one thing you can carry to increase your chances of being found is a small reflective mirror. Anytime a plane flies overhead you can reflect light towards them, and you greatly increase your chances of being found. This seriously is more important than carrying more water with you (not that water doesn’t help, it’s just not realistic to carry that much water on your back). Furthermore, if you get stranded in the desert with a vehicle, do not leave your vehicle to find people. You are a lot harder to see than your vehicle, and your car can provide shelter (your car has some good reflective mirrors to signal with, especially the rearview mirror). Finally, the universal sign for needing to be rescued is waving two arms up and down. If you can’t use both of your arms, there is another universal way to signal for help that is more versatile. The way I can best describe it is three of anything quick signal. Three gunshots, three whistle blows, three flashes of a flashlight, three flashes from a reflective mirror, etc. Just make sure they are spaced widely enough (at least one second) and that you spend a considerable time before making your next three signals.
If you’re being tied up, puff yourself out as much as possible so it’ll be easier to wiggle out of. Tense muscles, inhale deep and stretch out your arms and legs to make more space.
Me and my sister sometimes play a game where we blindfold and tie eachother to a chair and have to escape (it's fun and good practice with knot tying and escaping) and I have tried this and it makes a big difference in getting out
If your car gets stuck on snow and your tire(s) just spin, you can take out your floor mats and stuff them under the wheel that spins when you press the gas. This will hopefully give the car enough traction to get itself rolling so you can be on your way again.
This is one of those "lifehacks" that works way better in theory than in actual practice.
Learn how to stay calm, breathe and assess situations. This will help in so many future surprise situations. Be aware of your surroundings, exits, bathrooms and where medical/fire kits, where land-line phones are if they are around.
Listen to the stewardess telling you where the exits are, etc. It could save your life
If someone has a seizure around you get them on their side, start timing their seizure, then protect their head as best you can, if you know they are epileptic and have emergency meds give EXACTLY how the bottle states, NEVER RESTRAIN, NEVER EVER INSERT SOMETHING IN THE MOUTH (yes they will likely bite their tongue, yes it'll probably bleed, no we can't swallow our tongues.) If this is the first seizure that they have ever had call paramedics and ESPECIALLY if the seizure lasts longer than 5 mins (regardless if they have epilepsy or not) call paramedic. Inform the professionals of any meds/drugs the person has taken(if you gave emergency meds) stay with person till help arrives.
Seizures/epilepsy affects millions of people and they can absolutely result in death sometimes. Especially from choking due to poor help from bystanders. Please help us stay alive
When I worked in France and had first aid training I was told to never give a person their meds, not even feed them water, if they can't take the meds or drink the water on their own. If anything happens to that person you may be held responsible. So, always check the laws of a country. In some countries, if you refuse to help them, and something happens to them, you will also be held responsible for denying help.
If you’re ever feeling lightheaded and seeing stars, and just a general feeling of thinking you’re going to pass out. Lay on your back and put your legs in the air and take deep breaths in and out. The blood from your brain rushed down to your feet and doing this will rush it back to your head.
Or sit on a chair and put your head between your knees if lying down isn't possible. That also helps.
Embassies/consulates have emergency numbers they answer 24 hours a day. Save (on your phone) the phone number of your nearest embassy/consulate when abroad. If you get in many kinds of trouble (with the police, other legal issues, medical stuff, if you’re a victim of a crime, lost your passport, etc.), they can help you much more effectively than your family/friends back home can.
Erm.... Having had to call embassies and consulates, I would not advise relying on them. Family/friends back home have the luxury of time and resources to call among other places embassies on the off chance they are helpful. Of course it depends on your nationality and the country you are in. If you ever find yourself in trouble in foreign country, airports can often be helpful for advice.
If you ever lose control of your car (i.e. The rear end starts to come around on the freeway), take your foot off the gas and DO NOT hit the brakes. Take note of the direction the rear end is wanting to spin and turn into it. So if your rear end starts to spin counterclockwise you would want to turn the steering wheel clockwise opposing that spin. Do not over turn as you can cause the car to snap back too far and spin in the other direction. If you live in a snowy place you can practice this in an empty parking lot during a snowy day. Always leave room between the car in front of you!
When caught in a stampede:
As soon as you get knocked down your chances decrease significantly. If this is the case, however, and you can’t get up immediately, assume a protective posture with your feet tucked up and your hands covering your head. Try to position your face in the direction the crowd is moving so you don’t get kicked and try to get back on your feet ASAP.
Grew up on a farm. Our 100+ herd stampeded when I was about 10 years old. Was absolutely effing terrifying. My dad shouted 'stand still they'll go around you'. Yeah, right. As if the instinct to run doesn't kick in anyway! I RAN. For anyone unsure my dad was completely wrong, they won't go round you. I threw myself over the gate to the field and looked back... they'd gone the other way. That was lucky, very lucky.
Keep your bedroom door closed at night. It could save your life in a house fire. Check your smoke alarms regularly.
If you have a cough that lasts more than 3 weeks, get it checked out by your doctor. Don't ever think you're wasting their time.
"...get it checked out by your doctor." Doctor's Clerk: "Okay, we can fit you in in six weeks." No, go to an urgent care place or ER.
Here’s some quick nature-related ones! Primarily for hikers and people who like to mess around outside.
-If you encounter an animal that looks like it’s ready to stand its ground, do not run and do not turn your back. Doing so will likely provoke them further. No, you can’t fistfight a moose.
-If you’re ever pursued by bees/wasps, run like hell! They don’t chase you particularly far (save for killer bees) and you will likely get away with minimal stings. Don’t go into water. They’re not stupid, they will wait for you to poke your fleshy bits above the water to breathe, and you will be attacked.
-Snakes, Spiders, Scorpions. If you’re bit/stung, it may be a good idea to try and capture the animal so that it can be identified. However, only do so if you’re 100% certain that you can capture the animal quickly without further endangering yourself. Getting bit by a cobra is bad, getting bit by a cobra three times because you think you need to catch it is *REALLY* bad. Focus on getting your a*s to a hospital and if you can, keep an idea of what the animal looked like. Most hospitals are stocked with anti venom for local species, and most species are distinct enough for a description to work as an identifier.
-Bats. If you get bit by a bat, or even have cause to *believe* you were bit by a bat, immediately get a rabies series. Bats are frequent carriers, and rabies is 100% lethal if it becomes symptomatic.
-Currents. If you’re trapped in any sort of current, be it a river or the sea, do not fight it. You will tire yourself out, and you will die. You will never win against water. Instead, swim perpendicular to the current.
-Wild animals, primarily large ones. If you bump into one and it tries to back you off, get the hell away. See tip #1 for what not to do. If you get the hell away and it sticks around, stay vigilant and leave the area immediately. It’s likely a predator doing this, and it’s stalking you. It sees you as food, and wants you dead. Whatever you’re doing, drop it and GTFO.
If you ever get a tooth knocked out or pulled out, put it in milk. Depending on the roots they may be able to preserve the tooth!
If you ever cut the quik on your dogs nails, keep a bar of soap on hand and rub the paw/nail area into the soap bar to stop the bleeding.
Always keep a photo of important documents in your email or your phone. Phone is handiest - save it to a specific document. Trust me - people lose papers often, or don’t have a copy of ID readily available and if you ever had them stolen you have copies to help get the new ones, shut down old accts, etc and still have some things to use in the interim if absolutely necessary. Also - for your car - keep a photocopy of your ownership in the car and not the ACTUAL ownership (advice from an officer that I was once given).
Don't try to breath under water, you're not a fish
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This is kind of random but important, if you are driving a boat trailer down a ramp into the water to launch it, open your car window. In case that the car goes under water, you are stopping yourself from being stuck in the car due to air pressure. You can open the door and swim out.
Actually even in salt water power windows will continue to work just fine for a long time (until the battery goes dead).
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If you or someone has a car, invest in a window breaker with a seat belt cutter. Always have 1-2 water bottles stored in the car (dry cool place). Drinking water helps more than hydration, drinking some can perk you up and prevent an accident.
I plan to get the window breaker tool for Christmas gifts this year for my family.
Load More Replies... Don't be afraid to call 911(or the emergency number in your area). I've done so a very few times when I wasn't totally sure I needed to. I was always told they would rather be called if we aren't sure than not.
Absolutely. Although paramedics get angry at being used as a taxi service repeatedly by the same people (who don't need to go to the hospital), they'd much rather leave with an empty wagon than have to call the coroner for someone whom they could have saved, had they only been called sooner.
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So ... where's the one in the thumbnail, the one about ice floating or not?
I'm just very pleased and relieved that I didn't have to hit NEXT thirty times and wait for new pages to load. THANK YOU.
Cinnamon is often used to cover up the smell of poison in drinks. Idk why you'd need to know that, but there you go. Just in case you think someone is trying to poison you.
In a car, the headrests come off in order for the metal parts to break the window if you are trapped underwater or having heat stroke for whatever reason
Not always! In my Volvo the front headrests don't come off, they cannot be moved as they are part of the safety concept of Volvo in case of a front impact.
Load More Replies... This is kind of random but important, if you are driving a boat trailer down a ramp into the water to launch it, open your car window. In case that the car goes under water, you are stopping yourself from being stuck in the car due to air pressure. You can open the door and swim out.
Actually even in salt water power windows will continue to work just fine for a long time (until the battery goes dead).
Load More Replies... If you or someone has a car, invest in a window breaker with a seat belt cutter. Always have 1-2 water bottles stored in the car (dry cool place). Drinking water helps more than hydration, drinking some can perk you up and prevent an accident.
I plan to get the window breaker tool for Christmas gifts this year for my family.
Load More Replies... Don't be afraid to call 911(or the emergency number in your area). I've done so a very few times when I wasn't totally sure I needed to. I was always told they would rather be called if we aren't sure than not.
Absolutely. Although paramedics get angry at being used as a taxi service repeatedly by the same people (who don't need to go to the hospital), they'd much rather leave with an empty wagon than have to call the coroner for someone whom they could have saved, had they only been called sooner.
Load More Replies... So ... where's the one in the thumbnail, the one about ice floating or not?
I'm just very pleased and relieved that I didn't have to hit NEXT thirty times and wait for new pages to load. THANK YOU.
Cinnamon is often used to cover up the smell of poison in drinks. Idk why you'd need to know that, but there you go. Just in case you think someone is trying to poison you.
In a car, the headrests come off in order for the metal parts to break the window if you are trapped underwater or having heat stroke for whatever reason
Not always! In my Volvo the front headrests don't come off, they cannot be moved as they are part of the safety concept of Volvo in case of a front impact.
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