Although it's impossible to predict every emergency situation, knowing how to effectively respond to them can be critical in surviving them.
We recently stumbled across a post on r/AskReddit where user u/luciflerfather3 asked people to share some tips that could potentially save a person's life.
After a quick scroll through the comments, we realized it would be a good idea to take a deeper dive and hand-pick the ones that sounded useful.
Here's what we came up with.
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Maybe it won't save your life in all situations where you could use it, but if you're starting to feel really depressed, remember HALT.
Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired
Ask yourself if you've covered those bases. Eat a good meal and drink water. Step away from a stressful situation to decompress for a bit. Phone a friend, maybe ask for them to come over. Take a nap. HALT helps me a lot with stress management. Hope it helps someone.
This sounds good in principle, but once you're in the black hole of depression you aren't logically thinking of anything, sadly.
If you're ever stuck in quicksand, lie down. It's like floating on water, the dispersion of your weight will make you float.
Though I admit this isn't as common a problem as I was led to believe as a child.
If someone ever approaches you and tries to force you into a car, do whatever it takes to stay out of the vehicle! Your odds of ending up dead are largely increased if they manage to move you somewhere else. Fight to stay out of the vehicle like your life depends on it -- because it probably does.
My cousin is in law enforcement and always tells us if someone points a gun at you and tells you to get in the car, your odds of survival are actually higher if you risk taking the bullet!
A friend of mine is alive because she fought like hell and didn't get in the car. She later found out that there had been several murders in the area. The killer abducted the women into his car first.
There is a time to leave. To stop. To walk away.
It can save your life. Listen to your gut.
Always listen to your gut. It will never steer you wrong.
If you're on an airplane that crashes into water, don't inflate your life-vest until after you have swum out of the plane. If you inflate your flotation device before escaping you are much more likely to get trapped in the fuselage as water levels inside the plane rise and you get pushed towards the ceiling.
Find your life jacket, get out of the plane, then inflate it.
Some winter advice. If you are homeless, or for whatever reason have to sleep outside, find something to put between you and the ground. Cardboard works great but find something. All your energy will not warm the Earth and many people have frozen this way as the ground absorbs more and more energy.
There is a cycle of violence when it comes to domestics. It starts with a build-up, where tension and aggression are escalating. This moves to an explosion, where the abuser releases tension. Following this, there will be remorse and pursuit. The abuser will start to tell. You how sorry they are, then start to try and charm you. This is where they blame something for their anger (usually you) and try to win you back. Once they have won you over, you will experience a short honeymoon stage, where they are on their best behavior. After this, is again the build-up.
The cycle just continues. It can end with you being killed. If this is happening to you, please do some reading (if it's safe). Seek some help through your friends or family (an abuser is likely to have isolated you, but they do still care and will help). If you are being abused, there are people and services that can help. You may not feel like it, but you are worth something, and you are much better than they are making you feel. Get out before it gets worse.
My stepdad was an abusive alcoholic and this pattern was our lives. When I married, my husband and I were having issues and in talking to my mom I learned my husband wasn't abusive like my dad (thank goodness) but I was so used to the pattern, I NEEDED it to feel normal. When my husband didn't get angry and blow up so I could have the calm after the storm when I knew everything would be good for a few weeks I would create arguments to get the calm. I didn't realize what I was doing and felt horrible. It took years and my husband being aware so he could point it out when I was doing it. It was always petty things. We really haven't had many *true* arguments in the 20 years we've been married. My point? Being aware you were abused isn't always enough to keep you from continuing a cycle.
That a wagging tail does NOT always mean that the dog is friendly.
It just means the dog is excited. There are a number of ways to read body language of a dog, it can be very empowering. If you have a fear of dogs you need to 1 - stand still (resist the urge to run), 2 - ignore the dog. Don’t pull away from it or try to pet it, pretend you are s tree, in most cases the dog will realize you are not a prey item and once it’s curiosity is satisfied, they will usually just leave. I have worked with people fearful of dogs, these are good tools. There are many more but it would take too much time to write
If you're near the ocean and all that water suddenly dissappears/recedes unexpectedly then get out of there and get to high ground because that's a tsunami.
If you or someone else is having a heart attack, take aspirin. Chew it tho, don’t swallow it whole.
Also, when performing CPR, people don’t usually come back to life like in the movies. If done correctly, CPR can keep people alive for hours, so keep going until help arrives
Place your hands in the center of the chest, between the nipples. Push in the sternum 5 to 6 centimeters. Do this 30 times at a rate of 100-120 times per minute (2 x per second). Do the chin lift and pinch the nose. Breathe 2 times. Inhale normally and exhale evenly into the victim's mouth for 1 second. Look out of the corner of your eye to see if the victim's chest rises. Never interrupt the chest compressions for more than 10 seconds. Continue CPR, alternating 30 chest compressions with 2 rescue breaths.
I will catch downvotes, but I have to say you can *skip the breathing* if untrained or unconfident. And wait 10 seconds before starting CPR. That seems like a long time, but you can throw someone *into* trouble by starting before you know for sure if they're not breathing. And don't breathe into the victim like you're blowing up a balloon. Your normal-force exhale is enough to get some oxygen in there. *If they can breathe normally, they do not need CPR.* (If they'r gasping for air, duh, obvs. But it needed to be clarified. Just in case.)
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I've done a lot of CPR in the last 25 years. Even in a hospital, you won't save them all. Maybe 40% if they're in-hospital when the heart attack hits. Top rates I've seen are 15% outside hospital. Not saying don't try, just saying, don't feel bad if you can't revive someone, okay? Just don't. You did your best. Nobody can ask more. Peace.
15% is quite the win in my book. I've performed CPR once and responded to three cases of serious brain trauma. And I'm just glad I had the ability to help. But those experiences are deeply engrained in my mind. Also the use of modern tech to quickly locate AED's is really helpful to boos those numbers.
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You don't even need to do rescue breathing! Chest compressions are the most important thing to do after calling 911 if someone is not breathing and has no pulse. Hands only CPR was developed as an alternative for people who are not comfortable or able to do rescue breathing. Most important to help keep the heart pumping blood. My life and my dad's life were both saved after cardiac arrest because chest compressions were started within a minute or two. Call 911, start with chest compressions at least immediately for best chance of survival.
I was told by the emergency line operator to just do the chest compressions and skip the breathing part as well (I have written about it on another comment). When the blood started flowing again dad started automatically "breathing" (were more like weird snores).
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There was a man in Minnesota who had a heart attack and random strangers took turns with chest compressions for 90 minutes until help arrived. The man survived because of it. It's all about keeping blood flowing.
What??? Seems impossible, after 6 till 10 minutes cpr the brain is starting to damage.I don’t know how that person came out of it with al the 90 minutes of damage but all the cpr I know the most of them didn’t make it after 10 minutes and a few are bed staying and can’t speak or do anything by them self
Load More Replies... Performing proper CPR on someone even for a few minutes can be traumatizing. Ribs will break and depending on the condition, that person may not survive. Just make certain the person is on the floor or other hard surface, CPR on a couch or bed is 100% ineffective
Not can be, is. Many people will not experience it at all. But if you do, it's quite the responsibility and having someone at your hands that's in mortal danger is a very emotional experience. Professional emergency responders should be trained to give out info to connect people to organizations that help you deal with it. If you are trained as a civilian responder, at least here in The Netherlands and have responded to a call through one of the available apps, the organizations behind that will take that very seriously.
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ICU nurse here. After 20 minutes it's likely the victim will have severe brain damage. Most hospital codes last no more than 45 minutes and less if the patient's heart never restarts. No one can continue CPR for "hours". It's physically exhausting. Do your best. What one instructor said was that the victim is already dead. You can't make them deader. If their heart starts pumping again, that's amazing, but stopping CPR does NOT mean you "killed them".
I know its a sensitive subject and its not funny - but LOL @ "deader".
Load More Replies... I have written about this before, but yes, the Stayin' Alive song's rythm works. Dad suffered what's called "sudden death" (suddenly fainted, stopped breathing and didn't have a pulse), I performed CPR to him to this tune for like 13 minutes, until the ambulance arrived. They could take him to the hospital and perform surgery (an artery was blocked). Sadly his brain hadn't received oxygen for too long and he ended dying 10 days later, but it's a bit less painful knowing I could give him some extra time and all the family could give him a good bye. The paramedics were impressed that I could keep him alive since they "lost" him twice even using their devices before taking him into the ambulance. So yeah, go watch some CPR videos on youtube, that was all the experience I had prior to that day but it made a difference. (I don't know why but the woman on the emergecy line told me to don't do the breathing part you usually see in movies.)
Don't give other people aspirin if you don't know their medical history. Aspirin is a blood thinner, good against the heat attack, but if someone uses blood thinners or some other medication like antidepressants, it could kill them. They are at high risk of dying from an internal bleeding. So please call 112/911 first and ask for instructions. If there is no other option it might outweigh the risks, but please use it carefully.
Also, do call an ambulance. Not only will you get to hospital much more quickly, but also paramedics can treat you on the way. And you'll arrive at hospital with a nice long baseline of data so the cardiologist will know exactly where your heart attack is and how to treat it.
If I see someone else having a heart attack, I'd feel awful if I chewed on aspirin while they lay there dying.
Uh, if you're doing CPR and you feel something break and give way, you can be pretty sure the person won't survive.
CPR frequently breaks ribs, and adequate chest compressions almost always result in cracking sounds. If you stop CPR you can be pretty sure the person won't survive.
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Yep, learned this at the first aid course held by Red Cross. Photo is innacurate - someone who has a heart attack feels pain irradiating in the left arm, not in the chest.
That depends, speaking as a person with medical degree. Some people feel nausea only, some feel fatigue, some feel pain down the arm, some don't. It varies person to person, and across genders and age groups. Do NOT assume it's just "left arm pain". Downvote away.
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If there's heavy bleeding or a partial/full amputation throw a f**king tourniquet on that limb as close to the torso as you can. Write the time on their forehead and DO NOT EVER LOOSEN IT. Everything you've been taught about tourniquets is wrong. They can be on for 6 hours with no worry of nerve damage, the limb will not need to be amputated, I say again, THE PLACEMENT OF A CAT-T WILL NOT DECIDE AMPUTATION. Crank that s**t harder than you think necessary and then let the doctor deal with it.
1: Major arteries are closer to the skin near the torso, giving you a better chance of clamping them.
2: It will stop any secondary wounds you potentially missed.
3: My training was for combat trauma / triage first, I then got civilian training later. I was never a practicing civilian EMT. If a paramedic has better info please PM me any inconsistencies and Ill correct them.
4: It looks like there's many different standards for potential nerve damage time limits, the lowest I've seen is 3 from someone claiming to work in Orthopedic surgery. Either way, having a derpy limb is better than no limb.
How to recognise when someone is drowning:
Silence - while someone who is shouting is on the verge of drowning (and will likely need rescuing), it's the person thrashing about in the water not making any vocal sounds you need to worry about.
When someone is actually drowning, their lungs are filling up with water inhibiting their inability to call for help.
Hairy face - anyone who has long hair knows that when it gets wet and it sticks to your face, the immediate reaction is to swipe it away. Not for a drowning person
When someone is actually drowning, all power is devoted to saving themselves. The issue of wet hair across the face is not a priority. Keep an eye out for someone in the water splashing about but not immediately reaching to remove their hair from their eyes.
Don't be silent for extended periods of time if you are hiking in the wilderness. Contrary to popular belief, bears would prefer to not get into confrontations and would most likely avoid you if you notify them of your presence in the area.
With that said, if you do stumble across a bear, don't run away. Contrary to their size, bears are f**king fast.
Grizzly bears are brown and have a trademark hump of muscle on their back. They are aggressive. Your best bet is to get into the fetal position (covering neck and stomach) and play dead. They will only leave once they are absolutely sure the threat is gone, so don't stop playing dead even after you sense the bear leave.
Black bears, contrary to their name, come in various colors, including Brown. They are more slender than grizzly bears. Your best bet with a black bear is to be as aggressive as possible, making as much noise, looking as big as possible, throwing stones and large sticks, etc. Don't bother to climb a tree, since they are excellent climbers.
In the event a bear starts attacking, go HAM. Punch it, kick it, try to gouge out its eyes, etc.
If you happened to be in the Arctic and stumble upon a polar bear, then pray to the Almighty that it hits one of your vital points and kills you quickly, because there is practically nothing you can do against them. They are much bigger than both black and grizzly bears, and do not fear humans.
If someone points a gun at you, maintain eye contact with the person.
Eye contact makes it harder to pull the trigger.
If your car's accelerator pedal gets stuck or something else is causing unintended acceleration. Put it in neutral.
It sounds obvious but it's hard to remember when it happens and it won't be instinct. Turning the key off works but could cause the steering to lock or loss of breaks.
If you get lost in the woods, stay where you are! The chances of finding the way out on your own are pretty slim and you’re just creating a larger search area for SAR.
Also, tell people exactly where you’re going and when you’ll be home. If you’re not home by X time, instruct someone to call for help.
SLEEP WITH THE DOOR CLOSED. Fires, while you sleep, can leave your room almost completely untouched if closed.
In the event you need to break a car door window don't try to smash the window dead center. Car door windows should be tempered glass which is much more brittle along their edges so strike there instead.
If you don't have a hammer to break the glass, use the headrest of your seat.
If a guard dog comes at you, look to one side and slowly turn around. Then walk away.
If a dog hunts you, scream before it reaches you and fight if it didn't scare.
The first has saved me from two rottweilers once.
If a gard dog comes to you avoid eye contact or sudden movements like running but do not turn your back on them! Just move slowly backwards. If one jumps to try to bite you close your fist and put it in the mouth. It will hurt like hell but it will be way less deadly than if they bite the neck or legs
Chemical burns are not like fire or heat burns.
Many will not immediately trigger a reflex action of pain.
I lost a chunk of skin under my armpit because an industrial cleaner dripped under my rain suit. I had rinsed off my arm and didn't receive so much redness, but 30 minutes later I noticed my shirt was soaked in blood. No pain till the next day and by then a quarter size piece of skin had fallen off.
Read the labels and remove any chemical as quickly as possible using the recommended method. Water is not always the best way.
F.A.S.T. which is a way to help you detect the early signs of a stroke on yourself or others
FACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.
Thank you for your generosity, (I asked if it was for strokes and got answers). Even though some were sarcastic
If an armed person tries to rob you, give them your money, phone, whatever. In fact, take it out slowly and carefully, drop it, and back away. Then, if you can run. If they try to force you to go with them, put up a massive fight and yell fire fire fire.
People will generally run to help fight a fire. They are not so keen to intervene when you are shouting murder.
NEVER go to the secondary location with a robber. That is where you get murdered or raped, or both.
If your car is skidding on an icy or wet road, steer in the direction of the skid rather than against it. You have a better chance of regaining control of the car and you avoid the risk of flipping your car over.
Most importantly do not slam the brakes.
Practice all this stuff where it is safe, like an empty parking lot. You need to develop fairly accurate reflexes, not just remember instructions. I've avoided two big wrecks on black ice through instant familiarity with a skid.
911 is not the emergency number in most countries. Find out what the emergency number is in whichever country you’re planning to visit.
In Europe, this was not the case, 112 is the emergency number. But if you call 911 in Europe, you will be directed to an english-speaking operator.
Former 911 operator here. DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT CALLING 911! Unless it's very stupid like McDonald's screwed up your order. If it's not an emergency, they'll tell you to call non-emerg. An emergency is not just a violent crime, it's a crime or potential crime in progress, an issue affecting safety (or medical emergency or fire department issue too)
Also, teach your non-English speaking family the word for their language in English in case they need to call 911.
If you're ever in a situation where your partner chokes you, get out of there as soon as you safely can. This is the number one indicator that they will in fact kill you.
"flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing!!!!
Flammable things burn very easily, like a candle wick. Inflammable things need not be easy to ignite, like magnesium, but once ignited, will burn rapidly.
The confusion seems even to exist in translations. I looked it up for Dutch and some sites translate inflammable in Dutch to "onbrandbaar" which means "non-combustible".
Purple flags at the beach mean dangerous sea life in the area. Most people understand the other flags, but purple can be confusing.
Most drunk driving deaths occur on Saturday night between 1 and 3 am. Avoid the roads during these times if you can help it.
And most regular vehicle accidents occur within 10 miles of your home/work as it is the area with which we are most comfortable and our attention is lower.
You can give yourself the Heimlich Maneuver.
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
If you're ever chasing a roadrunner in the southwest, and accidentally run off the edge of a cliff, don't look down; gravity only works when you realize there's no ground underfoot.
Don't get too engrossed with your phone in the public. Watch the road, fellow people, traffics, manhole, sinkhole, incoming attacking goose..
Situational awareness, learning to read people, following your instincts (gut feelings) are a big part of keeping safe. Filling your tool box (brain) with practical information, learning First Aid and CPR, taking a CERT class. When going out in nature, no matter if it is for a day trip, a run or multi-day hike, learn what you can about where you are going, weather, terrain etc. take the basics, map, whistle, water, snack, jacket, pocket flashlight or headlamp, insulated SOL blanket, knife, some 550 paracord. I live where hikers have gone out to watch the moon rise and ended up in the field unprepared for 4 days. So let people know your plans, pack a small pack and be safe while enjoying the world
I am surprised no one mentioned NOT TO PANIC. Panic is a killer. Some people freeze and act irrationally. Those people are the first to die. I am not saying it's easy not to panic but if you want to live, you have to make the effort.
I don't know if anyone can avoid panic, but by reading things like this, and planning carefully and thoughtfully, I think most of us can work through panic. My lieutenant in EMT school said "You're allowed to panic. For 10 seconds."
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I just wanted to add something i have always warned my girls about. If you become stranded on the freeway and make it to a safe place on either shoulder/median, NEVER TRY TO CROSS THE FREEWAY LANES ON FOOT! Cara traveling at 60+MPH are much closer than you think and the distance they appear to be from you is very deceiving! And there are multiple cars in multiple lanes and it is impossible to dodge them on foot
Also - every year here someone get hit by a commuter train. They have their headphones on or are in a rush. They wait for the train to pass in front of them, then start walking not aware there's a train coming the other way, and it's *right there* too. Please slow down, and be aware.
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Interesting. Now I'm afraid to go outside and am having an anxiety attack but at least I'm prepared.
These are really good things to know, just in case. Keep up the great work.
If you want to prepare for risks in life, here is a tip: do not read about them on the "leading art and pop culture magazine" whose "mission is to spread good news and highlight top artists from around the world" (https://www.boredpanda.com/about-us/) but rather use that site for entertainment and community exchange.
Ah but these are from Reddit and Reddit is the best source for fun fear mongering!
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These are all well a d good, but one’s logic centers tend to turn OFF in panic mode… 🤷🏽♀️
Alot of these are common sense and if people need told maybe we should just leave well enough alone and let natural selection take its course
If you're ever chasing a roadrunner in the southwest, and accidentally run off the edge of a cliff, don't look down; gravity only works when you realize there's no ground underfoot.
Don't get too engrossed with your phone in the public. Watch the road, fellow people, traffics, manhole, sinkhole, incoming attacking goose..
Situational awareness, learning to read people, following your instincts (gut feelings) are a big part of keeping safe. Filling your tool box (brain) with practical information, learning First Aid and CPR, taking a CERT class. When going out in nature, no matter if it is for a day trip, a run or multi-day hike, learn what you can about where you are going, weather, terrain etc. take the basics, map, whistle, water, snack, jacket, pocket flashlight or headlamp, insulated SOL blanket, knife, some 550 paracord. I live where hikers have gone out to watch the moon rise and ended up in the field unprepared for 4 days. So let people know your plans, pack a small pack and be safe while enjoying the world
I am surprised no one mentioned NOT TO PANIC. Panic is a killer. Some people freeze and act irrationally. Those people are the first to die. I am not saying it's easy not to panic but if you want to live, you have to make the effort.
I don't know if anyone can avoid panic, but by reading things like this, and planning carefully and thoughtfully, I think most of us can work through panic. My lieutenant in EMT school said "You're allowed to panic. For 10 seconds."
Load More Replies... I just wanted to add something i have always warned my girls about. If you become stranded on the freeway and make it to a safe place on either shoulder/median, NEVER TRY TO CROSS THE FREEWAY LANES ON FOOT! Cara traveling at 60+MPH are much closer than you think and the distance they appear to be from you is very deceiving! And there are multiple cars in multiple lanes and it is impossible to dodge them on foot
Also - every year here someone get hit by a commuter train. They have their headphones on or are in a rush. They wait for the train to pass in front of them, then start walking not aware there's a train coming the other way, and it's *right there* too. Please slow down, and be aware.
Load More Replies... Interesting. Now I'm afraid to go outside and am having an anxiety attack but at least I'm prepared.
These are really good things to know, just in case. Keep up the great work.
If you want to prepare for risks in life, here is a tip: do not read about them on the "leading art and pop culture magazine" whose "mission is to spread good news and highlight top artists from around the world" (https://www.boredpanda.com/about-us/) but rather use that site for entertainment and community exchange.
Ah but these are from Reddit and Reddit is the best source for fun fear mongering!
Load More Replies... These are all well a d good, but one’s logic centers tend to turn OFF in panic mode… 🤷🏽♀️
Alot of these are common sense and if people need told maybe we should just leave well enough alone and let natural selection take its course
