Pressure on the wound is more important than covering it. Ice can also stem blood flow.
-----
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.
-----
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.
-----
If your at a coast and the sea starts to go back really quickly, you fucking run. Encourage people around you to run and find high ground. Don't wait for any idiot who ignores you. It's likely there is about to be a tsunami.
-----
The best defense against an aggressive bear is to get some sort of large object, like a large tree, or car, and just keep moving around it keeping it between you and the bear until they get bored and leave. Bears are WAY faster than people in straight aways but cannot maneuver around the object as quickly due to how big they are. Do not try and climb the tree, just keep it between you and them. this is known as "the squirrel defense". Now if there are TWO bears....
-----
If someone holds a gun/knife to you and tells you to get in there car, just run. If they have a gun it will be very hard to shoot a moving target. And even if you do get hit, getting shot and dying right there on the street is 100x better than what that person will do to you if you end up going with them.
-----
If you've gone two and a half or more days without water, and you have to choose between drinking water without any way to sanitize it or not drinking water, drink the water. If you don't, you'll definitely die soon. Most of the diseases you can get from bad water take a couple days to set in, which gives you more time to find help.
-----
Actual fires spread shockingly fast. We all like to play "What's the one thing you'd grab if your house was on fire?" but the real right answer is that if it's not alive, you should leave it and get the hell out. People tend to imagine a fire burning on the floor in a corner somewhere, but the reality is often that it's running across the ceiling and circling around the walls. Just get out.
-----
Learn to swim. You don’t have to be Michael Phelps racing a shark. Just learn the basics.
-----
If you fall into water, don't panic. You don't have to be able to swim; you just have to float. Hold your breath and let yourself bob to the surface.
If someone is in trouble in the water, they will absolutely kill you in mindless panic. Bring something with you - a float, a rope, a towel - and use that to bridge the gap between you so you can tow the person in.
If you must make direct contact, come up from behind and slip your arm across the victim's chest. Pull the victim's back to your chest and keep his/her arms facing away from you. I've been in the deathgrip of a fat little 8 year old and he nearly took me out.
If a panicked drowner does grab you, do everything in your power to go down toward the bottom. Most will let go; that's the last place they want to go.
Recognize that even if you are both a strong swimmer and a trained rescuer, you are still risking your own life if you go to the aid of a swimmer in trouble. Take it very seriously.
-----
A few survival tips for mainly the desert but also a lot of places.
If you are lost in the desert, or a lot of places for that mater, 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, its 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). People die all the time doing this, often found only mere miles from their car.
Finally, the universal sign for needing to be rescued is waving two arms up and down. If you wave only one arm to a passing plane, you will not be helped, or at least are less likely to be helped. Also, because a few people have been wondering what to do 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.
There have been many deaths that could have been prevented had this advice been followed.
-----
When you're making a turn across oncoming traffic, keep your wheels pointing straight ahead until the opportunity comes for you to make the turn. If your wheels are facing into the turn and someone hits you from behind, they will push you into the oncoming traffic and dead you will go.
-----
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.
If someone is beating you and you can't resist the best is to lie on the ground and cover your head. This is usually known because it obviously protects the most important place in your body but it is also important because it will make the aggressor feel guilty and probably leave you.
-----
Posted before but relevant here.
If you see someone wearing a motorcycle helmet have an accident, DO NOT pull their helmet off for any reason. By all means, loosen the chin strap, but leave the helmet on and let the paramedics or doctors deal with it. You don't know what that helmet is holding together.
-----
If people stumble for no reason and sound drunk but haven’t had alcohol, ask them to smile. If it looks weird/ one side is drooping, get them to a hospital ASAP. High chance it is a stroke.
Plus people of every age can have a stroke.
-----
Crawl out of a burning building, breathing as close as possible to the floor as you move.
Toxic smoke rises while air remains more breathable nearest the floor.
-----
Mentioned this in another question before, but it’s important: If you hear about an active shooter situation near someone you know, DO NOT CALL THAT PERSON to see if they’re safe or okay. If that person is in danger, they’re likely trying to hide from the shooter. Their phone going off - even just vibrating - can attract the attention of the shooter and give off their location. So do NOT try to make any attempt to contact them until the situation is completely resolved. I know it’s absolutely wrenching but it’s much safer to wait.
Edit: as u/Karmic_Anomoly pointed out, if they were able to call someone, they would. And also, for anyone saying “Well you should just turn your phone off in an active shooter situation”, I really don’t understand what kind of atmosphere you think active shooter situations are. You don’t really have time for even thinking of things like “Ah, yes. I’ll turn off my phone, so as not to attract this madman’s attention, while I locate a suitable locale for both hiding my body and shielding myself from any potential bullets that may come flying my way.” No, you’re just going to be instinctively running and hiding, for the most part.
-----
The symptoms of a heart attack are slightly different for men and women. This is one of the reasons women sometimes get diagnosed too late.
Men: Cold sweat/ nausea; Chest pressure/pain; Shortness of breath; Pain in arm(s), back, neck, jaws, stomach
Women: Fainting/ extreme fatigue; Chest pressure; Shortness of breath; Upper back pressure; Light-headedness/ dizziness; Pain in arm(s), back, neck, jaws, stomach
-----
Do not pick up a person that has fainted, instead lift their feet above heart level and keep at it till they wake up to make the blood flow back in their head to deliver oxygen.
-----
Don't pour water on a burning pan/oil/grease in the kitchen, cover it with a damp (not soaked) cloth or towel. Water will make it explode like a bomb.
Same goes for gasoline I believe - the burning gasoline will just float on top of water, still aflame, but now spreading more easily to something else flammable.
-----
Someone who is choking makes no noise.
Coughing/gagging is a good sign, they can move air.
Silence means their airway is fully blocked, and you have to step in and help. People who are choking for real are often so panicked they don't even think to give the "I'm choking" sign, they just kind of sit there looking terrified. You have to recognize that and act.
The Heimlich is really easy to learn. It takes quite a bit of force, not something to wuss out on, I pull hard enough to lift feet off the ground.
-----
Restraining someone who is having a seizure or fit does more damage than you think, instead clear the area and place a pillow or something soft behind their head only if possible to stop them hurting themselves.
-----
I read somewhere if a stranger gets in your car and tells you to take them somewhere drive into something like a lamp post or anything. You wont be useful to them anymore because the car is damaged and you've drawn attention to them by crashing the car. You'll damage your car but you'll have your life and your bank account. Someone at my college did this a few years ago, the guy told him to drive to the bank and withdraw all his money so he drove into a lamp post and saved himself.
-----
Probably said already but....bad CPR is better than no, even if you're unskilled. You literally cannot make the person more dead, as being dead is what predicates CPR.
If you have a puncture wound to the chest or abdomen, the first thing you should do is place a non porous(think plastic bag) object over the wound, it will help prevent tension pneumothorax.
A tourniquet is quite simple to put on and can save a life if there is no other option. Place close to the site or near(not on) a joint. NEVER remove a tourniquet once placed, as clots can travel to the brain and lungs. Also mark the time you put it on.
If you're at an accident scene and have no medical training, something you can do is collect information and help calm victims. This is quite helpful as it assists the paramedics with triage and keeps potential injured persons heart rates down. Alternatively, learn how to hold C-spine.
If your car ever gets stuck on the train tracks, look for a sign on the crossing arms, this is the "railway 911" and has a number to call to stop traffic as well as your exact location.
If you've been cut deeply pack gauze into the wound as tightly as possible then hold pressure.
If you are driving in inclement weather pay attention to truckers, they are often warned ahead of time of wrecks and things due to their radios. Also never drive in the rain without headlights!!
-----
if someone is trying to suffocate you with a pillow by pressing it down on your face, just rotate your head to the side and there will be a small air pocket for you to breathe. they'll probably still try to kill you afterwards but at least you can survive for longer
-----
If it’s cloudy outside and you suddenly feel static run down your body and your hairs raise. Better pucker them cheeks and drop to the ground. Lightning is about to hit dangerously close to you.
Jump first to break any connection you have with the surface - then squat as low as you can with just the balls of your feet on the ground, heels touching, and cover your ears. You want as little contact with the ground as possible, and touching your heels together can redirect any electricity back to the ground in as short of a distance as possible. Since you’re unlikely to be struck directly, this can minimize your damage
-----
Put a lid on a flaming pan to smother it and remove from heat carefully. Never throw any liquid on it. Don't remove the lid for at least 5 minutes.
-----
0 Comments