77 Useful Facts That Could Make A Huge Difference In An Emergency

If you're ever in a crowd and you feel it start to move like a wave, pulling and pushing you along, GET OUT. That's the beginning of a "crowd crush", where people are packed in so tightly that they begin to flow like a liquid. Eventually, the flow will hit a bottleneck and people will be crushed against any surface and each other to the point of asphyxiation. Anyone who falls will be trampled to d***h.

If you cannot escape immediately, create space around your ribs using your arms and elbows so you can breathe. Don't reach up, as this makes your chest smaller and reduces your lungs' ability to expand again. Focus on keeping your footing with each surge, and try to move perpendicular to the flow, if you can.

If you're wondering why all of this matters, look up the Love Parade and the Hillsborough Stadium disasters. There was also a recent crush at an outdoor party in Korea, I believe. It can happen at any large gathering with lots of people moving into a confined space.

EDIT: Corrected Love Canal to Love Parade. Two very different disasters.

If you’re choking on something, attract people’s attention. Too many people pass away because they go to a corridor or bathroom to try and dislodge the obstruction without bothering others.

As you age, being able to get yourself up off the floor without assistance could mean the difference between life or d***h. I’m a strength and conditioning coach and clients complain about burpees all the time. They always say, “Why do we have to do these?” Like, what do you mean? This is a life skill!

A "period" in someone postmenopausal is cancer until proven otherwise: go to the doctor, immediately.

Also, heart attacks (can) present differently in women and people assigned female at birth. Know the signs

If someone chokes, but they recover you should still call 911. The lack of oxygen places a strain on the heart that can cause a heart attack, even after the person starts breathing. If paramedics are already on the way, that saves valuable time when they are needed. If there are enough people around, direct someone to flag down the ambulance and point them in the right direction.

Pneumonia sounds like crinkling bubble wrap, like you are moving around a sheet of bubble wrap. Apparently that's the sound that your lungs make when you have fluid rubbing against the air sacs in your lungs. Pneumonia just about ended me and I would have been so much better off if I had taken that sound seriously on Wednesday vs being hospitalized a few days later on Saturday.

If you feel sick/ faint, lie down so you don't fall and hit your head, also turn your head to the side so you don't choke on your vomit if you pass out / have a seizure.

Women lose bone density starting at around 35 years old, and the density loss accelerates during menopause, unless we lift weights and put significant impact on our bones. 50% of women over 65 will break a bone due to osteopersosis. Women account for over 70% of hip fractures, the mortality rate of which is estimated at between 20-33% in women within 12 months of injury. 50% will never gain back full independence.

Society has told women for decades to never lift weights, to get as thin as possible, and to only do cardio. It breaks my heart seeing my grandma, who spent her whole life avoiding weights, become fully wheelchair bound after breaking 9 bones in 3 years from severe osteopersosis.

Please lift some weights, it's never too late to increase your bone density. Osteopersosis isn't s**y.

During a severe storm warning or tornado warning and your in your residence put shoes or boots on. If your house takes a direct hit you won't have to walk on glass and debris to put on shoes.

A lot of fire truck ladders only go up 5-7 stories, and helicopters aren’t gonna come scoop you from the roof. If you’re in a tall building and there is a fire, get down those stairs. If you can’t do stairs get to the stair landing and have people going down let the firefighters know where you are.

Tell your doctor every medicine or substance you've taken. Some of them can react fatally with medication they give you so they need to know what's in your system. .

Trust your gut. If your spider sense is tingling, walk away. Don’t let your ego/emotion put you in a dangerous spot.

Heart attacks are not like in the movies. A heart attack can feel like mild chest pressure, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, dizziness, or pain in the arm, jaw, back, or stomach, not just dramatic chest-clutching.

If you throw up and it looks like coffee grounds you're bleeding internally and need to call an ambulance.

Co2 buildup on cars with multiple people when recirculation is turned on is a lot faster than you think. When it builds up, your reaction times are measurably slower, you are less attentive, and overall perform worse. Be careful on those roadtrips y’all!

Being a coward and saying no to dangerous "adventures". If you think you won't survive that thing, don't do it.

In life or d***h situations, calm people survive, people who panic d*e.

If someone, particularly and older person, has fallen and is in a lot of pain, leave them lying there until paramedics can arrive to examine them, unless where they have fallen is unsafe. You can injure them further trying to move them if you do not know the proper way to do so.

My mother fell at the entrance to a grocery store while I was pulling the car around to her. I called 911 and had an ambulance on the way and some random guy came up and tried to lift her up, despite multiple people, including myself, telling him to leave her alone until the Ambulance arrived. Turns out she had completely broken her arm up at the ball joint into the shoulder. Her arm has never healed properly from this fall. Had the guy actually tried to move her, he likely would have made things much worse. I almost had to come to blows with him to get him to leave her alone until the paramedics could arrive to examine her and get her properly onto a stretcher to go to the hospital for care.

Tuck your chin forward if you're falling backwards and you might avoid a nasty hit to the back of your head and brain damage at the expense of whiplash.

Never ignore a sudden strong pain in your belly. Especially if you start to feel tired afterward. This advice saved me from bleeding to d***h when an unknown ectopic pregnancy ruptured my fallopian tube.